F1 2021 'India' concept

FIA will make concessions to avoid ‘GP1’ cars in 2021 – Steiner

2021 F1 season

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The FIA is prepared to relax its planned changes to the 2021 technical to give teams greater design freedom, according to Haas team principal Guenther Steiner.

The sport’s governing body, in conjunction with Formula 1 Management, is proposing a radical overhaul of car design intended to allow them to follow each other more closely.

However some teams have expressed concern that it will leave them with too little freedom to pursue their own design directions and lead to a field of similar-looking cars.

“What I always said, and I say it again, I do not support GP1 racing,” said Steiner. “A too [restrictive] regulation, I’m not a supporter of that and I voiced that in the meeting.”

Forcing a similar design on the cars would not help close the gap between F1’s top three teams and the rest of the field, Steiner added.

“[F1’s] DNA needs to stay. Having all the same-looking cars would not make a difference in competitiveness, the big teams will still spend more money on things you cannot even see now because they don’t differentiate the cars anymore.”

Guenther Steiner, Sochi Autodrom, 2019
“I do not support GP1 racing”
But he believes the FIA is willing to compromise with teams and grant them some design freedoms.

“They’ve done a lot, the FIA and FOM have done the aero research and we need to respect that because they spent a lot of time,” said Steiner.

“I think they diligently tried to find areas where we want differentiation which doesn’t impact on the overtaking studies.

“They’re trying to do a diligent job as well and they come back with ideas, constructive ones that we get it our way that the cars look different but they don’t influence too much of what they were working towards to make the cars better at overtaking.”

As F1 team principals and sport bosses meet today, what are the chances they will agree on a deal for the 2021 regulations? Read @DieterRencken’s analysis in today’s RacingLines column on RaceFans.

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13 comments on “FIA will make concessions to avoid ‘GP1’ cars in 2021 – Steiner”

  1. In my point of view, the FiA should have his own team in 2021. Their car (one is enough) should be the GP1. Other teams can do whatever they want under the rule of 2021. The idea of the official car is to collect and share their whole data and do some tests. If some team, like Williams this year, fall too behind, they can use the concept of the official car to catch up with the front. And when some new team want to come in, they can do all the job base on the FiA car, not on the ground. The official car is not to race to win, but to set a baseline of F1. Maybe it will cost a lot, but maybe it will be a good solution.

    1. I like it.
      Maybe Williams should make the GP1 car for the FIA… it would solve two issues and give some breathing room to the team.

      1. Nah. Williams would do pit stops on the GP1 car in record time, then radio to the driver that he needs to box to retire to conserve parts.

    2. Honestly when I started reading your post I thought it was a joke rather than a serious suggestion.

      But its actually not so bad of an idea.

    3. Fun idea. Spec GP1 car with many concessions, larger wings, more fuel flow etc. and set price.

      + F1 spec car teams make.

      That would fill up the grid, but FIA has no capability to make a GP1 car. Even if they employ Ross Brown.

      It is already a two tier championship. Big 3 and everyone else.

    4. @enzoli

      If some team, like Williams this year, fall too behind, they can use the concept of the official car to catch up with the front.

      This will not work though. The thing is that the FIA would construct the car with the spirit of the rules in mind. The speed gains are made because of teams finding out ways to go faster within the written rules, but not necessarily within the spirit of the rules.
      Hence a car made by the spirit of the rules, or in this case the FIA car, would probably be the slowest of the bunch and nobody would “catch up with the front” by looking at that FIA car.

    5. Great idea! And that could give Kubica a race seat!

  2. When faced with the choice of making concessions on a plan they never cared for in the first place or losing Formula 1, period, of course, they will compromise.

    Same is true for the rights holders and their proposals for a sport without teams.

    In the end, money talks.

  3. Before people start wringing their hands that 2021 is dead in the water consider that the aero changes are the main focus, not the standardisation of parts. I’m fine with this, we want different looking cars and more contra-concepts like Merc / Ferrari this year to keep us guessing.

  4. I don’t care what the damn cars look like as long as they can follow and pass each other in passing zones. I’m getting fed up with this pussy-footing around.

  5. They already look the same! Strip the paint jobs off them all and they’ll be indistinguishable from one another!

    When is the FIA going to grow a spine and tell the teams “these are the rules, this is the cost cap, and there’s the door if you don’t like either. Ciao”.

  6. I don’t like the livery on these new cars. The green is rather bland and it doesn’t really work with the red rear/orange wings.

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