F1 teams are facing a shake-up in their car setups with the introduction of a new technical directive from the FIA, affecting how low they can run their cars.

In Formula 1, ride height is a key factor for performance, as running a car lower to the ground increases downforce. However, the FIA has strict rules about the floor plank that sits under the car as it must be at least 10mm thick before a race and no less than 9mm afterward, with only 1mm of wear allowed. If the wear exceeds this limit, teams risk disqualification, like what happened to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the 2023 United States Grand Prix.

To manage wear on the plank, teams use skid blocks, typically made of titanium, in areas where the most wear is likely to occur. These blocks help protect the plank during the race.

The rules also allowed teams to install additional satellite skid blocks further away from the measuring points on the floor. However, the previous regulations did not specify the thickness of these satellite blocks, giving some teams a chance to exploit this gap by using thicker blocks, which reduced wear on the main skids and allowed them to lower their cars even more.

According to reports from Motorsport.com and Auto Motor und Sport, Ferrari and a few other teams were taking advantage of this loophole, adding thicker satellite skids to improve their setups. Red Bull, concerned about the unfair advantage this gave their rivals, raised the issue with the FIA following the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

In response, the FIA moved quickly, issuing a new directive that bans these additional support skids, starting from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

With this change, teams will need to reconsider their ride height settings, as they can no longer rely on the extra protection of satellite skids, which could lead to a performance disadvantage, as a higher ride height would reduce the downforce their cars generate.