World Championships

F1 to the Max

2023 was a record-breaking season on the track. Max Verstappen followed up his 2022 success with a relentless campaign that brought him his third World Drivers’ Championship, and a sixth for Red Bull Racing in the Constructors’ standings.

Red Bull Brilliance

It was a season as close to perfection as anyone could dream possible for Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen. Over the course of the season, the 26-year-old tallied a total of 19 wins – as well as four out of a possible six Sprint wins. This represented a unique achievement in Formula 1, and the question now remains as to whether another driver will rise to the challenge, or if Verstappen can remain unbeatable across the 24-race-season in 2024.

A bold new structure 

The FIA began 2023 with an announcement that it would be implementing a new structure in its management of Formula 1 following a review of the FIA’s internal procedures initiated by the FIA President.  

This new structure put Nikolas Tombazis, who has led the FIA’s Formula 1 technical team since 2018 and overseen the development and implementation of the successful 2022 regulations overhaul, in a more transversal role as Single-Seater Director.  

The reorganisation put the Sporting, Technical, Financial and Strategy & Operations Directors in direct report to the overall department director, creating a more efficient and effective system of management for the FIA within its highest-level championship, and resulting in an organisationally and operationally successful season. 

Expressions of Interest

This year, the FIA launched an application process for potential new teams to enter Formula 1. This drew a significant level of interest from potential candidates, reflecting the immense popularity and ongoing growth of the championship. 

All applicants underwent thorough due diligence, particularly around their technical capabilities, resources, team experience, and ability to raise and maintain sufficient funding.  

Candidates were also required to explain how they would achieve net zero by 2030 (in line with FIA targets), and what steps they would take to achieve a positive social impact.  

Four applicants then progressed to Phase 2. Following this phase, the FIA concluded that Andretti Formula Racing LLC should progress to the next stage. Andretti Formula Racing LLC was the only candidate who reached Phase 2 and met the FIA’s stringent criteria in all material respects.  

As part of the agreed process of the Expressions of Interest protocol, the FIA findings on Andretti Formula Racing LLC’s submission were passed to Formula One Management (FOM) for commercial discussions. 

50 Years of the FIA F1 Safety Car 

This year marked 50 years since the Safety Car made its first appearance in F1, at the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix. In the years since, it has become a key part of the Federation’s efforts to improve safety in Formula 1. The Safety Car has been constantly developed and refined by the FIA to become one of the most potent weapons in the Federation’s arsenal of motor sport safety measures, in Formula 1 and beyond.

Three Stars across the board 

2023 was a landmark year for environmental and sustainability efforts in motor racing. For the first time ever, all ten of the teams, as well as Formula 1’s Commercial Rights Holder (FOWC), all achieved Three-Star FIA Environmental Accreditation. The programme measures performance across a range of 17 criteria ranging from energy use and supply chain management to transport planning, noise management and carbon emissions.

The FIA Formula One World Championship was first awarded the accreditation in 2020. Since then, many of the key stakeholders within the sport, including the Teams, Race Promoters, suppliers and host circuits, have also embarked on their own journeys to achieve FIA Three-Star Environmental Accreditation.  Pirelli, a Global Partner of Formula 1 and key supplier of the World Championship, is among those to hold the Three-Star Environmental Accreditation.

Sprinting ahead 

Ahead of the first Sprint event of 2023 in Azerbaijan, the regulations were amended to separate the result of the Sprint from Grand Prix qualifying. In order to facilitate this change, a Qualifying session for Sunday was scheduled for Friday afternoon, after just one Free Practice Session. While the change in schedule was a step in the right direction, helping to ensure fairer competition and more excitement over the course of the weekend, further changes are anticipated for the coming season as the Sprint continues to evolve as an exciting new element in Formula 1.

FIA Formula E World Championship

Calendar

In 2023, the calendar included 11 events and 16 races, with new venues including São Paulo, Portland and Cape Town. The finale event was held in London. Jake Dennis (GBR) was crowned the new ABB FIA Formula E World Champion ahead of Nick Cassidy (NZL), whilst Envision Racing clinched the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship title for Teams.

Over the course of the year, the FIA and Formula E also prepared for the 2024 season, with plans to add a Tokyo event and choose more sustainable and permanent circuits.

Gen 3

This year, Formula E introduced the Gen 3 car. Built for street racing, Gen3 is smaller and more dynamic, with greater regeneration capacities (up to 600kW – meaning that almost 50% of the energy used during the race is now coming from regenerative braking) and a power output in traction up to 350kW. The car represents a significant step compared to its predecessor, and pushes the boundaries of technology for the suppliers and the manufacturers.

The strength of the car has opened the door to a new style of racing – where overtaking capacity is even stronger and energy management strategy is even more important to the final result.

During the final quarter of 2023, the FIA set out technical framework and specifications for the next-generation of cars (Gen 4) set to hit racetracks in 2027. This included the selection of battery, chassis, tyre and front powertrain kit suppliers (Podium AT, Spark Racing Technology, Bridgestone and Marelli respectively) following a comprehensive tender process.

Cost Cap 

The 2022/23 season was the first season under the cost cap for Teams and Manufacturers. Teams and Manufacturers will submit their reporting documentation at the end of January 2024. The FIA will then review this and – where necessary – enforce compliance with these new financial regulations.

FIA World Endurance Championship

Competition summary

In the Hypercar class, the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing crew of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa clinched their second title in a row. They led the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing crew by 27 points. The #50 Ferrari rounded out the podium. 

Team WRT’s Robert Kubica, Rui Andrade and Louis Delétraz claimed victory in LPM2, while Corvette Racing won LMGTE.  

Notably, the Iron Dames won the LMGTE class in Bahrain – making them the first ever all-female squad to do so.  

Number of competitors/strength of class 

The 11th season of the FIA World Endurance Championship featured a total of 38 full season entrants, 13 of which joined the Hypercar class. WEC’s top class had more than doubled in comparison to 2022, with entries from leading manufacturers like Cadillac, Ferrari, Glickenhaus, Peugeot, Porsche, Toyota and Vanwall. The grid was completed by a record 11 LMP2 and 14 LMGTE Am entries.

This year’s entry list is testament to the growing global appeal of WEC.

Teams competed under licences from 12 different countries (Italy, Germany, USA, Great Britain, France, Japan, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Poland, Austria and Oman). Nine manufacturers were represented across all classes (Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche, Toyota, Glickenhaus, Vanwall, Chevrolet, and Aston Martin).

The series enjoyed a strong seven-round calendar, which included a new addition, Portimão, Portugal, and a centenary celebration for 24 Hours of Le Mans.  

Data 

In 2023, a new Balance of Performance methodology was adopted, with simulations and data from telemetry playing a bigger role in the process of computing the BoP. To strengthen this approach, AVL was appointed as a technical partner, offering enhanced simulation abilities. 

Regulations

Moving away from any form of tyre heating was another major regulatory change for 2023. The move was introduced as part of a long-term WEC tyre road map, developed in consultation with tyre manufacturers, and prepared for over two years. 

Following an in-depth evaluation of tyre usage data, the FIA and the ACO, along with the championship’s exclusive tyre suppliers, Michelin and Goodyear, authorised tyre warming for 24 Hours of Le Mans. This was done with the aim of ensuring that drivers of all experience levels are able to compete in the safest possible environment regardless of track conditions and temperatures. 

Further evolution of the WEC categories

During 2023, the FIA set out plans for the future including:

• New LMGT3 category
• Signing Alpine, BMW, Lamborghini and Isotta Fraschini to the Hypercar category
• GT3 adjustments

This year, WEC announced plans to introduce LMGT3 in 2024. It will be the first new car class since WEC was launched in 2012.

LMGT3 is based on GT3 (the FIA’s most popular consumer car class) and uses FIA’s existing GT3 technical platform. GT3 cars joining the championship will have to undergo several mandatory adaptations such as installation of torque sensors, luminescent number panels and leader lights in order to be eligible for competition.

The Championship also announced new rounds, including São Paulo (Brazil), Lusail (Qatar), Imola (Italy), and a return to Circuit of the Americas in Texas, USA, and new Hypercar manufacturers, including Alpine, BMW, Lamborghini, and Isotta Fraschini for the 2024 season.

FIA World Rally Championship

The FIA World Rally Championship 2023 was another season to remember. Year two of the Rally1 era featured plug-in hybrids, fossil-free fuel and the use of ultra-strong safety cells, five race winners, and one Champion after 13 events.

Sports summary

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT’s success continued in 2023. The team claimed their third Manufacturers’ title in as many years, after another standout campaign in which Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen secured back-to-back Drivers’ and Codrivers’ crowns.

Meanwhile, in FIA WRC2, Andreas Mikkelsen and co-driver Torstein Eriksen claimed victory, ahead of their Toksport Škoda team-mates Gus Greensmith and Jonas Andersson. PH Sport Citroën pair Yohan Rossel and Arnaud Dunand completed the top three.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz won the new FIA WRC2 Challenger title alongside co-driver Maciej Szczepaniak, while Alexander Villanueva and Roberto Mometti claimed victory in the WRC Masters Cup.

Finns Roope Korhonen and Anssi Viinikka secured the FIA WRC3 Championship after landing four maximum scores, the most allowed under the 2023 regulations.

The FIA Junior WRC Championship for Fiesta Rally3s prepared and maintained by M-Sport Poland was decided on the fifth and final event of the season in Greece. William Creighton and Liam Regan, representing the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, took the title and the Fiesta Rally2 prize drive, eight points ahead of their nearest rivals Diego Dominguez and Rogelio Peñate.

Events 

ASNs join forces to deliver standout cross-border rally

Three ASNs came together to deliver the inaugural Central European Rally in late October. While WRC events had featured stages in more than one country in the past, the Central European Rally was the first to include stages in three countries during the same event. The innovative event was the culmination of an extensive collaboration between Germany’s Allgemeiner Deutsche Automobil-Club (ADAC), the Czech Autoklub České Republiky (ACCR) and the Austrian Motorsport Federation (AMF). Delivered with the support of more than 4100 volunteers, the event was a hugely successful addition to the WRC calendar. 

WRC returns to key territories in 2023 

The FIA World Rally Championship returned to Americas this year. México had last hosted a WRC event in March 2020, while Chile’s last event was in 2019. Both countries hosted popular and well-attended events as part of the 13-event calendar.

Hankook named official WRC tyre supplier from 2025

The FIA announced that four-wheel-drive cars competing in the FIA World Rally Championship will use Hankook tyres from 2025. The decision was made in December 2023, following a detailed tender process based on criteria such as the supplier’s capabilities, sustainability, technical quality, cost per tyre and marketing. The current official supplier Pirelli elected not to submit a tender and will complete its current term at the end of the 2023 season.

On-event training continues in the WRC

The FIA hosted e-safety briefings and training sessions for WRC volunteers and officials. Held onsite ahead of WRC events, these sessions were an opportunity for volunteers and officials to learn more about e-safety, hybrid technology and possible associated safety risks. Attendees also took part in extrication exercises

FIA World Rallycross Championship

The World Rally Cross championship got off to a strong start.

Reigning champion Johan Kristofferson took three back-to-back wins in the face of strong competition from the Hansen brothers and the CE Dealer Team drivers.

But the Championship suffered a problem at Lydden Hill when a fire severely damaged the cars of the Special One team. The FIA immediately opened an investigation and prevented the RX1e cars from competing while the cause of the issue was found. The RX1e drivers could not compete at Lydden Hill, Mettet and Estering, but were able to return to the competition for the final two races of the season (South Africa and Hong Kong) in single specification RX2e cars.

This threw the competition wide open – but despite a race win from Timo Schneider in the Münnich Motorsport team, Johan Kristofferson held his nerve to take the championship victory for a sixth time.

Regulations and Corporate Summary

In 2023, Emil Axelsson was named as a new FIA Sporting Manager, joining the FIA team to utilise his experience as a former team manager in the sport.

A new team also joined the grid. Special One Racing combined Sébastien Loeb’s eponymous racing team and the experienced GCK crew from Guerlain Chicherit. The team used EV powered Lancia Delta Evo until the Lydden Hill fire.

Elsewhere, the WRX team partnered with Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) to support the event organisers and construct a new street track in Hong Kong. The city centre track was constructed in just eight days using innovative all-electric equipment.

FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC)

The second season of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship was contested over five events, up from four in the inaugural season. For the second year in a row the title went to Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel, driving for Toyota. Toyota Gazoo Racing also retained the manufacturers’ title. The USA’s Seth Quintero was crowned FIA W2RC T3 Champion alongside German Dennis Zenz. The T4 title went to Lithuania’s Rokas Baciuska and Spanish co-driver Oriol Vidal.

Al-Attiyah and Baumel also won the World Cup for Cross Country Bajas with four wins from eight rounds, while the European Cup went to Polish veteran Krzysztof Holowczyc and co-driver Lukasz Kurzeja. The Middle East Cup was won by Saudi Arabia’s Khaled Al-Feraihi in partnership with Frenchman Sébastien Delaunay.

Away from the dunes, the Cross Country Rally Commission continued to push to update the discipline. This began with the publication of the T3.U technical regulations (for 2024) for small hybrid prototypes and the finalisation of regulations for trucks using new technologies (T5.U). Work also began on revising the T4 (SSV) and T2 (production derived 4×4) classes with the aim of making the categories more attractive and less expensive to enter.

In October, the World Motor Sport Council approved a major overhaul of event names, cars, and championships for 2024, making the various classes and type of vehicle easier to understand. As part of these changes, the World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas will become the World Baja Cup, and the sporting format of the championship will also change, with points being awarded to ensure all vehicles can compete for the title and that all results are taken into account.

Karting

Record-breaking season

This year’s International Karting Calendar included 50 events, among them 12 FIA Karting Championships, Cups and Trophies. Headline events included the three FIA Karting World Championships (OK, Junior and KZ), the FIA Karting World Cup – KZ2, and the FIA Karting International Masters Super Cup – KZ2.

In the World Championships, the OK category was won by DPK Racing’s Kirill Kutskov (KR/IAME/MG), while Belgium’s Dries Van Langendonck (Exprit/TM Racing/Vega) won the Junior title with Forza Racing, and Italy’s Paolo Ippolito (KR/IAME/Lecont) won the KZ crown with the KR Motorsport team. Germany’s Niels Tröger took victory in the KZ2 World Cup, while Italy’s Davide Forè won the Masters Super Cup – KZ2.

Filling the grid

2023 was a hugely successful season for karting participation. CIK-FIA registered a total of 927 entries (up from 857 in 2022 and 736 in 2021). The 2023 FIA Karting World Cup – KZ2 broke participation records with a full grid of 126 drivers, while the 2023 FIA Karting World Championship- Junior filled all its seats for the first time in recent history. The FIA Karting Academy Trophy was similarly strong – with 46 seats taken by the hopeful stars of tomorrow.

Competitive innovation 

At the start of 2023, the FIA introduced the International Karting Ranking. IKR is a computerised ranking system open to all karting competitors holding a licence issued by an FIA-recognised National Sporting Authority (ASN). It is based on a model similar to the ATP rankings in tennis. In December, 13-year-old Briton Lewis Wherrell was crowned the first annual IKR winner at the FIA Karting Awards. Going into 2024, the IKR will be expanded for use in national competitions. 

Ahead of the launch of the FIA Karting World Cup – OK-N in 2024, the Karting Commission introduced ‘2024 Road to the OK-N World Cup’. The event was held alongside the FIA Karting World Championship – OK and Junior, in Franciacorta, Italy.  

Elsewhere, the reintroduction of the Historic Super Cup at Wackersdorf, was very successful. Also in Wackersdorf, the second edition of an International Masters Super Cup for drivers over 35 years of age also proved popular. 

Maintaining strong partnerships 

RGMMC Group, the service provider of the majority of FIA Karting Championships since 2018, has played a key role in the continued growth of Karting’s social media audience. Their extensive live-stream coverage is particularly popular, with the number of YouTube subscribers following the FIA’s karting channels increasing from 26,000 to 32,000 between 2022 and 2023.  Moreover, the revised media formats which focused on short, fast paced clips posted on our social media platforms generated the first ever viral reel from the FIA Karting Championships, amassing 344,000 views on Instagram and extending the overall reach to 706,000 people, a 2007% increase from 2022 to 2023.  

Elsewhere, FIA Karting renewed its sponsorship with Mondokart.com for its 2023 World Championship. The Commission also secured the first event sponsor for the gearbox class of its 2023 European Championships. 

Mondokart will extend its support to all FIA Karting Championships in 2024 as a fully-fledged title sponsor. 

Arrive & Drive 

At the FIA General Assemblies in Baku, a new karting platform ‘Accessible and Inclusive Karting Worldwide’ was launched. The programme will tap into the popularity of the leisure karting market to facilitate competitions at local tracks. These will either happen using rental karts, or using higher performance karts (from a single supplier chosen via tender process). The initiative will allow ASNs to offer low-cost karting competitions. It is part of the FIA’s wider effort to double motor sport participation worldwide.  

A detailed toolkit has been provided to facilitate these efforts.