TECHNICAL REGULATIONS | 2021 CHANGES
2021 vision The new season started with an overall rules freeze but there were some subtle, significant changes for the teams to take on board By Stewart Mitchell
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n unexpected freeze in development (a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic pushing the new era of F1 to 2022) could have left viewers thinking the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship would be very similar to 2020, with teams simply carrying over much of their cars’ design for another year, but that would be a mistake. The final 2021 regulations, published by the FIA in late 2020, featured several detailed revisions. 4 F1 2021 • Racecar Engineering
Red Bull Technology teams helped push through an engine freeze so they could competitively use Honda power until the start of the new power unit era, which comes into play in 2025 or 2026
The changes were initially penned as calming measures in response to the ever-increasing downforce the cars deliver, which some feared would push the Pirelli tyres beyond safe limits. Additionally, overall pace was thought to have outgrown some tracks, certainly those that have remained unchanged as speed has steadily increased over the years. The FIA and Formula 1 management hoped the changes would force a 10 per cent reduction in overall downforce,
enough they believe to cope with the aforementioned challenges, while the rule changes coinciding with that 10 per cent reduction meant some significant challenges for all teams ahead of the 2021 season.
Aerodynamic revisions The largest contributor to the forecast drop in downforce was a new set of floor regulations. These saw a diagonal cut in the floors ahead of the rear tyres, reducing the width at the trailing edge by 100mm on each side.
