Following a high-level meeting on Tuesday at Pirelli's headquarters in Milan of Formula 1's bosses, it has been decided that the sport's 2017 technical regulations shall be formalised by February 29.
The landmark meeting, which according to Autosport included Bernie Ecclestone, FIA President Jean Todt, Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne as well as drivers Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Massa, Valterri Bottas and Nico Rosberg, centered around Pirelli's concerns about its 2017 tyre supply and the number of testing days scheduled for this year.
The Italian manufacturer wishes to ramp up its efforts to supply more competitive but less degrading rubber as it responds to drivers' requests to push further to the limit.
But to do so it also requires an adequate development schedule this year, thus its urge for additional testing days, a demand fully supported by Bernie Ecclestone.
A meeting of F1's authorities at Heathrow hit a road block last Friday when it failed to achieve any meaningful results, to the extent that the introduction of new regulations was then foreseen for 2018.
Although talks in Milan mainly focused around Pirelli's tyre concerns, further discussions relating to the future technical regulations did take place.
While no firm decisions were set in stone, participants did agree to finalize the implementation of the new regulations by February 29. Beyond this date, any decisions regarding new regulations or change to existing ones would require a unanimous consent.
In the interim, F1's technical bosses will meet once again with the Strategy Group and F1 Commission set to reconvene on February 23.
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