The design F1 rivals will want to copy

This week we're going to talk about convergence in The Long Run classroom.

This being the first year of these F1 technical regulations, what do we think are going to be the features which couldn't be copied this year but could be incorporated for '27?

Anyone? Yeah, hoodie guy at the back. Thought you were asleep. Cool, what do you think? Yes, gearing. Good one. You remember we talked about the McLaren's short gearing and the Mercedes' long in a previous newsletter. We can get into where that might converge.

Anything else? Yes, woman with the Hamilton cap. What was that? FTM? Ferrari's flick tail mode exhaust? Ah well, no. Because it's banned for '27.

But you raise a very interesting point because the way they got that to be so effective carries more advantage than just the soon-to-be-banned tailpipe addenda. I think you've just hit on potentially the most important convergence feature of all. Nice one!

🏍️ We’ve launched a new weekly MotoGP newsletter from The Race. It’s called The Lean Angle, and you can subscribe for free with one click, here

OK, that's enough to be getting on with. Gearing.

Shorter ratios for better punch through more of the corners? Or longer so you're not giving away power on the straights once you've exceeded the 10,500rpm at which the fuel flow begins to decrease? McLaren or Mercedes respectively, let's say.

The increase in maximum fuel flow for next year should be expected to tip the balance more towards longer gearing.

Although shorter gearing is going to work in McLaren's favour on most of the remaining tracks this year and Baku this weekend is actually going to be gearing-neutral - despite that super-long Caspian section at the end of the lap.

That merely offsets how suitable the short gearing is everywhere else on the lap. So it won't be like Monza where the Merc's long gearing was a big advantage.

But another thing tipping it more towards the Mercedes approach for next year is the FTM ban we just mentioned. The extra back pressure in the exhaust of the FTM blockers cost around 10bhp.

More power will tend to push you towards longer gearing.

OK, Ferrari's FTM enabler. This was the really clever interpretation of the dimensional rules which made it possible to have that bodywork extension on the end of the Ferrari diffuser on which the FTM is mounted. That gives way more advantage than just the FTM - which was merely the cherry on top. That advantage will still be valid.

You can see two variations of the Ferrari FTM below, from Zandvoort and Monza, shaded in green/purple.

The dimensional boxes limiting how far back the bodywork can be in that lower part of the car define it as 6cm behind the differential. Which, if you site your differential in line with the rear wheels so your driveshafts are nice and straight, means there's no room beyond the edge of the diffuser for any extra bodywork.

But the regs allow you to move the 'diff a little ahead or behind the rear axle centre line. If you move it behind (you're allowed up to 6cm fore or aft) then you go 6cm back from there to a space beyond the edge of the diffuser where you can have bodywork.

So as long as that bodywork is not joined to the diffuser, you're good. You can have it extending the ramp of the diffuser's roof, with just a small gap in between. The air sees it as a longer diffuser which is therefore more powerful.

THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is the real reason the Ferrari has such great downforce. The FTM just adds a bit of an extra flourish and was added at the second Bahrain test only after Ferrari had cleared its legality with the FIA.

So Ferrari had designed the whole mechanical layout including gearbox length and driveshaft angles for something it wasn't sure would be legal? No, the FTM was just added value.

The whole concept of the rear end was about enabling that ‘long diffuser’.

That, I think, is something which will be widely copied. So with Ferrari's main inbuilt advantage gone for '27, the onus is really going to be on the PU department to come up with a big improvement to keep the guy who is the focus of your Hamilton cap - and his team-mate - at the front.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. See you on the other side of Baku.

Austin, engines screaming, that blind uphill charge into Turn 1, the whole show. And the best part? It won't cost you a thing; sign up, and you're in the running.

Enter the giveaway

Only US residents aged 18+ are eligible to win