Racing
© Jonathan Borba
The FIA plans to open talks with Formula 1 teams over banning the exhaust-wing concepts pioneered by Ferrari for 2027, while separately preparing to rewrite the rules to close Ferrari’s halo-wing loophole after both ideas were judged legal under the current regulations.
Ferrari first exposed the exhaust concept in the final pre-season test with a wing structure mounted behind the rear tailpipe, a solution known as “flick tail mode” that is designed to influence the hot gases coming from the exhaust. The design relied on a rules allowance for extra components close to the gearbox, and on Ferrari’s rear-end packaging, with the position of its gearbox relative to the rear crash structure creating the space needed to place the wing.
What began as a Ferrari-specific idea quickly spread. Haas, which uses Ferrari rear-end hardware, introduced its own version in China. By the Miami Grand Prix, six more teams had produced alternative interpretations: McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams, Alpine and Cadillac. Those designs have been built around Article C3.9.2 of the technical regulations, which permits a single exhaust tailpipe support but does not tightly define its limits as long as it remains within the legal volumes around the tailpipe and crash structure.
The FIA accepts that the current exhaust-wing designs comply with the rules as written. Its concern is what happens next. With multiple teams already pursuing the area, the governing body wants to stop an aerodynamic development fight from escalating around the exhaust. Because that is not being framed as a safety matter, any ban would need support from the teams and would have to go through the formal rule-change process after discussions with technical directors.
Ferrari’s halo-wing idea has followed a different path. The winglets on either side of the halo’s central support first appeared on the SF-26 in the Shanghai sprint, where Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton used them before Ferrari removed the design after legality doubts raised the risk of a protest.
The FIA had identified two issues with that first version. One was the material, because the relevant fairing rules require a specific laminate under Article C15.5.2 and Ferrari’s original transparent material was not on that list. The other was Ferrari’s attempt to justify the concept under the rules for transparent elements similar to a windscreen, an argument the FIA was not fully convinced by because of the dimensional limits in that part of the rulebook.
Ferrari returned with a revised halo-wing design in Miami, this time made from an approved material, and the FIA accepted it as legal. Hamilton ran the updated part on Friday in Miami, while Leclerc did not.
Even so, the halo-wing concept is also set to come under attack for 2027. The loophole sits in Article C13.3, which allows a fairing to be attached to the secondary roll structure within the RV-Halo legality box. When Formula 1 introduced a lighter halo for 2026 with a maximum mass of 6kg, the central strut became thinner, but the RV-Halo volume around it was not reduced by the same amount. That left a gap Ferrari was able to exploit with bodywork around the central support.
The FIA now intends to close that opening on safety grounds, arguing that the area around the halo’s central strut was not meant to become an aerodynamic zone because it sits directly in the driver’s field of vision. That distinction matters, because unlike the proposed exhaust-wing clampdown, a safety-based halo rule change would not require team agreement.
Together, the two cases show the FIA trying to shut down a pair of Ferrari-led aero trends before they become established parts of the 2027 design battle.