The F1 strategy group has agreed to provide more space for team sponsorships.
Advertising in F1 is one of the main sources of income for the various teams on the grid. The different brands that sponsor the teams, and that even in some cases like Force India, determine the colors of the car, are a great source of income for the teams. The negotiations that the teams have with their advertising sources concern the space they will have in the car. The teams have agreed to promote measures to expand the space for advertising.
This will directly affect aerodynamics. One of the measures that was discussed is to simplify the rear wing, to avoid that aerodynamic modifications hide the sponsors located in this part of the car. The top part of this wing should be completely flat, without any relief.
The badgeboards were also discussed. They are the deflectors that are located under the air intake located behind the front wheels, in the area of the legs of the drivers. The regulation of 2017 forced the teams to increase their size and this has resulted in a difficulty for the visibility of the sponsorship. It is one of the most privileged and requested points for advertising, and the strategy group wants to force the bargeboards to be located in a lower area of the car.
All these modifications will allow the teams to spend less money on the section of aerodynamics, but according to the F1 strategy group, these changes are difficult to justify, since they do not have any technical reason. Looking ahead in 2018, the controversial shark fin that the teams have this year has already been eliminated. Teams like Mclaren complained that this aerodynamic element covers the advertising of the rear wing.
In any case, the fin will disappear next year and for 2019, up to 5 teams have been discussing and agreeing on the new measures to improve the visibility of advertising in the 2019 cars.