Motor sport’s governing body and the commercial rights holder have reached agreement with Formula 1’s teams and Power Unit Manufacturers on a set of refinements to the regulations that will shape the 2027 and 2028 seasons. The package touches the Technical, Sporting and Financial rule books, and it arrives after several months of dialogue that started once the 2026 cars took to the track.
The talks were prompted by concerns over energy management under the new power unit framework, which brings a greater electrical contribution and sustainable fuel to the grid. Engineers and rule-makers wanted to be sure the cars would deploy their energy in a way that kept qualifying flat out and preserved the closer racing the 2026 regulations are designed to deliver.
The FIA intends to move quickly through formal approval, with the proposals heading to the World Motor Sport Council on 23 June in Macau, so that teams and manufacturers gain both clarity and the time they need to prepare ahead of the rule change.
An agreed route
The amendments follow the same pattern of cooperation that produced the 2026 rules in the first place. The 2026 regulations were drawn up jointly by the FIA, FOM, the teams, vehicle manufacturers and the companies that build the power units, and the latest revisions continue that working relationship. Every stakeholder has had a hand in identifying the operational challenges and agreeing how to address them.
Discussions began once the 2026 season got under way and real-world data started to flow. Instead of waiting for issues to compound across a full campaign, the parties chose to act early, refining the framework while the season was still young. That willingness to adjust mid-stream reflects a governance model built on shared technical understanding.
tuning the power balance
The core of the package is a staged rebalancing of how the internal combustion engine and the energy recovery system each contribute to a car’s performance. The adjustment will be phased across the 2027 and 2028 seasons, giving teams two clear windows to develop and refine their hardware. Targeted changes cover combustion engine output, the rate at which fuel energy flows and how the recovery system deploys its stored power.
Greater flexibility in energy management runs through the revisions, allowing the cars to use their power more intelligently across a lap. The phased approach matters because it lets manufacturers absorb the changes over two seasons rather than in a single abrupt update. By spreading the work, the rule-makers reduce cost pressure and give engineering teams room to optimise their designs with confidence.
Qualifying gets sharper
One clear aim of the changes is to make qualifying a more flat-out affair. Under the original 2026 settings, drivers would need to manage energy carefully even on a single fast lap, and the revised rules ease that constraint so the cars can be pushed harder when it counts. The result should be sessions that better reward outright pace.
The teams and governing bodies were careful to protect the racing that the 2026 regulations set out to create. Close, exciting wheel-to-wheel competition was a central goal of the new era, and none of the adjustments are intended to dilute it. The balance being struck keeps the spectacle of race day intact while sharpening the pursuit of pole position.
Workable on and off track
Alongside the headline technical work, the package includes a set of supporting measures covering power unit supply conditions, race operations and the financial regulations. These provisions make sure the rebalancing is workable in practice, from how engines reach the smaller teams to how budgets accommodate the development effort.
Adjusting the financial rules in step with the technical ones helps keep the playing field even. Manufacturers and customer teams alike gain a clear picture of what the changes will cost and how they sit within the sport’s spending controls. That joined-up thinking is part of what has allowed the agreement to come together so quickly.
The timeline for the road ahead
The FIA has confirmed it will expedite the formal approval process, and the proposed changes go before the World Motor Sport Council on 23 June in Macau. Early sign-off gives teams and Power Unit Manufacturers the lead time to adapt their programmes well ahead of 2027. Clarity now is worth far more than certainty arriving late in the development cycle.
As the governing body for world motor sport, the FIA carries responsibility for regulations across six FIA World Championships. Founded in 1904 and run as a non-profit from offices in Paris, London and Geneva, it brings together 245 Member Organisations across five continents and works to advance safety, sustainability and equality throughout the sport and wider mobility. The pace and openness of this latest agreement reflect that broader remit.