FIA confirms major F1 2027 engine rules shift as electrical ratio revealed

The FIA has revealed that a change to the power unit regulations has been agreed for F1 2027, with a rebalancing of the electrical energy ratio against internal combustion.

The power unit regulations have been tweaked with software changes in recent weeks, but more tangible changes are on the way for F1 2027.

F1 2027 power unit rules changed after FIA and manufacturer talks

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Following a meeting of team bosses with the FIA, FOM, and the power unit manufacturers, wider-scale changes to the F1 2027 power unit regulations have been agreed in principle.

Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, a series of tweaks aimed at refining the current ruleset were revealed, with the aim of restoring a more natural driving dynamic after widespread criticism over the first three race weekends.

A revision to the superclipping limit, from 250kW to 350kW, was a big part of this, as was a change to allow for lower limits of maximum harvestable energy around a lap, both changes that would permit more natural driving without as much focus on energy harvesting.

While the energy-rich nature of the Miami circuit will undoubtedly have played a part in this, the race itself had far less of the yo-yo overtaking that had been prevalent through the first trio of weekends, and the drivers, by and large, pointed to a more natural driving experience behind the wheel.

As part of the evolution of the rules, a number of proposals aimed at introducing hardware changes have now been agreed in principle, expanding beyond the tweaking of software that has defined the current path of change.

To that end, there has been “unanimous commitment” to introduce longer-term measures, and an agreed change is to the ratio of electrical energy against the internal combustion engine.

At present, this split has been colloquially referred to as a 50/50 split, although it was closer to a 55/45 split in the internal combustion engine’s favour.

A change in this split was never likely to happen in the short-term, due to the hardware changes required, but suggestions of a change to go back in favour of the ICE have been mooted for some time.

Now, it’s confirmed that the changes for 2027 will see an increase in ICE power by around 50kW, and a corresponding reduction of the energy recovery system by around 50kW.

This 100kW swing would mean a split of around 60/40 in favour of the ICE, with the combustion side of the engine supplying around 450kW and the battery 300kW.

In order to make this change, a fuel-flow increase has also been agreed, and further discussions aimed at refining these changes will be held amongst the relevant technical groups.

The idea of raising the fuel flow limit was one that was raised during the Miami weekend, with Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen saying that a decision on this topic was needed “now” if it was to be made for 2027.

“More fuel means a bigger fuel tank and a different chassis,” he said.

“Not every team will be planning to make a new chassis for next year, because, with the budget cap now, you spend your money where the most performance is.

“It may not be that a new chassis is where the most performance is. But of course, if your chassis, if your fuel tanks are not big enough to take 10-20 extra litres, you’d have to do it, and you’d have to know that now, or very soon.

“We’ve seen a lot of regulation changes in the last few weeks. I hope it calms down a bit, but our ability to react will be stretched if we start getting major changes in the next few months for next year.”

A statement on the changes from the FIA said, “The final proposals presented during today’s meeting are 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 2026 regulations were developed and agreed in close partnership between the FIA, FOM, teams, OEMs and Power Unit Manufacturers. Today’s proposals were discussed against the backdrop of this spirit of collaboration.”

Separately, a review of the modifications for Miami, which were aimed at improving safety and reducing the excessive harvesting techniques, has concluded that they have resulted in improved competition, “with no material issues or concerns arising”.

Evolution throughout 2026 is expected to continue with a view to further adjustments as the regulation cycle starts to mature.

Following on from tweaks made before the season opener in Australia in light of start safety concerns, more improved revisions are expected, as well as to improve safety in wet conditions, although these changes are yet to be defined.

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