F1 engines to be altered for 2027 season following driver frustration

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The proposed move follows last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, where a series of rule changes were introduced that altered how much drivers were required back off to boost their engine energy harvesting on each lap, along with several measures implemented on safety grounds. But the move for 2027 is a more long-term plan, as it will require a change to the hardware those systems are designed to optimize. The aim of the changes is to make driving more intuitive for the drivers, after they voiced their frustration en masse at how the new-for-2026 engines require them to drive slower in corners and not push flat-out to avoid running out of electrical energy on subsequent straights. The 2026 engines have a near 50-50 split in how much of a car’s overall power is produced by its engine’s internal combustion component and its electrical energy systems. The increased importance of the latter almost tripled the amount of electrical energy in F1 engines from 120kW in 2025 to 350kW. The hardware changes announced on Friday will mean the engines will burn more fuel in 2027, which will increase the ICE power output by 50kW. At the same time, the electrical energy systems will be reduced in power by another 50kW. The change was agreed in principle by the key group of F1 stakeholders, but remains a proposal at this stage. An FIA statement said, “it was agreed that further detailed discussion in technical groups comprising teams and power unit manufacturers was required before the final package was decided” for 2027. The statement added: “(The proposal is) the result of a series of consultations over the past few weeks between the FIA and multi-stakeholders with invaluable input from F1 drivers. “The next step is to formally present these regulatory changes, once refined, for a World Motor Sport Council e-vote once the power unit manufacturers have voted on this package.” The 2027 changes were discussed during an online meeting the FIA convened on Friday that involved the five F1 engine builders (Audi, Ferrari, Honda, Mercedes and Red Bull-Ford), the 11 F1 team principals and representatives from the F1 organization. The meeting and the implementation of the Miami changes — which the FIA statement said “resulted in improved competition and were a step in the right direction” — come a week after FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said in Miami that F1 would likely return to using V8 engines from 2030 or 2031. The latter is when the current cycle of rules is set to formally end, but large car design rule changes could come a year earlier if enough F1 stakeholders vote to support such a move. Over the Miami weekend, many F1 drivers said the initial systems changes to the 2026 engines were indeed an improvement, but they generally wished they went further. A change to the fuel flow rules that currently limit each F1 car to using 70kg for a full race distance should go another step to addressing this. This is because it would in theory be easier to both harvest the remaining required electrical energy and avoid cars having to recharge on straights around the increase in ICE output. But the fuel flow alteration will require bigger fuel tanks to accommodate a higher amount of permitted fuel. Up to the end of 2025, 100kg of fuel was allowed per car. The design alterations have to be made carefully to avoid causing fuel-related reliability issues on the engines. If were possible for more fuel to be added to an engine currently in use in 2026 (ie if it had a bigger enough tank to accommodated an increased flow rate) the increase in ICE power stemming from this may over-stress the parts involved. This and the long lead times for designing and building F1 engines had previously made the suggestion of a fuel alteration unlikely for in the short term. But Friday’s announcement suggests many stakeholders feel it is indeed possible. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms