Banned technology register
Every clever thing a team built that Formula 1 then outlawed — what was exploited, the hole in the rulebook that permitted it, and the exact mechanism that closed it.
- Cases
- 22
- Span
- 1969–2024
- Legal when raced
- 19/22
- Closure mechanisms
- 6
Rules change through at least five mechanisms, and they are not interchangeable. FRIC was killed by an unpublished technical directive. Racing Point’s brake ducts were prosecuted under the sporting regulations. The 2021 flexi-wing clampdown changed no regulation text at all. A register that recorded only “regulation amendment” would misrepresent every one of those.
| Year | Device | Team | Closed by | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Mini-DRS Verified — primary source | McLaren | Regulation amendment2025 | |
| 2021 | Flexing rear wing Verified — secondary source | Red Bull | Technical directive2021 | |
| 2020 | Dual Axis Steering (DAS) Verified — primary source | Mercedes | Regulation amendment2021 | |
| 2020 | Rear brake ducts derived from Mercedes CAD Verified — secondary source | Racing Point | Sporting regulation2020 | |
| 2019 | Fuel-flow metering exploit Unverified | Ferrari | Technical directive2026 | |
| 2014 | FRIC — front-and-rear interconnected suspension Verified — primary source | Mercedes, Lotus | Technical directive2014 | |
| 2011 | Off-throttle exhaust-blown diffuser Verified — secondary source | Red Bull | Technical directive2012 | |
| 2010 | F-duct Verified — secondary source | McLaren | Regulation amendment2011 | |
| 2009 | Double-decker diffuser Verified — primary source | Brawn, Toyota, Williams | Court ruling2011 | |
| 2006 | Tuned mass damper Verified — primary source | Renault | Court ruling2006 | |
| 1999 | Bargeboards — alleged non-compliance, then disproved Verified — primary source | Ferrari | Court ruling1999 | |
| 1998 | Brake steer Verified — secondary source | McLaren | Steward decision1998 | |
| 1994 | Launch-control software in the ECU Verified — secondary source | Benetton | No rule change | |
| 1994 | The skid block (plank) Verified — secondary source | — | Regulation amendment1994 | |
| 1992 | Active suspension, traction control, ABS, automatic gearbox Verified — secondary source | Williams | Regulation amendment1994 | |
| 1986 | Unrestricted turbo boost Verified — primary source | Brabham, Williams, McLaren, Lotus | Regulation amendment1989 | |
| 1984 | Lead shot in the water-injection tank Verified — secondary source | Tyrrell | Steward decision1984 | |
| 1982 | Water-cooled brake ballast tank Verified — secondary source | Brabham, Williams | Court ruling1982 | |
| 1981 | Twin chassis Verified — secondary source | Lotus | Steward decision1981 | |
| 1978 | Fan car Verified — secondary source | Brabham | No rule change1978 | |
| 1976 | Six wheels — four 254 mm front tyres Verified — primary source | Tyrrell | Regulation amendment1983 | |
| 1969 | Tall strut-mounted wings Likely | Lotus, Brabham, Ferrari | Regulation amendment1969 |
What this register does not cover
There is no public Technical Directive register anywhere. Technical directives are confidential correspondence between the FIA and the teams, and they are a real mechanism for banning a device — the FRIC ban was one, and the 2021 flexi-wing clampdown was another. Any claim of completeness over “rule changes” that omits them is false, so this register states the exclusion instead of implying coverage.
The register is also incomplete by construction: 22 cases are seeded so far, against roughly 60 identified. Cases arrive with a source, not before it.