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Formula 1’s transition to the new 2026 engine and chassis regulations completely reshuffled the competitive order, but the rulebook is far from finalised. As teams prepare for their second year under the new formula in 2027, the FIA is pushing to mandate another drop in downforce.
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Early reports indicate the governing body is targeting a reduction of 20 to 50 points of downforce for the 2027 season. To achieve this, the FIA plans to ban several key rear aerodynamic elements in a bid to improve hybrid energy management and reduce the turbulent “dirty air” that prevents cars from following each other closely.
A looming development war
But Mercedes technical director James Allison recently cautioned that writing a rule to slow down a Formula 1 car rarely stops the grid’s top engineers from finding a way around it.
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Speaking on the NUSilver Arrows Radio Show podcast, Allison confirmed the scope of the FIA’s proposed aerodynamic restrictions while simultaneously throwing down the gauntlet for the upcoming development war.
“All I know is that the cars are going to be losing a bit of downforce from the new regs, more than a bit,” Allison explained.
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Historically, the relationship between the FIA and Formula 1 constructors is a perpetual game of cat and mouse. The governing body alters the rulebook to limit cornering speeds on safety and racing grounds, and the teams immediately spend millions of dollars in the wind tunnel to recover the exact downforce the FIA attempted to take away.
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According to Allison, the 2027 regulation cycle will be no different.
“They’ve had a good go at trying to pull the downforce back to [the] start of the 2026 era,” Allison noted.
“It’ll be interesting to see whether the teams lie down and take that or whether we recover it all or not,” he added.
If Mercedes’ massive leap forward in 2026 is any indication, Allison’s engineering department in Brackley has zero intention of lying down. The technical battle lines for the 2027 season have officially been drawn.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
