FIA closes Ferrari exhaust winglet loophole for 2027

The FIA has rewritten Formula 1’s 2027 technical regulations to ban Ferrari-style exhaust winglet concepts, closing a loophole Ferrari used to generate rear downforce. The update, published after approval by the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Macau, adds an exclusion zone around the tailpipe in Article C2.3.7 and tightens rules on exhaust-support structures, with the FIA saying it wants to stop similar ideas from developing further.

Ferrari introduced the device on its SF-26 during pre-season testing in Bahrain, directing exhaust gases toward a small winglet above the tailpipe to improve airflow and rear downforce. The concept remained legal under the 2026 rules and will stay legal for the rest of this season. Ferrari has been evaluating whether to keep running it at every circuit, and in Austrian Grand Prix practice Lewis Hamilton’s car kept the winglet while Dino Beganovic’s ran without it.

The revised wording also appears aimed at a separate tailpipe-bracket loophole that Mercedes and other teams had found earlier in the season, with teams including Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull later developing similar interpretations. Those versions will also be blocked when the 2027 rules take effect, as the FIA moves to cut off aerodynamic workarounds across the grid.