2021 Formula 1 Regulations Plan to Change the Sport Completely

Ground-up aerodynamic revamp of the Formula 1 cars will allow for closer racing and more efficient overtakes. 

During the month break between the Hungarian and Belgian Grand Prix, a lot of things happen. Formula 1 is a sport where every second, whether in the factory or on the racetrack, something is happening. The racing doesn’t sleep and with it, there is news to be covered.

Recently, there has been some big changes within teams, the dramatic mid-season change of Pierre Gasly dropping down to Toro Rosso and Alex Albon, Formula One rookie, being upgraded to a championship contending team like Red Bull, shocked fans across the world. However, what we are concerned about more is the rules of the sport which will shape its overall future. Thanks to the Formula One YouTube channel, we get to see exactly what these changes will be and how they plan to make the overall racing more exciting.

In two years time, these 2021 regulation changes will go into effect. In order to understand why these regulations were made, we need to understand the current state of Formula 1. Fans and teams alike have complained about the lack of proper racing and the disparity of competitiveness between the lower budget teams and the big budget ones. A lot of this has to do to with the complexity of the aerodynamic design on the current generation turbo-V6 cars.

These current cars are so efficient in their design, that they destroy the airflow of any car following them by creating a wake effect. This wake is described very well in the video, but in essence its very difficult for any closely following car to generate downforce efficiently, thus, never allowing for competitive wheel-to-wheel racing.

In order to combat this, there are several aerodynamic changes that are being made to the cars themselves. The video displays the first official display of the 2021 regulation car in Team Sauber’s wind tunnel. The changes are all directed for clean airflow behind the car while maintaining high downforce levels. Accordingly, these changes will supposedly result in a 5 to 10 percent total downforce loss for the following car, compared to the insane 50 percent loss that is seen in the current vehicles.

The result of these changes will hopefully allow for more exciting racing alongside the financial restrictions on team’s spending, which will also go into effect around the same time period. To understand the full changes to the vehicles, including the new low-profile tire and 18 inch wheel design or the new rear wing and body design, please feel free to check out the full video.

What do you guys think of these changes? Wouldn’t it be crazy to see a Haas car be as competitive as a Ferrari? Let us know in the comments below.

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Daud Gonzalez

Daud Gonzalez is a lifelong car enthusiast, and automotive writer with a specialty in modified and race-ready rides. Gonzalez is a regular contributor to the Internet Brands Auto Group websites, including Corvette Forum, 6SpeedOnline, and Honda-tech, among others.

He spends most of his time modifying his cars, and ruining them in the process. He is the owner of a track build BMW 335i, a semi-off road spec 1981 Toyota Hilux, a drift-ready 1990 Nissan 240sx and a 1990 BMW K75 motorcycle.

Most of his free-time is dedicated to making sure his vehicles survive to see the next day. You are likely to catch him at one of Southern California's race tracks on the weekends.

Daud can be reached at Autoeditors@internetbrands.com, and followed on his Instagram account.

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