F1H2O: UIM proposes mandatory load-bearing canopy from 2027

The UIM will consider a safety proposal on Saturday 24 October 2026 that would require an integral load-bearing canopy on every boat in F1H2O and F2 from 1 January 2027. The text, submitted by the UIM's medical and safety commission, explicitly cites the accident suffered by Australian driver Damon Cohen at the Grand Prix of Sharjah in December 2025.

What the current rule says

The proposal amends Rule 509.05, which covers reinforced cockpits in all circuit classes. Today a cockpit must enclose the driver completely, head included, with at least 10 cm of clearance above the helmet. There are two routes for the canopy:

• if the cockpit sides cover at least 50% of the side of the helmet, the canopy does not have to be load-bearing; it only has to resist deformation and avoid getting stuck under the cockpit flanges;
• otherwise an integral load-bearing canopy is required, at least as strong as the cockpit structure, latched and hinged so that it acts as part of the structure in an accident.

What would change in F1H2O and F2

The new text removes the first route for F1 and F2: an integral load-bearing canopy would be required on every boat in both championships, and on all new boats built from 1 January 2027. Other classes would keep the non-load-bearing option, but only until 1 January 2029. The document sets out no transition period for existing hulls.

The measure is one of 44 circuit rules proposals before the Council, which votes the day before the 99th UIM General Assembly in Sintra. Its author is commission member Pascal Reide.

Damon Cohen's accident

The Comparato F1 Team driver barrel-rolled at turn one in qualifying for the Grand Prix of Sharjah on 20 December 2025, on his final lap with 12 seconds of the session remaining. He was taken to intensive care that afternoon with water in his lungs. He did not return for the 2026 F1H2O season. The proposal's justification refers to serious injuries and to a boat fitted with an older cockpit, without an integral load-bearing canopy.

A wider 2027 rules package

For F2, the proposal sits alongside seven proposals from the F2 & F4 Committee, including two sprint races per Grand Prix weekend and a further homologation extension for the SST200 engine. The five bodies listed as advising on the canopy are COMINSPORT, COMINTECH, the Safety Cockpit Committee, the F1 Committee and the F2 & F4 Committee; the published document records no position from any of them.

What to watch: the 24 October vote, then implementation for F1H2O teams from the 2027 season if the text is adopted.