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Motorsport

Filip Cleeren

F1 weighing shorter races as concerns over 2027 engine tweaks emerge

FIA Ayao Komatsu F1 Max Verstappen Ferrari Haas

Formula 1's governing body the FIA is trying to hammer out a compromise to get 2027 power unit changes through, which could include shortening certain races.

The 2026 F1 power unit regulations have gotten off to a flawed start, featuring power-starved cars that introduced many undesired side-effects to the on-track product. The series had already introduced a first batch of changes at the recent Miami Grand Prix aimed at mitigating some of the most pressing issues, like removing the need for drivers to aggressively lift and coast on a qualifying lap.

But there is a general understanding that more fundamental hardware changes are required to move the current ruleset in the right direction, which involves moving towards a 60-40 split between combustion power and electric energy.

But while the FIA announced earlier this month that there was an "agreement in principle" between F1 stakeholders and power unit manufacturers to make those changes for 2027, largely achieved by increasing the fuel flow and reducing energy deployment, that plan has since hit the skids due to practical and political obstacles. Audi, Ferrari and Honda are all known to have voted against the FIA's original proposal, falling well short of the supermajority needed to fast-track hardware changes.

The issue is the finer detail of how exactly to achieve that 60-40 split and when, prompting the need for additional talks this weekend in the Canadian Grand Prix paddock.

The biggest hurdle appears to be the timing of the change rather than the proposed tweaks themselves. With 2027 car projects well under way, increased fuel flow and therefore fuel tank capacity would have forced several teams to change their chassis for next year. Many were instead planning to re-use the current design to save resources.

Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu warned against making any moves that would further drive up costs for teams, whether or not that came paired with an additional cost cap allowance. "The thing I'd like the FIA and F1 management to hear about the team's point is about the cost," Komatsu said. "These PU regulations are already so expensive. If this is going to cost every team an extra 5 or 10 million, that's certainly not the right direction for us."

A compromise has now emerged whereby the FIA would introduce more gradual changes for 2027 that wouldn't force teams into a chassis change. The governing body has asked engine manufacturers to calculate if an increase in fuel flow is achievable without drastic hardware changes, and whether or not that would prompt the need to reduce race distances on certain power-hungry circuits to achieve it.

The 2026 cars currently rely on a near-50:50 split between engine and electrical power (Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images)

According to calculations, it is understood that compromise could be pulled off by reducing the grand prix distance by one or two laps at around four circuits on the calendar, further helped by allowing just a single reconnaissance lap to the starting grid.

"We have already spoken and come to an agreement, certainly at team principal level, that if anyone wanted to carry their chassis over and that wasn't quite big enough to do a 310 km race, then we would look at selective races and, of course, only where absolutely necessary by shortening them by maybe one or two laps, limiting laps to the grid to one," Racing Bulls team boss Alan Permane said. "So, of course, maximising any potential race length, but that's already in place and ready to go."

While that solution would cover off any immediate concerns over the chassis, there are still outstanding issues on the power unit side and the so-called ADUO system [additional development and upgrade opportunities], a catch-up mechanic for underperforming manufacturers to get additional dyno and cost cap allowance to improve their V6 engines.

The FIA is keen to keep ADUO completely separate from the discussions around a 60-40 split, but if physical hardware changes are going to be required, then it remains to be seen how that would interfere with any existing ADUO allowances.

The other issue is human resources. The engineers tasked with tweaking the engines based on ADUO would also be the same ones having to implement hardware changes for 2027. It is believed that this is the main reason why the likes of Ferrari do support the FIA's changes themselves, but feel a delay until 2028 is much more achievable.

Carlos Sainz, Williams (Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images)

Will drivers get their wish?

On Thursday many drivers said the proposed changes for 2027 were a step in the right direction, if not enough to fundamentally fix the regulations once and for all. But with different political agendas at play, whether they will get their wish or not remains to be seen. In any case, the clock keeps ticking and any further delays will gradually make meaningful change harder to pull off.

"There's a very interesting proposal for 2027, a proposal that I think goes exactly in line to where the sport I think should go," Williams driver Carlos Sainz said on Thursday. "Unfortunately, like always in this sport, there will be politics involved and different interests involved across the main manufacturers that will push back and push forward depending on what they're looking for.

"That's why I can just ask the FIA and FOM to be tough with what they believe is the right thing for the sport and even if you need to vote, that they can still stand firm and believe in what's right for the sport."

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who has been disillusioned with F1 2026's battery driven "anti-racing", said the changes would change his outlook on staying in the series.

"Yes, definitely," he said. "I just want a good product in Formula 1 and that will for sure improve the product.

He added: "I think it's like the minimum I was hoping for, and I think it's really nice that that's what they want to do. That's definitely what I think the sport needs."