The FIA has tightened Formula 1’s financial regulations in an attempt to prevent teams from shifting development work into projects outside F1 and keeping the full cost away from the budget cap.
New rules for 2027 strengthen the separation required between Formula 1 operations and other activities within the same organisation, including restrictions covering personnel, facilities and IT systems. The changes were approved by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council this week. The governing body said the regulations introduce new requirements relating to the “physical and IT segregation” of F1 and non-F1 activities.
Separation between the two is not entirely new. The financial regulations already contain safeguards governing how teams account for staff and resources shared with projects outside Formula 1, with further changes introduced for 2026.
Three-month restriction on staff moves
The 2027 regulations go further in attempting to control the movement of personnel and information between F1 and non-F1 projects. Staff moving into a Formula 1 operation from another programme within the same organisation can face a three-month cooling-off period, limiting the possibility of knowledge or development work being transferred directly into the F1 team.
Access to facilities and IT systems is also covered by the strengthened separation requirements. The measures are intended to make it harder for development relevant to an F1 car to be carried out elsewhere before personnel or information are transferred back into the operation covered by the cost cap.
Costs can be multiplied for breaches
The financial consequences become particularly significant where personnel do not comply with the separation rules.
Affected personnel costs can be counted at three times their value in 2027, with that multiplier rising to six times in 2028. That means a breach involving staff working between F1 and another project could consume substantially more of a team’s permitted spending than the salary cost alone.
The FIA’s Cost Cap Administration is responsible for monitoring compliance, auditing teams and investigating suspected breaches of Formula 1’s financial regulations. The latest changes form part of a wider package of 2027 regulations approved by the World Motor Sport Council, covering sporting, technical and financial rules.
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