The Fia Is Confident In

The FIA says it is sure it can "find collaborative solutions" to concerns voiced by World Rally Championship teams over plans to implement new technical requirements next year.

Last week, WRC teams Toyota, Hyundai, and M-Sport-Ford sent a letter to the world racing governing body, stating their wish for the current Rally1 technical requirements to be in place until the end of 2026.

The move followed the FIA's announcement of its vision for the future of top-level rallying in February. While WRC Rally1 teams have unanimously supported planned modifications to the championship's competitive aspects, drivers and teams have fiercely criticized the FIA's intentions to amend the technical regulations for next year.

The FIA aims to remove hybrid power from Rally1 cars while also reducing performance through aerodynamics and air restrictors. The goal is to increase the performance closer to that of Rally2 cars, which will receive additional aero and performance through an upgrade kit, hence increasing the overall number of competitors.

The teams' main issue is the short timeline to implement these changes, with the planned ratification of the regulations providing a six-month window to develop, test, and validate their redesigned vehicles.

The WRC Commission met for two days in Geneva, beginning on Monday, to consider the championship's future. The FIA acknowledged that several major themes were covered, including the Rally 1 teams' concerns about technical rule revisions for next year.

"The WRC Commission discussed a number of key topics in relation to the future pathway for the sport and the direction set by the WRC Working Group that was approved by the World Motor Sport Council on 28 February," an FIA spokesperson stated in a statement to Motorsport.com.

"Positive efforts have been taken, and further work on the sporting and promotional components is underway, with other meetings scheduled for the next weeks, and there is broad agreement on the championship's technical path beginning in 2027.

"We are having specific discussions with stakeholders about the shorter-term technical advances for 2025 and 2026, which have prompted concerns among the manufacturing teams that are currently being considered.

"The only target remains the safeguarding and strengthening of the world's premier rally category, and we are confident that we will find collaborative solutions to the issues that have been raised."

It is unclear what the joint solutions involve. The World Motor Sport Council meeting in June is expected to finalize the full adoption of the regulations.