FIA announce MANDATORY rule for all F1 teams at Australian Grand Prix

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Australian Grand Prix

FIA announce MANDATORY rule for all F1 teams at Australian Grand Prix

The FIA have announced a change for the Australian GP

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 14 March 2025 12:50 Updated: 16:27

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The FIA has announced a mandatory rule change that will impact all 10 Formula 1 teams at the Australian Grand Prix.

The 2025 season got underway with the first two practice sessions in Melbourne, with the most dramatic incident occurring during FP1 after Ollie Bearman suffered a huge crash which rendered him unable to run in FP2.

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Article continues under video

F1 RESULTS TODAY: Max Verstappen in NIGHTMARE session as scary crash brings out red flag in Australia

Reigning champion Max Verstappen struggled in the opening practice sessions in his new Red Bull car, and complained about the grip of the tyres, as Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc topped the first two respective timesheets.

However, the FIA have issued a rule change ahead of the first qualifying session on Saturday which will be mandatory for all 10 teams to adhere to.

McLaren and Ferrari appear to have an early advantage

Ollie Bearman had a nightmare first session

FIA announce rule change for F1 Australian Grand Prix

In a statement released by race director Rui Marques, the FIA have introduced new measures to stop cars driving unnecessarily slowly on any laps during and after the end of qualifying or during reconnaissance laps.

The official FIA document continues that the drivers must stay below the time of 1:33.0 between the safety car lines shown on the pit lane drawings, to allow drivers to prepare properly for their hot laps.

Any drivers who breach these new rules could face a penalty for the opening race of the season.