The following document details the key rules and regulations to follow and abide by all Teams in the FVA Formula Virtual World Championship; these rules and regulations have been set out by the Formula Virtual Association, the governing body of Virtual Motorsport. Depending on the severity, any Team or driver found to be failing to comply with any rule or regulation will find themselves at risk of severe penalty or exclusion from the Formula Virtual World Championship. Whilst this page will only include the most relevant information, the full document will be sent to all Teams for the 2027 season.
Engines and Fuel
Engine suppliers are responsible for building an engine in which themselves and all the Competitors they are supplying will use for that season. Any engine supplier may not directly or indirectly supply more than four (4) Competitors without the consent of the FVA.
Formula Virtual cars must use E10 fuel, which is a mixture of 90% regular petrol and 10% ethanol.
Engine suppliers must ensure their engine is either a V8, V10, or V12 and must inform the FVA of this.
A V8 engine will give a bonus performance in torque.
A V12 engine will give a bonus in horsepower.
A V10 engine will give a balance.
Engine manufacturers will no longer gain bonuses from having multiple customer teams. Instead, all engine manufacturers in Formula Virtual will have ten (10) development points per season to spend. After the fifth round of the season, these can be spent during the season they are allocated or during the following season, with no more than four (4) being spent at one time. Any time an engine is developed it cannot be developed again until two (2) further races have passed, with development being allowed again at the third (3) race after.
Engine manufacturers will have to pay £2,000,000 per season but receive engine upgrades immediately.
Customer teams will not have to pay any fee but will receive engine upgrades two (2) races after the factory team.
Tyres
Teams are allocated six (6) choices of each specification of tyre per car for use in the Championship, assuming a Championship with eighteen (18) races. This means that each individual car in a Team may only use the Medium tyre, for example, in six (6) races throughout the year.
Driver Changes
During a Championship each Team will be permitted to use a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of three (3) drivers in races without penalty. Additional changes of drivers may be made at any time before the strategy deadline but will incur a penalty of £1,000,000 each time a new driver is entered into a race. Changes for reasons of force majeure will be considered separately. If a Team is forced into a driver change, outside of their allocation, by an injury; no fine will be incurred.
Competitors will be permitted to use additional drivers during Practice sessions, providing that:
a) The FVA are informed which cars and drivers each Team intends to use in each session by the strategy deadline. Any requests for a change of driver in a Practice session received after the strategy deadline will only be made with special dispensation from the FVA.
b) No more than two (2) drivers are used in any one (1) session.
c) They carry the competition number that has been allocated to them.
d) They use the engine and tyres which are allocated to the nominated driver.
Race Weekend
Each race weekend will feature: a single Free Practice session, lasting one (1) hour; a fifteen (15) minute Pre-Qualifying session; a thirty (30) minute Qualifying session; and the Race.
For the first five (5) races, the Pre-Qualifying session will feature all Teams who finished eleventh (11) and lower in the previous Championship. From round six (6), the Teams currently eleventh (11) or lower in the current Championship will compete in Pre-Qualifying.
Penalties
Following a race, the race stewards will notify Teams of any incident investigations and Teams whose drivers are involved will be asked to present their cases to the FVA. The race stewards may impose any of the penalties below on any driver involved in a serious incident:
a) A drop of any number of grid positions at the driver’s next race.
b) Disqualification from the results.
c) Suspension from the driver’s next race.
d) Any further penalty if the FVA sees fit.
Financial Regulations
Teams are responsible for the maintaining of their finances and must observe the Financial Regulations laid out by the FVA. Any Teams found to be in breach of these Regulations will be at risk of severe penalty or exclusion from the Championship. In order for a Team to receive end of season prize money, they must have at least one (1) classified finish during the course of the season. The full 2027 Prize Money table is as below:
1st £40,000,000
2nd £37,500,000
3rd £35,000,000
4th £33,000,000
5th £31,000,000
6th £29,000,000
7th £27,500,000
8th £26,000,000
9th £24,500,000
10th £23,000,000
11th £22,000,000
12th £21,000,000
13th £20,000,000
14th £19,000,000
15th £18,000,000
NC £0
Driver Improvement
At the end of each season, drivers receive ability improvements on the condition that they have competed in at least five (5) races throughout the season. Drivers can also receive extra ability improvements depending on their individual successes during a season. This system will remain private and no person except the Series Organiser will know how this works.
Driver Retirement
Drivers will no longer automatically retire from Formula Virtual solely based on a specific age. Instead, there will be a natural ability drop off which will ultimately lead to Teams not signing the driver.
a) Once a driver is over the age of forty (40) and they have not been signed to a Formula Virtual Team for at least three (3) full seasons, they will be officially retired from Formula Virtual.
b) A Team who currently holds the contract of a driver over the age of thirty-five (35) (or is turning 35 during the season) and has had that driver under contract for at least three (3) full seasons, has the right to request the retirement of the driver. The Team must present a case to the series organiser in order to gain permission to announce a driver’s retirement. The series organiser has the right to deny permission for a driver retirement.
c) A retired driver cannot be contracted to a Formula Virtual Team again.
d) A driver who is retired from Formula Virtual is still eligible to compete in other Virtual Motorsport series, with other series having their own individual rules regarding driver retirement. This also applies to a driver who has been ‘prematurely’ retired from Formula Virtual, however any Team wishing to sign them to another Virtual Motorsport series must gain permission from the individual who retired them from Formula Virtual.
Car Development
Team Managers are permitted to develop either their current car (Development) or their car for the following season (Research). Each Development point for the current season will cost £300,000. Each Research point for the following season will cost £500,000.
a) The maximum number of Development points per race is four (4).
b) The maximum number of Research points per race is eight (8).
c) Team Managers must present this to the series organiser before the strategy deadline.
d) 20% of in season Development will be carried over to the car for the following season, which may then be allocated to whichever development area the Team Manager chooses. So, for example, if a team develops thirty (30) Development points throughout the season, six (6) additional development points will then be made available for the following year’s car.
e) The development areas for the 2027 season are: Chassis, Downforce, Drag, Driveability, and Launch.
Deadlines
Each Team is required to send in their strategy and development for a race before the deadline set by the Series Organiser. Failure to do so and without a valid reason given before the deadline will mean the following penalties are applied:
First offence: Exclusion from Qualifying. A Team in Pre-Qualifying will automatically fail to qualify for the race. Plus £1,000,000 fine.
a) A Team which has had one (1) or more cars excluded from Qualifying will have their drivers placed on the same tyre compound which they selected for the previous race.
Second offence: Exclusion from the Race Weekend. Plus £2,000,000 fine.
a) If a Team is excluded from the Race Weekend who does not compete in Pre-Qualifying, an additional two places on the final grid will be made available to Teams in the Pre-Qualifying session.
Third offence: Exclusion from the Race Weekend and the participation of the Team placed under review. Plus £3,000,000 fine.
Driver Bidding
A Team Manager can make a bid on a driver (except for those who are already in a contract for the following season) once the bidding window opens, expected to be after round nine (9). When a Team Manager makes a bid; they must state which driver, their bidding price, and publicly inform all the other Team Managers. The bid must match the driver's current sitting price. For the bid to be successful it must stand uninterrupted for five (5) consecutive days. Another Team Manager can challenge the bid by bidding higher, therefore resetting the five (5) day waiting period. If another Team Manager decides to enter a driver bidding war, they must raise the bid by at least 50,000.
If a Team Manager successfully wins the bid for one of their current drivers, they will receive a 25% discount on that driver. For 2027, returning teams will receive a 50% discount on a driver who was signed for them in 2024.
A Team Manager can only bid on two (2) drivers at the same time who are outside of the Team. A period of five (5) days must pass from the bid being placed before the Team can bid on any other driver, regardless of the bid for the driver continuing between other Teams.
The option for a Team to withdraw a bid on a driver is not allowed, ensuring Teams will only bid on drivers they were genuinely interested in signing. Teams may only be allowed to withdraw a bid if there is a valid and honest reason and must be accepted by the Series Organiser.
Teams must use their overall balance to bid for drivers as well as developing their car.