FIA set to tighten up F1 right of review procedure

The window for asking for a review after an event will be shortened from the current 14 day period to four days, or 96 hours.

In addition a fee will be introduced, whereas currently there is no charge. 

The plan for change was discussed before the recent request for a review from Haas regarding track limits offences committed by rivals at the US GP that was rejected last week.

However, that case highlights the fact that review requests are more common than they used to be, and the FIA is keen to make teams think twice about pursuing them.

In addition to the Haas example, this year has also seen requests submitted by Aston Martin (Jeddah), Ferrari (Australia) and McLaren (Canada). Only the first of these was successful, as Aston overturned a penalty handed out to Fernando Alonso.

The FIA now intends to tweak both the International Sporting Code and its own judicial rules for 2024, pending approval at the Annual General Assembly in December. The changes will apply to all FIA competitions, and not just F1.

Originally, there was no time limit on a right of review request, so a team could in theory challenge the result of a race that took place months earlier.

That was subsequently changed to 14 days, a limit that Haas took full advantage of when collating its evidence.

The plan is to change that to 96 hours from the end of the competition, although in exceptional circumstances the stewards will be able to extend the deadline to 120 hours.

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG, arrive in Parc Ferme after the Sprint race

A fee equivalent to the cost of an appeal – currently €6,000 in the case of F1 – will be introduced. That will be refunded only if the right of review is upheld by the stewards.

In addition, there are set to be changes to how the appeal system works. 

At the moment teams can submit a notice of intention to appeal, and then have 96 hours during which they can decide whether or not they then pursue the matter with a formal appeal.

The problem with the current system is that a notice of intention to appeal can suspend a penalty. 

Thus, a driver could receive a grid penalty and have it negated by a notice of intention to appeal. The team could then withdraw from the appeal process, having raced from the original grid position.

From now on, even if the notice is withdrawn the matter will be referred to the International Court of Appeal, and the team concerned could receive a penalty if it was deemed that they gained an advantage through the process.

Currently, no fee is payable unless the team then proceeds with the appeal. Henceforth, that fee will have to be paid up front, accompanying the notice of intention to appeal.