FIA targets Red Bull’s sidepod loophole for 2027

Red Bull Racing will need to rethink a distinctive sidepod feature for 2027, with the FIA moving to close a regulatory opening that allowed the team to shape more aggressive bodywork around a floor support. A report by AutoRacer.it says the change will also affect Audi, which adopted the same solution later in the season.

A support cable created room for a sharper undercut

The rules are intended to prevent sharp edges on the sidepod bodywork. But, as technical analyst Craig Scarborough explained in an Instagram breakdown around the British Grand Prix, Red Bull used the wording around the floor body stay to work within that restriction.

The timing of the debut ties the solution to Red Bull’s Austrian weekend. Our report on Red Bull’s strategy and Verstappen’s Austrian Grand Prix challenge looks at another aspect of that event.

FIA proposal would narrow the support allowance to 5mm

AutoRacer.it reports that the FIA is amending the 2027 technical regulations to reduce the permitted floor-support dimension to 5mm. That would remove the allowance the teams used to place sharper bodywork around the stay, effectively ending the configuration.

Red Bull and Audi would then have to redesign the lower sections of their sidepods for the 2027 season. The adjustment is a reminder that an interpretation available to one team can quickly become a broader design direction once rivals follow it.

The RB22 was also in focus at Monza, where Ayumu Iwasa drove the car in practice. Our report on Iwasa’s Red Bull FP1 outing covers that appearance.

For now, the rule change puts a clear limit on this particular solution. Red Bull and Audi will have to find another way to shape the lower sidepod area when the revised regulations take effect.