Ferrari stunned, rivals relieved: FIA bans clever trick for 2027

The brightest minds at the eleven Formula 1 teams are working feverishly to find loopholes in the new regulations in order to gain a technical advantage. And this all began at the Formula 1 winter test in Bahrain last February.

Anyone watching the Ferrari SF-26 might have wondered: ‘Hang on, what’s that new wing above the gearbox? With this small metal wing positioned directly behind the exhaust pipe, the Italians are aiming for more downforce; it also helps manage the complex airflow in the lower rear wing area.

The 2026 engines demand a very idiosyncratic driving style: to charge the battery, the drivers deliberately take many corners in lower gears, thereby running at higher revs. This creates a more constant exhaust flow.

Almost nothing is new in Formula 1: we saw this 15 years ago, and no one mastered this trick of utilising exhaust gases better than Adrian Newey at Red Bull Racing.

Copying is part and parcel of the business in the premier class, so it would be natural to think: right, then we’ll soon be seeing this solution on other cars too. But it’s not quite that simple.

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This is because Formula 1 has stipulated a wing-free mini-zone in that area (6 cm behind the rear axle). Ferrari, however, had designed its differential and gearbox in such a way that the small wing did not breach this 6-cm rule. In other words: their rivals have to come up with something else to achieve the same result. Ferrari had thus gained a rare advantage.

Rival teams were unable to copy the Ferrari concept exactly, but they found ways and means to implement similar ideas by exploiting another loophole in the regulations. Top teams such as Mercedes, Red Bull Racing and McLaren incorporated wings by exploiting the overly lenient regulations regarding the exhaust pipe support.

Now there is good news from the FIA, the world motorsport governing body, for teams without additional wings: the trick involving the additional wing will be banned from 2027!

As the FIA fears that technology in this area is becoming increasingly extreme – and therefore increasingly expensive – the rule-makers have now put a stop to it.

The 2027 regulations leave no room for manoeuvre; a new zone has been defined around the exhaust outlet which prohibits the fitting of such additional wings.