FIA closes loophole: Red Bull and Audi sidepod trick banned for 2027
A thin floor stay let Red Bull and Audi run particularly sharp sidepod edges. The 2027 technical regulations rule this out, forcing both teams into a redesign.
Archive image · Photo: Yu Chu Chin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
The FIA has shut down a clever Red Bull design. According to Grandprix.com, the restriction is already written into the published 2027 technical regulations, in Article C3.5.14, which governs auxiliary floor components. It states that a stay may only pass through bodywork at its mounting points and in a few precisely defined areas.
The background: the rules require a large minimum radius on the sidepods, even though sharp edges are better aerodynamically. According to Crash.net, Red Bull introduced a thin floor stay running along the top edge of the sidepod at the Austrian Grand Prix in June. Close to it, only a 20-millimetre radius was required, creating a sharp separation edge that guides air more precisely to the rear of the floor. Audi adopted a similar solution with its major upgrade in Baku.
According to an AutoRacer.it report cited by Crash.net, the permitted dimension for the stay is set to drop from 20 to 5 millimetres. There is no official FIA statement on the matter. Nothing changes for the current season: the 2026 cars remain legal under the rules in force, but Red Bull and Audi will have to redesign the area for 2027.