FIA Agrees 2027 Power Unit Changes That Moves F1 Back Toward Its Combustion Roots
The Miami tweaks were a start. The FIA has now confirmed they were not the finish. Following an online meeting following the US race with all 11 team principals, Formula One Management, and the five power unit manufacturers, the governing body has agreed in principle to a set of hardware changes for 2027.
The big news comes in the form of a nominal increase in ICE power of approximately 50kW alongside a fuel-flow increase, with a corresponding reduction in ERS deployment power of roughly 50kW. The combustion side goes up, the electrical side comes down. The sport is, essentially, admitting that the 50-50 split it wrote into the 2026 regulations was too aggressive.
And that admission has been a long time coming. The 2026 rules introduced new hybrid engines built around a near-50:50 split between electrical and combustion power, and the problems were apparent from the first weekend in Australia . Deployment of energy became such an important performance differentiator over a qualifying lap that drivers found themselves rewarded for driving to the power unit’s algorithm rather than the limit of grip, using high-speed corners to harvest energy rather than push, in order to deploy on the straights.
Max Verstappen called it “ Formula E on steroids. ” Reigning champion Lando Norris , after finishing second in Miami, said the Miami changes were “a small step in the right direction, but not to the level that Formula 1 should still be at yet. ” The Miami Package Helped, But Didn’t Fix It Qualifying energy harvesting was dropped from 8 megajoules to 7, superclipping increased from 250kW to 350kW, and race starts now include a minimum MGU-K acceleration threshold to prevent drivers getting bogged down off the line.
The FIA considers those changes a success, and the meeting following Miami opened with a review that deemed the package an improvement with no material safety concerns identified. May 3, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (3) during the Crypto. com Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome.