Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, has officially tightened the 2027 technical regulations to outlaw Ferrari’s exhaust wings.
Ferrari pioneered the exhaust wing during pre-season testing in Bahrain, having found a loophole in the 2026 technical regulations to extract more downforce from the rear of the car, using exhaust gas to supply air to a tiny winglet perched atop the tailpipe.
This year, teams were allowed to place an aerodynamic device in that area of the car as long as it does not exceed 60mm from the axle and, normally, that constraint would not allow the device to extend beyond the end of the exhaust.
However, as revealed by Autosport in pre-season testing, Ferrari engineers managed to get around the problem by moving the differential as far back as possible, taking advantage of the space under the deformable structure. Because that area of the car was designed by Ferrari with that specific device in mind, which was internally dubbed FTM, that meant it was tough for rivals to copy it easily.
The exhaust wing is legal right now, but following talks with the FIA, the governing body has now decided to tidy up the regulations to block Ferrari’s solution in 2027, avoiding designs getting out of control.
In the latest version of the F1 2027 technical regulations, which was published on Friday after being ratified by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council in Macau, the FIA has implemented an exclusion zone.
Article C2.3.7 reads: “Except for tailpipe, no part of the car may lie within a right circular cylinder which intersects the planes XR = 385 and XDIF = 800, and whose axis is identical to, and diameter 20mm greater than, that of the right circular cylinder defined in C3.9.2(g).”
Mercedes has been running with a small bracket atop the tailpipe since Miami.
Photo by: Andrej Isakovic / AFP via Getty Images
From Miami onwards rival teams, including Mercedes, found a different loophole to use an exhaust tailpipe bracket and have it act as a winglet, even if it’s less powerful than Ferrari’s baked-in solution. But that loophole now also appears closed after the FIA heavily revamped the relevant article in the regulations, C3.9, which places further restrictions on the placement and shape of the tailpipe and any adjacent bodywork.
Austria trials
During Friday’s first practice, Lewis Hamilton was seen driving his SF-26 with the exhaust wing attached, while images show rookie driver Dino Beganovic was initially using the device before having it removed for the remainder of the session.
It is understood to be a comparative test between the two configurations for later events this year. Having a rookie driver in the car anyway, instead of regular driver Charles Leclerc, meant Austria FP1 was an opportunity to trial the set-up with little downside.
Depending on the results, the wingless set-up could be deployed later this year at lower-downforce circuits, such as Monza, where the benefit of the extra downforce might not outweigh the corresponding drag penalty.
Other 2027 clampdowns approved by the FIA WMSC include the position of the floor body stays and their interaction with the sidepod bodywork, and further restrictions on the suspension design and the behaviour of the dampers.
Dino Beganovic, Ferrari
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
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– The Autosport.com Team
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