FIA amends Formula E rules for Gen4: 80 tyre sets, new test deadlines & appeal restrictions

The FIA has amended Formula E's Manufacturer Registration Document and General Provisions for the Gen4 era. The changes include an allocation of 80 sets of all-weather tyres per manufacturer for the entire cycle, new deadlines for customer-team testing and additional restrictions on appeals. e-Formula.news takes a detailed look at all the changes.

Following the previously analysed amendments to the Sporting, Technical and Financial Regulations, the latest changes mainly concern organisational and regulatory details for the Gen4 era. Particularly relevant are new provisions governing tyre supply for private testing, as well as additional clarifications in the General Provisions.

Manufacturer Registration

Article 6.14: Prices for private test days

The price caps for private testing remain unchanged. A mandatory customer-team test day may continue to cost no more than €60,000 per day excluding VAT, while an additional test day requested by the team is capped at €90,000. The main change concerns the more precise terminology used for the two types of test day.

The mandatory customer-team test day, previously referred to as a Competitor Test Day, is now also described as a "Mandatory Team Test Day", while the Additional Test Day is correspondingly described as a "Non-Mandatory Team Test Day". The FIA also explicitly clarifies that additional test days take place at the request of the respective team and that the maximum price of €90,000 includes all applicable services.

The prices and number of test days therefore remain unchanged. However, the FIA now distinguishes more clearly between the two categories and reduces potential room for interpretation regarding the billing of additional test days.

Article 9.10: New deadline for customer-team test days

The amendments to private testing are more substantial. Two of the test days allocated to each customer team previously had to take place between 1 September of the relevant year and the completion of the first homologation process of a development cycle.

That provision is replaced by a fixed deadline. The two test days must now be completed before 31 October of the year in which the first homologation, meaning the official technical approval of the car, takes place for the respective cycle.

The FIA is therefore simplifying the timing requirement considerably. Instead of a window depending on several dates, there is now a fixed deadline. At the same time, 1 September is no longer the earliest permitted date, giving manufacturers and teams slightly more flexibility when planning their testing programmes.

Article 9.10: 80 sets of all-weather tyres for the complete Gen4 cycle

A considerably more significant change concerns the all-weather tyres used during private development testing. Previously, the Manufacturer Registration Document merely provided for a limited number of tyre sets per test day as defined by the FIA. For the first time, a specific total allocation is now set: each manufacturer will receive 80 sets of all-weather tyres for the entire Gen4 cycle.

The FIA also regulates the transition between the different tyre specifications. By 31 December 2027, manufacturers must inform Bridgestone how many additional sets of the specification intended for Seasons 13 and 14 they require. From March 2028 onwards, only tyres using the specification intended for Seasons 15 and 16 will be supplied, until the manufacturer's maximum allocation has been reached.

For every additional non-mandatory customer-team test day, two further sets of tyres may also be ordered. These must be made available to the team that requested the additional test day.

The FIA is therefore establishing a clearly defined tyre budget for the complete Gen4 testing phase for the first time. Manufacturers can plan their tyre usage over several years more precisely. At the same time, additional customer-team testing will not excessively reduce the manufacturer's regular development allocation, as separate tyre sets are available for those test days.

From 2028 onwards, testing supply will be switched to the tyre specification intended for Seasons 15 and 16.

Article 9.10: Wet-weather tyres supplied in two batches

The FIA is also changing the supply of the dedicated Typhoon wet-weather tyres. Instead of initially receiving six sets, each manufacturer will now receive five sets during the first phase. From January 2028, Bridgestone will provide a further five sets.

The previous restriction linking the first delivery to a specific testing period running until the end of 2027 has also been removed. The FIA now explicitly states that all supplied wet-weather tyre sets may be used throughout the entire testing period.

The allocation is therefore spread more evenly across the Gen4 cycle. Manufacturers initially receive fewer wet-weather tyres, but there are now two clearly defined delivery batches. The following subsections of Article 9.10 are merely renumbered or relettered as a result of the expanded tyre provisions. These are purely editorial changes with no substantive effect.

General Provisions

Article 6: Organisation of Competitions

Article 6.1 contains several clarifications concerning the documents an organiser must submit before an E-Prix. The FIA now makes it clearer which parts of Appendix 1 of the Sporting Regulations are affected and that the required medical questionnaire must also be submitted no later than 60 days before a Competition.

These changes are primarily editorial and organisational clarifications. The fundamental obligations of an organiser remain unchanged, while the allocation of documents and deadlines is made more explicit.

Article 8: Competitors' Applications

In Article 8.4, the previous term "FIA Formula E Committee" is replaced by "FIA Formula E Commission". This is a purely editorial amendment and does not alter the team selection or application procedure.

Article 8.6 also contains only a linguistic correction to a reference to the Sporting Regulations. There is no substantive change.

Article 9: Changes of Driver

Article 9.1 now explicitly refers to the relevant session as the "Rookie Free Practice Session". The corresponding reference in the Sporting Regulations is also updated to Article 22.6.

The underlying rule remains unchanged: if a driver participates only in this Rookie Free Practice Session, it is still not considered a driver change. This is therefore also purely an editorial clarification.

Article 10: Further decisions excluded from appeal

A more significant amendment concerns appeals. The FIA has expanded the list of decisions against which no appeal may be lodged. Decisions made by the Stewards under Article 27.2 of the Sporting Regulations are now explicitly non-appealable. This article covers, among other things, adjustments to the race distance and additional laps following neutralisations.

The FIA is therefore providing additional legal certainty, particularly for decisions concerning the final race distance. Since additional laps can have a direct impact on race strategy and energy consumption, such decisions by the Stewards are now final and cannot be challenged through the regular appeal process.

Article 10: €6,000 fee for a Petition for Review

A request for a renewed review of a decision that has already been made, known as a Petition for Review, is now explicitly subject to a fee. This fee is set at €6,000.

Previously, the General Provisions merely referred to the relevant provisions of the International Sporting Code. The financial threshold for requesting a review is therefore now also explicitly stated in the Formula E regulations themselves.

New and amended definitions

In addition to the individual articles, the FIA has expanded the central glossary contained within the General Provisions.

600 kW Mode

The term "600 kW Mode" is newly defined. It refers to the maximum permitted power during Free Practice, Qualifying Practice Sessions and at any standing start during a race.

One of the key performance characteristics of the Gen4 era is therefore now also formally included in Formula E's general definitions.

Attack Mode

The definition of Attack Mode has been adapted to the new Sporting Regulations. It now explicitly states that the mode must be used at least once during the race in accordance with the Bulletin, meaning an official communication from the Stewards, published at the beginning of the Competition.

This is not a new sporting rule. Instead, the Gen4 provision already introduced in the Sporting Regulations is now also reflected in the general glossary.

Burnout

A specific definition of the term "Burnout" has also been added. The FIA defines this as a significant difference between the wheel speed of any axle and the actual vehicle speed, resulting from an intentional driver input aimed at altering tyre conditions through friction.

The burnout restriction already contained in the Sporting Regulations therefore now has a consistent definition across the Formula E regulations.

Discord becomes an official communication channel

Discord is also newly defined. The platform is now explicitly recognised as an official text communication channel between the teams, Race Control and the Technical Delegates. Messages and instructions sent via Discord by Race Control or FIA Delegates are official and must be complied with by the teams. At the same time, the previous definition of the Race Control Notification System (RCNS) has been removed.

Discord therefore gains a central regulatory role in official communication during a Formula E Competition. It is no longer merely a communication platform used in practice, but an explicitly defined channel for binding FIA messages.

E-Prix & E-Prix Unleashed

The two different race formats of the Gen4 era now also receive their own definitions. An E-Prix is defined as the race with the longest Scheduled Race Distance during a Formula E Competition. The new E-Prix Unleashed, by contrast, refers to the race with the shortest Scheduled Race Distance.

The FIA is therefore clearly distinguishing between the two race formats in terminology as well, incorporating the new Gen4 sprint format into the General Provisions.

Event Note

The Event Note is another newly defined term. It refers to an official document issued by the Stewards in which Competition-specific parameters may be set.

These can include the number of laps, available Race Energy, the prescribed aerodynamic configuration and provisions concerning Attack Mode and Pit Boost. A document already relevant in practical terms therefore receives a clear regulatory definition for the first time.

Floating Parts

The definition of so-called Floating Parts, meaning additional components outside the regular season allocation, is expanded to include the Front Powertrain Kit (FPK).

This does not automatically mean that teams will once again receive additional FPKs as Floating Parts. The specific allocation of two additional FPKs was removed from the most recently amended Sporting Regulations. The change in the General Provisions merely expands the definition of the components that may in principle fall under the term Floating Parts.

Joker Tyre

The authority to approve a so-called Joker Tyre, meaning an additional replacement tyre permitted following circumstances such as damage, is expanded. Approval may now be granted not only by the Stewards but also by the FIA Technical Delegate.

This should simplify procedures particularly in cases involving damaged tyres, as a decision by the entire Panel of Stewards is no longer required in every instance.

Minimum Energy Consumption

The Minimum Energy Consumption (MEC), already introduced in the Sporting Regulations, is now also defined in the General Provisions.

It represents a minimum amount of energy that must be consumed per lap. If a driver actually uses less energy than the specified value, the predetermined minimum value is still used when calculating total Race Energy consumption. The mechanism designed to limit extreme energy saving is therefore also incorporated into the general glossary. However, this does not introduce an additional sporting rule.

Power Mode

The definition of Power Mode is expanded and now explicitly includes Race Mode, Attack Mode and Power Schedule, meaning the prescribed management of power output. This is primarily an editorial adaptation to the new Gen4 regulations. The different power states are now grouped under a common umbrella term.

Right of Review

For the so-called Right of Review, only an additional reference to Article 10.4 of the General Provisions has been added. This is a purely editorial amendment and does not introduce a new rule.

Technical Area

Finally, the Technical Area within a team's garage is newly defined. During live sessions, only persons holding the appropriate yellow pass may enter this area. This definition also incorporates a provision already introduced in the Sporting Regulations into the central glossary.