The floor stay loophole behind Red Bull and Audi’s sidepods – and why it is being closed for 2027

A clever regulation loophole used this season by Red Bull and Audi has been outlawed as from next season. The ‘floor stay’ loophole gets around the regulation limiting the radius angle on the edges of the sidepod, to give a much more aggressive shape for a cleaner airflow along the sidepod undercut as it travels to the rear of the car.

To understand how this works requires an explanation of the bodywork radius regulations. These stipulate the maximum permitted radius angles of the various bodywork panels at their corners and edges.