FIA now wants to ban Ferrari aero upgrade after it revealed opening in 2026 F1 regulations

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The FIA is now looking to ban the Halo winglet that Ferrari are running at the 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix, as the Scuderia’s upgrade has exposed a grey area in the rulebook.

Upgrades have been a major theme at the Miami GP, as every team except for Aston Martin have revealed updates on the back of a five-week break. Ferrari have also unveiled the most updates in Florida, with a total of 11 new parts registered for the SF-26 at this week’s round.

Ferrari have sought to upgrade the SF-26 for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in Miami in their bid to catch Mercedes, after emerging as their main rival to date. Among their updates are a new front wing, floor, a rear diffuser, a rear wing and tweaks to their exhaust tail flap.

Aston Martin are the only team without any upgrades at the Miami Grand Prix 👀 Predict the F1 pecking order after the race…

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Ferrari’s updated Halo winglet in Miami is legal, but the FIA wants to ban it for 2027

Ferrari have even unveiled an updated version of the Halo winglet that they first revealed at the Chinese Grand Prix in March for this weekend’s Miami GP. But The Race reports that the FIA is already looking to ban Ferrari’s Halo winglet for 2027 despite deeming it legal in 2026.

READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 Miami GP, including the Sprint, plus weather forecast

It is thought that Ferrari have taken advantage of a grey area created in the regulations after the FIA introduced a new Halo in 2026. The FIA wanted the Halo to weigh no more than 6kg to help reduce the overall car weight, but the design chosen has a narrower central column.

The Halo’s smaller column inadvertently left a gap in the legality box, which Ferrari realised allowed them to add a small winglet on either side of the pillar. The FIA accepts that Ferrari legally interpreted the rules as they are written for 2026, but it wants to outlaw it for 2027.

Ferrari’s concept had not appeared on the FIA’s radar while the governing body was writing F1’s rulebook for 2026. But the FIA does not want to allow bodywork in this area to avoid it potentially impacting a driver’s sight, so it is looking to ban the winglets on safety grounds.

The FIA does not need the support of any of the 11 teams to ban Ferrari’s Halo winglets on safety grounds for 2027. Ferrari have also already had to change the design of their winglet to satisfy the FIA, having agreed not to retain their first concept trialled in China after talks.

It was said at the time that Ferrari did not race their Halo winglet in China to avoid any fears that a rival team would protest its design. Ferrari had originally used a clear material for the winglet they took to Shanghai, but it needed to be the same material as the Halo’s column.

Only Hamilton has chosen to run Ferrari’s updated Halo winglet on his car for the Sprint this weekend, with Leclerc deciding to leave it off his SF-26 – at least for now. Leclerc had tested Ferrari’s updated Halo winglet at Monza during a filming day amid the break between races.