FIA announce changes to Formula E for the 2017 season

Last week saw the FIA announcing that they have made few adjustments to Formula E's sporting regulations for next season which is set to get underway on October 9th in Hong Kong.

One of the main changes that have come out of the World Motorsport Council meeting is that the fastest lap will only give a driver one point rather than two points.

The two points for fastest lap played an important role in deciding the last season's World Championship, as Sebastien Buemi was holding fastest lap which would have won him the championship.

However, in the closing stages, it was taken away from him by race winner Sam Bird which allowed Nelson Piquet Jr to win the championship by one point.

In addition, the sport will introduce licence points, which will be a similar system to that used in Formula One where drivers are handed penalty points for driving infringements.

Also, there will be an introduction of a “Power Ramp Down” when the consumption limit is exceeded, which should automatically reduce the power of the car if a driver exceeds the required amount of energy usage during an ePrix. How this system will work will be explained over the next few days.

These changes were announced the same day that reports were circulating last Friday via social media that the FIA have rejected the proposed draft calendar for 2016/2017 season which features New York, Brussels and Montreal.

The FIA have not released a statement saying they have rejected Formula E's proposal, but Formula E was hoping next season's calendar would be announced today.

A possible reason for the delay in approval is the two-month gap between the second and third rounds of the championship.

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa