As the 2020 F1 season began to come together in the midst of a pandemic, the teams and those running the sport knew that the calendar wouldn’t be the only aspect affected.
The regulations and rules slated for introduction in 2021 called for sweeping changes to the cars but the pandemic forced a compulsory reconsideration. Financial strain and an obligatory downturn in production inspired a unanimous agreement by the teams, Liberty Media, and the FIA to delay the all-encompassing changes until 2022.
But just because the 2020 chassis is being carried over to the new season does not mean that this season won’t see much change. The most obvious and eye-catching will be to the floor.
Previously various winglets and slots were allowed in order to generate ground effect, or downforce. For this year the floor should be solid with only triangular cutaways allowed at the rear. This is expected to reduce the amount of downforce generated by the floor, meaning appreciably less rear grip.
Don’t expect to see cars sliding around any time soon, though. This is F1, after all, and the teams employ some of the greatest engineering minds and aerodynamicists in the world.
There is no doubt that they have already begun to claw back the lost downforce in other areas of the car.
Smaller changes include a tweak to the length of the strakes on the rear diffuser and a reduction on the rear brake duct winglets from 80mm to 40mm.
A reduction of 40mm may not sound like much but these winglets in the quest of creating downforce fed directly to the wheels.
The minimum weight of the car and power unit has also been increased for this season from 746kg in 2020 to 752kg in 2021. This is seen mostly as a move to stop teams from using and creating exotic – read expensive – weight-saving materials. Speaking of cost-saving, 2021 also sees the introduction of the first ever cost cap in the sport. The baseline amount teams are allowed to spend in 2021 has been set at $147,4 million (R2,23 billion).
This budget covers every aspect of the running of an F1 team. The notable exceptions to what the budget is set to cover are marketing costs, the salaries of the highest earners in a team, and driver salaries. Between 2021 and 2024 teams are permitted to incur ‘capital expenditure’ costs that include purchasing of machinery.
The changes to the aerodynamics of the cars for 2021 are not insignificant. Will they shake up the running order? Probably not to the degree that sees Mercedes drop to the midfield but there is every chance that Red Bull and Ferrari could surge closer to the front, thanks to these tweaks.
