2021 F1 regulations

[gnomesayin]

I think this is deserving of its own topic, as it is likely to be a major story for the next year and a half. The proposed outlines for the 2021 regulations have been released.

https://autoweek.com/article/formul...through-similar-bodies-and-standardized-parts

They make a bold and crucial central claim:

The 2021 car has been designed to decrease a loss of 5-10 percent downforce from a leading car to a trailing car. That 2019 regulations are believed to have a 50 percent loss of downforce in the same scenario.

This sounds very promising philosophically, but will they achieve that in practice? And how? Less appealing is this:

In 2021, Formula 1 will also move from a 13-inch tire to an 18-inch one, allow drivers to rely more on the rubber and conserve less.


"I think we were asking completely the wrong things of Pirelli over the last two years," Symonds said. "The high degradation target is not the way to go."

I don't agree that aiming for tire degradation and making tire wear management crucial has been a mistake or is bad for the racing. The effects of extreme high downforce and the loss of it in the wake of a leading car is 70% of the problem with F1 racing, and the other 30% could be attributed to the massive gaps in performance and resources among the teams. They plan to address that with more common body elements and standardized parts, which is what almost every major racing series I know of (aside from dirt oval racing) is moving toward.

 

[FLRacingFan]

You know it's getting tough when F1 is moving towards more spec parts. Yeah, I used the dirty word. It is what it is. I'm sure this will face major blowback from much of the field, namely the major players, but there needs to be some sort of shakeup given the trajectory of the V6 hybrid era. I agree with Ross that Joe Sixpack doesn't know the differences between the cars until they're painted up, and that the finer technical details don't do a whole lot to move the series forward. There should always be a place for development in F1, but I'm not sure aero wars with flaps, vanes, elements sprouting out of God knows where is that place anymore. Some finer, more contained, aero regulations have been needed for some time both for cost and for the on-track product.

 

[FLRacingFan]

I am reasonably encouraged by this. Aesthetically, it’s an improvement...



...and the metrics look good.

So what have months and months of CFD testing and now a series of runs in the wind tunnel revealed? “That fundamentally the CFD was correct,” says Tombazis. “There have been no major surprises. So there is a 5-10% wake disruption, compared to the current levels of 50%, although it depends on the exact configuration you are testing and so on.”

 

[gnomesayin]

More on this from Matt Weaver. I enthusiastically welcome the effort, but remain somewhat skeptical.

 

[Speedbowl14]

That thing looks hilarious with the tires being higher than the driver's compartment

 

[gnomesayin]

Slick promotional releases and videos have come today that are long on promises and somewhat short on details. I remain skeptical of some of the claims, but at least they are trying to solve the right problems for once.

The basics are: simpler front wing and suspension, some standardized parts, fewer upgrades and replacements allowed, redesigned rear ends that appear to direct the wake upward, cost cap.

Oh, and of course, they did it all for the fans. It is funny that they are marketing this now, as the implicit message is "Sorry about how bad next year will be. Just hold on a little longer."



F1’s revolutionary 2021 rulebook – The thinking behind the changes

 

[Reck]

What is the lid on top of the tires supposed to do?

Front wing does look nice though. Looks more....planted if that's the right word.

 

[rd45usa]

 

[gnomesayin]

What is the lid on top of the tires supposed to do?

Front wing does look nice though. Looks more....planted if that's the right word.

Here's a technical article explaining the concepts behind the changes, and the passage covering the "tyre wake blades":

Instead, the front tyre wake is managed by two devices. Firstly, the blade over the top of the tyre’s tread and secondly the return of the wheel fairing. The blade helps clean up airflow passing over the tyre, reducing the separation and turbulence created by the low-pressure area behind a spinning tyre. Then, the wheel fairing helps with cleaner airflow passing around the sides of the tyre. These ‘frisbees’ were banned for 2010, as they were such an effective aero tool, so their return may be as fixed fairings as we saw in 2009, (i.e. not spinning with the tyre) or as fairings fixed to and spinning with the wheel. Both have benefits and drawbacks with the practicalities of wheel changing and brake cooling.

https://motorsport.tech/formula-1/f1-2021-regulations-overview-by-craig-scarborough

 

[Hotrod]

We will see if this video sticks around.