If you are interested in how the construction of F1 car is an equilibrium between technological advances and hard limits set by the FIA just go through the "Technical Regulations" section on the right hand side at http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/rules_and_regulations/tech..., "approved by the FIA" is a very common phrase.
Software-related excerpt from "Electrical systems":
"The electrical and software systems of all cars are inspected by the FIA at the start of the season and the teams must notify them in advance of any subsequent changes. All teams must use the same FIA-specification Electronic Control Unit (ECU) for controlling engine and gearbox.
All software must be registered with the FIA, who check all the programmable systems on the cars prior to each event to ensure that the correct software versions are being used. Electronic systems which can automatically detect the race start signal are forbidden."
"notify them in advance of any subsequent changes", right...
Software-related excerpt from "Electrical systems":
"The electrical and software systems of all cars are inspected by the FIA at the start of the season and the teams must notify them in advance of any subsequent changes. All teams must use the same FIA-specification Electronic Control Unit (ECU) for controlling engine and gearbox.
All software must be registered with the FIA, who check all the programmable systems on the cars prior to each event to ensure that the correct software versions are being used. Electronic systems which can automatically detect the race start signal are forbidden."
"notify them in advance of any subsequent changes", right...