Tomorrow’s world
‘We don’t think that speed is a key parameter for the spectacle, race-ability is the main target’
The time for speculation is over. The F1 2021 technical, sporting and financial regulations have now been released and include some of the biggest changes seen in F1’s recent history.
The objectives behind this new batch of rules was to create a competitive grid filled with financially sustainable teams whose cars could battle out on track, whilst showcasing road relevant and eco-friendly technologies. A tough ask for the FIA, but one that has been supported by a wealth of research and experience from both F1 and the teams. In fact, this collaborative effort has made the research into the 2021 regulations the most in-depth to date. crucial thing about the financial regulations now is that they are part of the FIA regulations so the sanctions of breaching the financial regs will incur sporting penalties depending on the severity of the breach. Whereas before we had the resource restriction agreement which was a gentlemen’s agreement with the teams. Well there’s not many gentlemen in the paddock, I’m afraid, and that was a failure.
‘But this time if you breach the financial regulations you will be losing your championship, so it has serious consequences,’ Brawn adds. ‘There are a number of exclusions; we’ve tried to really capture the areas where they can spend money and gain a competitive advantage so we’ve tried to control some of those. We’ve got a very strong team of financial experts within the FIA and F1 and we’ve also sourced outside support with Deloitte and they will continue to help introduce and develop these regulations. They’ve been pretty well thought out, but they will need development like any new regulations. So, I fully expect that we’re going to have challenges in the future but its absolutely essential that we have control on the finances and how much we spend in Formula 1. I think it’s a turning point in F1, but it won’t be a smooth road.’
The specifics of these financial regulations are to be finalised by December 2019 and by 30 June 2020 the teams can voluntarily submit their 2019 data as a sort of practice run. By 31 March 2021 teams can again voluntarily submit their 2020 financial data as a ‘soft introduction’ to help the FIA and Formula 1 iron out any issues, and so won’t incur any penalties. But, by 31 March 2022, teams will have
