F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019 17
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
Budget cap of $175 millionto be imposed,
with strict penaltiesfor transgressors01
WHATARETHE
2021TECHNICAL
REGULATIONS?
02
MORE RACES, LESS TIME
Weekend shortened fromfour daysto three
to counter potential growth in calendar^03PICTURES: McLARENThe rules are set to reducethe amount of ‘dirty air’ that
is produced from a Formula 1 car, whichwill enable
following cars to run much closer. That will be achieved
by generating downforce through ground effect, utilising
the floor and diffuser, rather than an over-reliance on
surface aerodynamics.
Parts of thewings and bodywork will be prescribed, but
with enough freedom to allowdesigners tocreate diversity,
as F1 is keen notto create identikit cars. One key area th at
is prescriptive willbe the ‘eyebrows’over the fronttyres.
“One ofthe difficult bitsto dealwith is the front wheel
wake because this starts impinging on performance,” says
F1’s technical director Pat Symonds. “The teamshave been
trying to push thatwake outwards, which is whatfollowing
cars drive through. Our philosophy is to keep that wake
narrow and loft it over the car. The eyebrows are an
important part of controllingthat wake.”
A 2019 car following another within one car length
retains only 55% of its total downforce, while the aimfor
2021 is to increase that figureto 8 6% (at three car lengths
in 2019 it’s 68% and in 2021 95%).
Symonds has spent the past two years working with
Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s head of single-seater
technical matters, in a thoroughexamination – in both
simulation and windtunnel – to produce a car that should
race more effectively through a reduction inturbulent air.
But Symonds warns the 86% figure will come down as
the teams start to claw back performance when designing
the 2021 cars. I don’t think they are going to be at 86% at
one car length,” Symonds says. “But they are going to bea
damn sight closer than 55%. If we have done our jobwell,
they won’t be that far off.”
Other key technical changes include the removal of
barge boards, a standardized T-tray under the chassis,
a ban on hydraulic suspension and inerters, plus larger,
18-inch wheels and bigger brake discs. The sides of the
car will also be strengthened and cockpits enlarged to not
penalize taller drivers. These directives in combination
with the bigger wheels increase the overall weight of an F
car from 734kg to 767kg.
Gearbox designs will be frozen for a five-year period,
there will be a standardization in the fuelsystem and fuel
must double in bio-content (20%). However,tyre blankets
are setto remain until at least 2022.
The reduction in aero and increased weight is set to
slow the cars down by 3-3.5 seconds a lap, putting them
on a par with 2016 levels of performance.IT’S A MAJOR
CHANGE IN HOW
THE PINNACLEOF
MOTOR SPORTS
WILL BERUN.
THE GOAL ISTO
HAVE A CLOSER
CHAMPIONSHIP
AND TO BE MORE
UNPREDICTABLE
ON THE TRACK
“
“
McLaren’sversion of a 2021F1 car. There will
be some designflexibility in certain partsofthe
wings and bodywork but those ‘eyebrows’ above
the wheels cannotbe changedJEANTODT
F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019 17MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
Budget cap of $175 millionto be imposed,
with strict penaltiesfor transgressors01
WHATARETHE
2021TECHNICAL
REGULATIONS?
02
MORE RACES, LESS TIME
Weekend shortened fromfour daysto three
to counter potential growth in calendar^03PICTURES: McLARENThe rules are set to reducethe amount of ‘dirty air’ that
is produced from a Formula 1 car, whichwill enable
following cars to run much closer. That will be achieved
by generating downforce through ground effect, utilising
the floor and diffuser, rather than an over-reliance on
surface aerodynamics.
Parts of thewings and bodywork will be prescribed, but
with enough freedom to allowdesigners tocreate diversity,
as F1 is keen notto create identikit cars. One key area th at
is prescriptive willbe the ‘eyebrows’over the fronttyres.
“One ofthe difficult bitsto dealwith is the front wheel
wake because this starts impinging on performance,” says
F1’s technical director Pat Symonds. “The teamshave been
trying to push thatwake outwards, which is whatfollowing
cars drive through. Our philosophy is to keep that wake
narrow and loft it over the car. The eyebrows are an
important part of controllingthat wake.”
A 2019 car following another within one car length
retains only 55% of its total downforce, while the aimfor
2021 is to increase that figureto 8 6% (at three car lengths
in 2019 it’s 68% and in 2021 95%).
Symonds has spent the past two years working with
Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s head of single-seater
technical matters, in a thoroughexamination – in both
simulation and windtunnel – to produce a car that should
race more effectively through a reduction inturbulent air.
But Symonds warns the 86% figure will come down as
the teams start to claw back performance when designing
the 2021 cars. I don’t think they are going to be at 86% at
one car length,” Symonds says. “But they are going to bea
damn sight closer than 55%. If we have done our jobwell,
they won’t be that far off.”
Other key technical changes include the removal of
barge boards, a standardized T-tray under the chassis,
a ban on hydraulic suspension and inerters, plus larger,
18-inch wheels and bigger brake discs. The sides of the
car will also be strengthened and cockpits enlarged to not
penalize taller drivers. These directives in combination
with the bigger wheels increase the overall weight of an F
car from 734kg to 767kg.
Gearbox designs will be frozen for a five-year period,
there will be a standardization in the fuelsystem and fuel
must double in bio-content (20%). However,tyre blankets
are setto remain until at least 2022.
The reduction in aero and increased weight is set to
slow the cars down by 3-3.5 seconds a lap, putting them
on a par with 2016 levels of performance.IT’S A MAJOR
CHANGE IN HOW
THE PINNACLEOF
MOTOR SPORTS
WILL BERUN.
THE GOAL ISTO
HAVE A CLOSER
CHAMPIONSHIP
AND TO BE MORE
UNPREDICTABLE
ON THE TRACK
“
“
McLaren’sversion of a 2021F1 car. There will
be some designflexibility in certain partsofthe
wings and bodywork but those ‘eyebrows’ above
the wheels cannotbe changedJEANTODT