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A number of key decisions were taken at the FIA World Council meeting that was held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on December 5. Many of them referred to some of the global championships in which Michelin is active, namely the WEC, WRC and Formula E.
Concerning the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), approval was given for the regulations covering the new Hypercars that will race from 2020 to 2025. These new hybrid cars will be powered by an internal combustion engine (maximum: 520kW/707hp) and an electric MGU (200kW/272hp). A single tyre manufacturer will provide a range of three slicks and two wet-weather tyres.
For the 2019/2020 FIA WEC, tyre changes while refuelling is in progress (as seen in 2018/2019) will no longer be authorised. The two operations will need to be carried out separately again (which was the case from 1994 until 2017), which means tyres will play a key role in race strategies once again.
The 2019/2020 FIA WEC calendar was approved, with eight rounds lasting from four to 24 hours. The championship will kick off on September 1 at Silverstone and conclude with the Le Mans 24 Hours in June 2020. Sao Paulo is back on the schedule, Bahrain will be an eight-hour fixture and Shanghai will be shortened to four hours.
The FIA World Rally Championship will include a WRC2 Pro series from 2019. Manufacturers will be able to enter two R5 cars but will need to take part in at least seven rounds. Meanwhile, the duration of midday service breaks has been extended from 30 to 40 minutes. The provisional 14-event calendar that was released a few weeks ago has been approved.
