Formula 1 has revealed further details regarding its proposed shake-up of the 2021 technical regulations, with ‘ground effect’ poised to return to the championship.
Under Liberty Media, which acquired the sport in early 2017, Formula 1 has been in the process of outlining the next chapter of the regulations, which will come into effect in 2021.
This has been focused on both the technical and sporting regulations, though few details of the exact changes have been revealed.
Formula 1, the FIA, the teams, along with a handful of driver representatives, met recently to agree to delay the sign-off on the regulations from June until October.
Among the greatest focus has been on the aerodynamics of Formula 1 cars, with the sport’s chiefs keen to reduce the impact of turbulence suffered by the pursuing driver, commonly known as ‘dirty air’.
Drivers have frequently spoken of their frustration at being able to regularly and consistently follow a rival without losing grip, while simultaneously causing overheating to tyres, engines and brakes.
A much simpler and straightforward front wing design will be introduced, ridding the sport of the current complex front wings – while attention has also been paid to the channelling of air.
Formula 1 is striving to pursue a ‘ground effect’ solution that will see downforce generated underneath the car, in place of the complex front wings and bargeboards.
“There’s a diffuser going right under the car, with a Venturi-type channel running through it. The tunnels go right from the front to the back,” the FIA’s Head of Single-Seater Technical Matters Nikolas Tombazis said in an update issued Wednesday.
“[With the 2021 car] typically, we will go from about a 50 per cent loss of downforce for the following car at two car distances [in 2017] to about a 5-10 per cent loss. So we have a massive reduction of the loss of downforce for the following car.
“The two strong vortices we are creating take a lot of the wheel wake up and over the car behind. As a result what the car behind sees is much cleaner flow.”
The exact design of the front wing is still under discussion, according to Tombazis.
“There is further work going on with the front wing,” said Tombazis.
“We are still not completely happy with it, both from an aero point of view and from an aesthetic point of view, so we are trying to make it better in both aspects.
“There are good reasons why the current wing is very wide aerodynamically, but it is not the best aesthetic result, so there is work going on there.”
It is anticipated that the regulations will be formally ratified by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council when it convenes for its October meeting.
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