A beautiful Ferrari innovation, but now enough
When the FIA explained the 2027 regulations, it repeatedly stated that it would intervene during the season to fix the interpretation of the inevitable grey areas. This was the case for the Mercedes engine compression ratio and recently for the Mercedes toothed diffuser.
Another area has come under the Federation’s magnifying glass, namely the car exhausts on which fins directing the gases towards the rear wing have multiplied.
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The pioneer of this innovation was Ferrari, but all teams followed suit with their own interpretation, and even this weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix Red Bull brought its own version of the FTM fin to the track.
The idea was declared compliant with regulatory standards, but the Federation immediately raised the question of the appropriateness of the development war on this area of the car.
Ban official
With the publication of the first draft of the F1 2027 technical regulations, the Federation clarified at point C2.3.7 that the FTM fin has been banned: “Except for the tailpipe, no part of the car may be inside a circular cylinder intersecting the planes Xr=385 and Xdif=800, whose axis is identical, and whose diameter is greater than 20 mm, compared to that of the right circular cylinder defined in Article C3.9.3 (g).”
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As explained, the FIA decided to intervene to stop the related expenses in this area and with the clear intention of having fewer aerodynamic load points on the cars for the next Formula 1 season.
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