Among the innovations introduced with the changes to the 2026 Sporting Regulations, there is one concerning Parc Fermé, which effectively freezes the setups of the single-seaters between qualifying and the race. For several years, in fact, teams have no longer been able to intervene and modify the setup during the official sessions of the weekend: once they have taken part in qualifying, it is no longer possible to modify anything on the car, under penalty of starting from the pit lane.
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This is also in the event of rain: many times we have seen teams and drivers blindly rely on weather forecasts, hoping to bet on the winning setup. Among the most aggressive in recent years in this sense, we cannot fail to mention Max Verstappen, remembering his extreme choices at Silverstone and Spa, for example.
Well, after years of discussion – inevitably encroaching into the field of safety – the Federation has decided to modify the article of the sporting code that regulates the management of Parc Fermé in the event of variable weather conditions.
How the regulations change
Until now the only intervention made regarding Parc Fermé has been in relation to the Sprint: with the introduction of the current format – Sprint Qualifying on Friday afternoon, Sprint on Saturday morning before the qualifying for the long race – it is effectively possible to modify the setup between the Sprint and “long” qualifying, thus also exploiting the data and information collected in the short sessions.
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In 2026, however, the condition of “Rain Hazard”, i.e., “Rain Risk” is introduced: if the official meteorological service of the Federation (Meteo France, ed.) indicates a probability of precipitation higher than 40% at any time during the Sprint or the race, the Race Director can declare a “Rain Hazard” up to two hours before the start of qualifying (or the Sprint Qualifying).
Once the “Rain Hazard” has been declared, teams will be able to adapt their setups to wet conditions once the seals are removed (i.e., five hours before the race or the Sprint) without being penalized and thus starting from the pit lane.
There is, however, a mysterious condition: the exact list of components that can be modified is found in a private document (renamed FIA-F1-DOC-080) reserved only for the teams…
