Formula 1 races are won on the track, but the groundwork to creating a winning machine kicks off months before lights go out on a grand prix weekend. In the buildup to every new season, designers and engineers pore over the rules in search of loopholes – ones they can exploit in the name of speed.
The advances sometimes go a step beyond finding a gap in the regulations, and become a break in the rules. When that happens, whether the innovation is winning races or proving to be a safety hazard, it can be outlawed by F1’s governing body, the FIA.
