Racing Point technical director Andy Green has launched another fierce attack on the new Formula 1 car design coming for 2021.
After over a year of research and development, motorsport director Ross Brawn revealed the final concept last October in Austin with the aim of promoting closer racing by eliminating the issue of dirty air, something that has blighted F1 cars for decades.
In an effort to avoid designers undoing those efforts, tighter limits on aerodynamic development are being imposed but Green, who has previously described the 2021 cars as “nasty”, believes teams will still find solutions that Brawn and his team haven’t considered.
“We tap the regulations for freedom that the FIA has not thought of and, in principle, we try to break the basic idea of the regulations,” he explained to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.
“I think the regulations are pretty fragile, there are areas that can be broken. We then have to see how the FIA reacts to it.
“I would even bet that something similar would happen to the double diffuser in 2021.”
The reference to the double diffuser harks back to the last time F1 tried to solve the dirty air issue back in 2009 but several teams, notably Brawn GP, discovered the aerodynamic innovation which was later copied by almost every team.
That device also helped recoup some of the downforce that was lost with the 2009 cars and with a similar drop in performance expected next year, the Racing Point chief expects drivers won’t be impressed.
“I don’t think it will be a great car to drive,” Green stated.
“We have to work with a very simple front wing and that is exactly the problem. The wing gives us no control over determining what happens to the airflow afterwards. The flow looks very, very messy.
“There are a few nasty aerodynamic areas on this car,” he added. “We won’t be able to solve the problems there, but we have to mitigate them as much as possible.”
Also Read:
- Brawn responds to Racing Point’s ‘nasty’ 2021 car claim: ‘They’ve done the least work!’
- Symonds: How F1 is avoiding the mistakes made in 2009 with 2021 regs
- Mercedes cast doubt on the effectiveness of 2021 cars to improve racing
More generally, Green admits he finds the 2021 car to be underwhelming compared to other futuristic designs that have been created.
“The front wing is too big. The aesthetics don’t fit … I want something new, something exciting. We have to get a whole new generation excited about our sport, otherwise this sport will not be around for long,” he claimed.
“Unfortunately I don’t see that with the 2021 regulations. I don’t see anyone getting excited. What happened to the concept cars that Adrian Newey designed? That caused a tingle.”
