Ferrari could be among the Formula 1 teams most affected by a significant change contained in the FIA’s latest draft of the 2027 technical regulations. The revised wording not only strengthens the safety requirements surrounding movable front and rear wings, but also reduces the permitted transition time between their two operating modes from 400 milliseconds to 300ms.
The FIA published the latest revision as media activities began around the Bahrain Grand Prix. Although the document contains numerous changes, the movable-wing regulations have attracted particular attention because these systems, together with the new power units, are among the defining technical innovations of the current regulations.
FIA strengthens movable-wing safety rules for 2027
Safety is one of the main areas addressed by the revision. The changes follow the Red Bull movable-wing problem that resulted in two heavy crashes in succession for Max Verstappen, prompting the FIA to introduce more explicit requirements governing how the systems must behave in the event of a failure.
Paragraphs C3.10.10 and C3.11.6, which cover the front and rear wing adjustment mechanisms, now require the systems to return to Corner Mode if a failure occurs. The regulations also require designers to consider failure modes that could prevent the front-wing flap from returning to that position and to minimise the associated risks.
The move continues the FIA’s close attention to wing behaviour and technical compliance, an area that has already forced teams to adapt their aerodynamic concepts. Ferrari has previously had to respond to changes to FIA front-wing requirements, making the evolution of the 2027 rules particularly relevant for Maranello.
Transition time cut from 400ms to 300ms
The second major change concerns the speed at which the wings must move between their two configurations. For 2027, the permitted transition time has been reduced from 400ms to 300ms.
On paper, a reduction of just one tenth of a second may appear relatively minor. In practice, however, it could become an important design constraint for more complex mechanisms because the entire movement must now be completed within a shorter period.
This could have particular consequences for the reversible systems used by Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren. Those concepts require greater angular movement when the wing opens and closes compared with more conventional mechanisms, such as the solution used by Mercedes.
Why Ferrari’s movable-wing system could be affected
The extra angular travel involved in Ferrari’s solution means that achieving the same movement in only 300ms could place greater demands on the mechanism. The regulatory change does not automatically outlaw the concept, but it raises the possibility that the Maranello engineers will need to modify the existing system to satisfy the faster transition requirement.
The same consideration applies to Red Bull and McLaren, whose reversible concepts could also be more exposed to the change than Mercedes’ more conventional approach. The difference between the systems therefore becomes increasingly important as teams begin shaping their 2027 designs around the revised technical framework.
It cannot be ruled out that some teams will have to make substantial changes or reconsider the architecture of their movable wings altogether. Ferrari has historically explored different wing solutions in pursuit of aerodynamic efficiency, with its previous aerodynamic development work illustrating how closely wing design is tied to the wider performance concept of the car.
The latest FIA draft therefore introduces two separate challenges for 2027: greater fail-safe protection and a faster transition between wing modes. For Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren in particular, the reduced 300ms window could become an important factor in deciding whether their current reversible systems can simply be adapted or require a more fundamental redesign.
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