At Ferrari, there is growing concern over the FIA’s position for 2027. The Federation is threatening to ban Ferrari’s FTM system, and the consequences for the future SF-27 could be enormous.
Ferrari risks losing the ability to use the FTM system mounted around the exhaust area of the SF-26. If the FIA decides to prohibit it starting next season, the impact on the 2027 project could be devastating, potentially nullifying months of development work and technical sacrifices made for the 2026 car.
Ferrari’s FTM is undoubtedly considered a technical masterstroke. Exploiting the flow of hot air to generate additional rear downforce means the team has studied every detail of the regulations for the new F1 era. However, as previously anticipated, this solution required major technical compromises. The 067/7 power unit operates at significantly higher temperatures than rival engines precisely to ensure that the airflow remains as hot as possible.
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From an aerodynamic standpoint, this creates an effect known as boundary layer energization. Just like when wine is poured from a bottle and the liquid clings to the neck before falling into the glass, air in Formula 1 also tends to stick to aerodynamic surfaces—a phenomenon known in physics as the Coandă effect.
At a certain point, however, just as the wine eventually detaches from the bottle, the airflow also separates from the aerodynamic surface. When this happens, drag increases and the car’s downforce decreases.
The boundary layer energization, achieved thanks to the hotter and therefore more “energetic” airflow, is designed specifically to delay this flow separation, keeping drag low while maintaining high aerodynamic downforce.
The FTM, however, has already been copied by several teams that have not developed the entire system in the same way as Ferrari, which redesigned the package with a fully rearward power unit layout and a smaller turbocharger specifically engineered to create room for this exhaust solution.
Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull Racing have all introduced configurations attempting to replicate the concept, but without achieving the same benefits.
This widespread “copying” appears to have irritated the FIA, which is reportedly ready to ban the system starting from 2027. For many teams the impact would be relatively limited, but for Ferrari the consequences could be enormous.
The solution is considered central to the entire technical project, and according to estimates reported by Motorsport.com, removing it could slow the future SF-27 by as much as half a second per lap.
The picture should become clearer in the coming weeks, allowing Ferrari to understand which direction to take in the development of its next car.
Photo’s credits Ferrari.com
