Naomi Schiff warns 2027 FIA rule changes could hit smaller F1 teams hard

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Former W Series driver and Sky Sports Formula 1 analyst Naomi Schiff has noted the potential financial impact on smaller teams caused by the changes planned for the 2027 season.

After concerns were raised at the start of the new wave of regulations in 2026, the FIA has confirmed that changes to the engine hardware will be introduced in 2027 to make driving "more intuitive" via a 50 kW increase in power from the internal combustion engine and a decrease in the electric power of the same amount.

This means that instead of the almost 50:50 split between internal combustion and electric power that the cars currently have, it will be closer to 60:40 in 2027.

When asked by her co-host Jolie Sharpe during the Up To Speed podcast why smaller F1 teams should be paying for the "FIA's mistakes", Schiff said: "I think it's a very good point because we haven't even dived into what Audi are going to think of this because they came and agreed to enter F1 on the basis that it was going to be a 50:50 split, which is now not going to be the case.

"So that's probably a tricky conversation and a very political one to have, but also from a financial perspective. The big manufacturers like Mercedes, like Ferrari, etc, these teams will have spent hundreds of millions, potentially in the billions, on development of these engines.

"So you would probably expect a return on that investment in three to four years down the line, but if we go back to designing and all of that stuff, does that not have a massive financial impact, not just on the big teams, but particularly the smaller teams who also need to make changes to the chassis as we've mentioned?"

Presenter Naomi Schiff, Sky Sports F1