the 2021 formula 1 season is just around the corner. Before the upcoming test drives, however, the racing teams will be presenting their new cars. Here at SPOX find out everything about the new service cars of sebastian vettel, mick schumacher and co.
Formula 1: the rule changes for 2021
The following car rule changes will come into effect for the 2021 season:
- Underbody
This change is being introduced because of the ever-increasing downforce generated by the teams, which is making pirelli’s tires too hard to handle.
Since pirelli has been producing basically the same tires for two years, it was decided to slow down the cars a bit. The FIA and the teams have agreed that changes to the car should reduce downforce by around ten percent to compensate for the gains during this period. Designers are now prevented from having fully enclosed holes in the underbody throughout the range.
The diffuser has also been adjusted to generate less downforce. The height of the dividing vertical struts must be 50 millimeters shorter next season.
- Weight
For 2021, the minimum weight of vehicles has been increased again by three kilograms. It will then be 749 kilograms. At the same time, the minimum weight of the power units was increased to 150 kilograms. This should also alleviate manufacturers’ concerns about having to pursue exotic and expensive materials to save weight.
Unchanged from the previous rules, but important due to the ban on qualifying modes, is the fact that teams will now only have a certain number of engine modes available per season.
- THE
It has been clear since the beginning of the season that the mercedes steering system will not be permitted in the coming season. The changes were written into the regulations early on to prevent the system from being used for 2021.
- Copying
The furor over the design of the racing point RP20 has now died down. Nevertheless, the new regulations want to ensure that there will be no repetition of the case.
A new section at the end of the rules covers the subject of listed parts in more detail than ever before. It highlights how a team could take up a competitor’s design concept without copying it directly.
The teams are reminded that they can only gather information about the design of the competition at events or tests and that it must be information that is available to all participants. Basically, this restricts the teams to use only regular photos or videos. The use of reverse-engineering techniques such as stereophotogrammetry or 3D scans has now been banned.
Formula 1 2021: drivers and teams
| team | driver 1 | driver 2 |
| mercedes | lewis hamilton | valtteri bottas |
| red bull | max verstappen | sergio perez |
| mclaren | daniel ricciardo | lando norris |
| aston martin | sebastian vettel | lance stroll |
| alpine | fernando alonso | esteban ocon |
| ferrari | charles leclerc | carlos sainz |
| alphatauri | pierre gasly | yuki tsunoda |
| alfa romeo | kimi raikkonen | antonio giovinazzi |
| haas | mick schumacher | nikita mazepin |
| williams | george russell | nicholas latifi |
Formula 1: the 2021 car presentations
The new F1 cars will be presented on the following dates. Haas is the only team not to have announced a date yet. All photos and news about the new cars can be found here.