The announcement of the Formula 1 rule changes scheduled to take effect from the Miami Grand Prix left fans wanting more, really wanting more. But it seems the story did not end there. Although patches for this season have already been approved, negotiations continue to radically overhaul the power distribution ahead of 2027.
According to The Race, Liberty Media, the FIA, and the teams are still discussing steering the balance toward 65/35 or even 75/25 for the next season, reducing what can be deployed by the electric portion. The curious thing is that all this happens at the same time that Stefano Domenicali, Formula 1’s CEO, boasts that people like the new races.
Reducing electric capacity, the main objective of the negotiations
Formula 1 had planned to use the April break to negotiate new rules, and the outcome could not have been more disappointing. Merely patches that will have little effect, and in return a bailout for Mercedes that could make the racing even more predictable. But there is good news: apparently negotiations for 2027 are not over yet.
According to the British outlet The Race, Formula 1 assumes that the Miami patches will barely cover up the issues for a while, but a deeper remodel will be needed for 2027. And what is being considered there is very decisive: drastically reducing the electric deployment in favor of combustion.
In fact, what is being studied is a 65/35 ratio in favor of combustion, instead of the current 55/45. Moreover, there is talk of a hybrid format in which the ratio would be 75/25 in the classification to ward off the super clipping altogether, and reduce it to 65/35 during the race, unlocking electric power.
Curiously, the hardest part would be convincing Mercedes, the brand that is currently dominating Formula 1 and therefore wants to make as few tweaks as possible. The odd thing is that Mercedes itself was one of the brands open to changing the regulation when it was proposed before the start of it, last season.
The positive is that Mercedes does not have veto power, neither as an engine supplier nor by the number of teams, even though they supply four. And Audi, which initially was the strongest proponent of electrification, would now be willing to change the power split to achieve better results and, above all, to prevent Formula 1 from going under just as they enter.
According to Domenicali “people don’t care about the super clipping. If it bothers you, you’re too purist”. But behind the scenes, it seems the reports they handle say something else.
Images | Formula 1
