Parc Fermé & Technical Rules

From the moment qualifying starts, each car enters parc fermé — a regulated state in which teams may only make a short list of permitted adjustments. The idea is simple: the car you qualify must be, in essence, the car you race.

Without this rule a team could bolt on a low-downforce, low-fuel special just for one qualifying lap, then rebuild the car for the race. Parc fermé closes that door. Break it — change a wing setting, swap to a wet setup that is not allowed — and the driver must start from the pit lane rather than their earned grid slot.

A few changes are still allowed, because they are about safety or conditions rather than performance: teams can adjust the front-wing flap angle, change tyres and brakes, top up fluids, and make limited tweaks if the weather turns. Anything beyond that list needs the scrutineers’ sign-off, and doing it without permission is what triggers the pit-lane start.