No more all-nighters for mechanics

One of the features of this season was the Red Bull mechanics looking utterly exhausted as a result of working deep into the night before qualifying to fit new parts to the cars which arrived at all hours at the circuit.

The 'go faster' parts certainly made a difference and I'm sure that those mechanics have been catching up on sleep pretty much since they finished in Abu Dhabi, dreaming of what to spend their bonuses on.

But it's not all like that. The mechanics at every team were stretched during a gruelling 19 race calendar and those working for the new teams had a really tough time in the early flyaway races, not least because there were fewer of them and they were trying to bed down unreliable new cars.

Well all of that is now a thing of the past as the FIA has issued its technical and sporting regulations following on from last Friday's World Council meeting and forcing teams to leave the circuit for a minimum of six hours on Thursday and Friday nights is one of the eye catching changes.

Mechanics will be locked out of the track from midnight to 6am in territories where practice starts at 10am and from 1am to 7am where practice begins at 11am.

"However, each team will be permitted four individual exceptions to the above during a championship season," according to the FIA edict.

With a 20 race calendar this is eminently sensible. There is real risk of burn out for F1's hardest working and arguable most professional people - the mechanics.

Saturday nights aren't affected because the cars are in parc ferme so most mechanics leave early evening after they've had something to eat.

There are also clarifications on driving etiquette picking up from some of the incidents last year and other detail changes to report. I'll post an analysis of World Council decisions and the new regulations tomorrow.