F1 to shift 50kW from electric to ICE in 2027 engines

Formula 1’s key stakeholders have agreed in principle to modify the balance of hybrid power units for 2027, responding to concerns about the drivability of this year’s engines. In a meeting on Friday involving the teams, commercial rights holder F1 and the governing body, the FIA, participants backed a plan to increase internal combustion engine output by 50kW (67bhp) and reduce electrical power by the same amount. An FIA statement said the decision was unanimous. The intent is to restore a more conventional feel in qualifying. With more power coming from the combustion engine and a matching reduction in electrical deployment, drivers are expected to be able to push flat out across a lap without such intensive energy management. Since the introduction of the new power units this season, drivers have highlighted the near 50-50 split between combustion and electrical power as a key factor behind complex harvesting strategies. At times, cars are required to recover energy even at full throttle, which can cause brief speed drop-offs before corners and through some faster curves. The 2027 adjustment is expected to largely eliminate this behaviour, except at the most energy-starved circuits. Technical working groups made up of teams and power-unit manufacturers will now refine how the change is implemented and consider complementary measures to make harvesting either less critical or easier to manage. Several possible approaches are on the table, with a final package to be agreed after those discussions. Introducing the change will require development of the engines that debuted this year. A senior insider said: "Everybody is in the mood for a challenge." One constraint already identified is packaging: some teams want to carry over their current chassis into 2027 to control costs, which would make increases in fuel-tank size difficult. The meeting also mirrored feedback from the grid that recent tweaks to engine operation for last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix were "a step in the right direction", according to the FIA. Many drivers echoed that sentiment over the Miami weekend. Speaking after taking second place on Sunday, McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris said: "It's a small step in the right direction, but it's not to the level that Formula 1 should still be at yet. "If you go flat out everywhere and you try pushing like you were in previous years, you still just get penalised for it. You still can't be flat out everywhere. It's not about being as early on the throttle everywhere. "You should never get penalised for that kind of thing and you still do." Attention now turns to the technical meetings that will shape the final 2027 package. The next update will come once those groups have agreed on the details, with teams closely watching how chassis carryover ambitions and fuel-capacity constraints influence the outcome. --- *Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/f1-to-shift-50kw-from-electric-to-ice-in-2027-engines). Visit for full coverage.*