A clever Red Bull innovation is reportedly set to be the target of an FIA clampdown ahead of the 2027 Formula 1 season.
F1’s governing body the FIA has moved to shut down an aerodynamic trick Red Bull introduced earlier this season for 2027, according to AutoRacer.it's Rosario Giuliana.
It relates to the sidepod geometry on the RB22 and a loophole Red Bull appears to have capitalised on in the current regulations.
This was pointed out by F1 technical expert Craig Scarborough.
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“For aero you'd like sharp sidepod edges, but regs enforce a large minimum radius,” he wrote on Instagram.
“Red Bull fit this 'floor body stay', which is a cable running down the ridge of the sidepod. Rules allow body work near this to have just a 20mm radius.”
In classic F1 style, Red Bull seems to have taken advantage of a grey area in the rulebook.
It was first introduced by Red Bull at the Austrian Grand Prix in June.
However, AutoRacer.it reports that the FIA’s technical delegates will remove the possibility for the solution to be carried over into 2027 by reducing the floor support dimension from 20mm down to just 5mm.
Max Verstappen celebrates his first Singapore Grand Prix victory
This would completely close off the loophole Red Bull has capitalised on, and will force the Milton Keynes-based outfit to redesign the area for 2027.
Red Bull has enjoyed an impressive F1 resurgence recently, with Max Verstappen claiming consecutive dominant victories in Malaysia and Singapore.
“The last few races have been really positive for us,” Verstappen said after his win in Singapore.
“Our car has taken a really nice step forward. It’s just been more drivable and more predictable. That’s what I wanted and needed from the car to find that last step to fight up front. And I hope that we can carry that momentum forward.
“We have learned so much and fixed a lot of our car weaknesses… The car definitely felt a lot nicer from Baku onwards.
“It's just been a lot more balanced. And then naturally, of course, when you can compete a bit further up front without having too many issues with the car compared to the beginning of the year, where it was actually sometimes a bit scary to drive, yeah, that makes it a lot nicer.
“The way that we turned that around and actually the big progress that we have made this year, that makes it of course a lot nicer. And when you can add a few wins as well, it's just nice.
“We're not in a championship fight, and that's why I think till the end, yeah, we just try to have a good time and try to add more podiums and hopefully a few wins.”
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.