Will Red Bull be hit hard by new rules in 2021? "Will have great impact"

5 June 2020 at 08:38

GPblog.com

Last week it was announced that the race teams in Formula 1 have accepted a lot of new rules for the coming seasons. From 2021 new rules will be introduced regarding the floor and possibly the Red Bull Racing of Max Verstappen will be the team that will be hit the hardest next year.

One of the new rules is that designers like Adrian Newey will no longer have the freedom to make holes on the edge of the floor. This should ensure that the downforcement level is reduced to an acceptable level for the cars in 2021.

Especially teams with high-rake are hit

The bottom line is that the floor is actually simplified, and Red Bull is precisely the team that uses a very advanced floor. Marc Priestley shines his light on the new rules and their consequences in a video on his YouTube channel.

"Next year the cars floor will be one solid block rather than being the intricate detailed selection of slots and flaps and flick ups what we see today", says Priestley. "That is going to have a relatively significant impact on the performance of the floor. So who will this affect more? Well the obvious thought process is that it will affect more the teams that use that floor being the most efficient and the greater way."

"You’ve got to say that at the moment, that is the guys who run the high rake concept. Red Bull being the leader of that particular pack. What they do with their concept is they make that the priority, the focus of their downforce producing elements at the underside of the car."

How is Red Bull going to handle this?

Does that mean Red Bull is going to be hit hard and they're going to be struggling in 2021, as the rest of the 2020 car will be almost completely taken to 2021? "Yes and no. The reason I say that is not necessarily the are still one of the biggest teams, one of the most founded teams. They have one of the biggest and best set of resources, particularly in aerodynamic terms. That’s why they have been leaders in concepts like the high-rake concept", McLaren's former engineer continues.

In 2022 the new cars will enter the pinnacle motorsport. That's also why Priestley thinks Red Bull won't suddenly drop the high-rake concept next year. "Not at all. Their entire car centred around it and don’t forget this is the final year in 2021 when this type of car will be in operation. It would be a huge risk to change their concept at this point."