F1’s sudden engine change for 2027 explained
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What changes are being made to F1's engine regulations for 2027?
The Athletic.
The race is on, and F1 has committed to making bigger evolutionary changes by rolling back on the 50-50 electric conventional engine split in 2027 as it pushes to make the most of the current power units. So what are the implications of that, and what do we know about the pathway F1 has embarked upon for the mooted switch to V8 engines? I'm Ed Straw, and here to unravel the technical and political intrigue are John Noble and Ben Anderson. Well, the big news is that F1 has announced its intention, its commitment in principle to increasing the power of the V6 and slightly reducing the deployment power of the MG UK in 2027. So, John, what exactly do we know about the changes? What's happening?
There is, as you've mentioned, it's an agreement in principle. So there's nothing's been finalised. It's still got a long way to go before it's in the regulations. But there are four key changes that are on the table for next season. Only two of these were mentioned in the press release.
What are the implications of moving away from the 50/50 engine split?
The first one is increasing the ICE. You increase that power by 50 kilowatts. You pull back the battery power deployment by 50 kilowatts. So the famed 50-50 split gets more towards 60-40 in favor of the ICE. On top of that, they're evaluating bigger batteries. So potentially we jump from maybe 4 megajoules to 5 megajoules. And then further tweaks to harvesting, which at the moment is capped at 350 kilowatts. So potentially you can lift that to 400, 450 kilowatts. And the end result of that is more power in, which gives you more power out, more energy available, and hopefully get rid of these energy-starved cars struggling especially in qualifying. So, Ben, is this a moment for you to celebrate?
Would you like to briefly just take a moment to enjoy it?
Oh, yeah. If I'd had time and we didn't have to record this podcast so rapidly, I'd have put the bunting up. I'd have got the streamers out. I'd be blowing my party whistle. I mean, it's not 50-50 engines completely in the bin. And just to move back to more simple times where whatever your right foot does is the response you get. But it's a massive step in the right direction if it goes all through and if it means an end to ridiculous super clipping, terrible closing speeds, drivers getting punished for not driving the corners properly and basically being rewarded for going slower rather than faster through the turns, then I'm all for it. I think this is a great move. I think it's ridiculous... On the one hand, the F1 is essentially binning the core principle of these new engine regulations after four races.
But nevertheless, I completely welcome it.
Yeah, it's definitely a much bigger step in the right direction than what they did in Miami, I would say. There's still going to be limitations because it's still with similar hardware and it's only going to be the complete reset of the new engines down the line. That puts F1 back on a totally even keel.
How will the new V6 engine changes affect performance?
But it's a very positive step. And I have to say, John, I'm slightly surprised they've done this. We'll get on to some of the details and complications shortly. But what's the political landscape that's led to this slightly unexpected decision on this timeline?
Yeah, it is fascinating. When we first got kind of wind that this was on the table, it was a couple of weeks ago, we ran the story that it's up for discussion, it's being debated, it could come in 27 or 28, but our source said it needs to be decided before the Canadian Grand Prix, which we thought, oh, that's a ridiculous timeframe. Absolutely no way you'll get any consensus on that. And then in the Miami paddock, speaking to people, Teams concerned about the chassis implications, which we'll go into. Concerned about the work needed for power units. Time's very, very tight now because work's already advancing quite quickly into 27. So it seemed, on basis, not realistic. We've got a step forward today.
It's an agreement in principle to the concept, but it would be wrong to say that all those concerns have now been wiped away, everything sorted, and there's a clear roadmap, which means everything's in place for the first race of 2027.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What changes are being made to F1's engine regulations for 2027?
0:02–1:09
2
What are the implications of moving away from the 50/50 engine split?
1:09–3:07
3
How will the new V6 engine changes affect performance?
3:07–17:35
4
What political factors influenced F1's engine regulation changes?
17:35–51:59
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Race F1 Podcast
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