Red Bull chief designer Adrian Newey is critical of Formula 1’s new regulations for 2021, describing them as “a little bit GP1”.
Next year will see an all-new design introduced with the hope of allowing closer racing by reducing the amount of turbulent air which has been an issue with F1 cars for decades.
However, to stop designers like Newey undoing the improvements in that area, aerodynamic development has been greatly restricted and that disappoints the Red Bull chief.
“In many ways, I look forward to regulation changes because it’s an opportunity to try to understand new things, but what I don’t like is the general trend in successive regulations to become ever more restrictive,” Newey told iNews.
“What was very nice about the last major change back in 2009 was that it wasn’t more restrictive, but these new ones for 2021 are very restrictive and prescriptive, and I think that is an awful shame.
“It makes it a little bit GP1 which is not what I think Formula 1 should be.
“But it’s been pushed through regardless of what people think, so whether it’s good for the sport or not, only time will tell,” he concluded.
Despite his reservations, however, the creator of 10 championship-winning cars is already hard at work trying to add the 2021 car to his list, as Red Bull boss Christian Horner revealed.
“Of course it’s that balancing act this year because we’re pushing as hard as we can on RB16, but RB17 is a very different car to new regulations,” he said on the development challenge teams are facing this season.
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“A lot of Adrian’s focus is already on RB17 but you’ve only got a certain amount of resource and it’s how you carve that up without compromising current performance.
“So you’ve got to spin a few plates this year. You’ve got a finite amount of resource, and it’s how you use that resource effectively and efficiently.”
“We’ve got, I think, enough focus on both campaigns at the moment,” he added, “but of course there will gradually be a transition over after the first third of the year.”