F1's technical, sporting and financial 2021 rules finally approved

F1's stakeholders have debated the make-up of the major new rules package for months and disagreements led to the process being delayed from an original mid-2019 deadline.

However, after being approved unanimously by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council on Thursday, the new rules are now ready to be published.

FIA president Jean Todt, via video link, joined F1 CEO Chase Carey, F1 motorsport managing director Ross Brawn and FIA head of single-seater technical matters Nikolas Tombazis at a special press conference on the publication of the new rules at Austin on Thursday morning local time.

Carey called the WMSC's unanimous approval "a watershed moment", while Todt described the regulations as "a major change in how the pinnacle of motorsports will be run".

"For the first time, we have addressed the technical, sporting and financial aspects all at once," added Todt.

"The 2021 regulations have been a truly collaborative effort, and I believe this to be a great achievement."

The new technical regulations have been researched extensively by the FIA and F1 in a bid to create cars that are easier to follow, and make them look more 'futuristic'.

F1's evaluation of weekend schedule changes and other competitive elements should also be clarified in the new sporting rules.

Financial regulations will mark a new addition to the official FIA rulebook, to implement an F1-first cost cap that will limit team spending to $175million.

That cap will exclude "driver costs" and "three highest-paid person costs" among other areas of expenditure.

Ferrari has been a vocal opponent of aspects of the new rules and has the right to veto the plans if it deems it is not in the best interest of the championship.

Team boss Mattia Binotto, who has said it would be a "shame" to have to exercise that right, told Autosport last weekend that it would decide what to do "after the vote has been published".