Formula 1 bosses have revealed dramatically reworked new regulations for the 2021 season, promising new-look cars that will improve on-track battling and close up the gaps between teams. The new regulations, which include both the technical specifications of the cars and new rules, have been developed over the last two years by F1 bosses and the FIA, motorsport’s governing body. There will also be a cost cap in an attempt to make closer competition between the teams. From 2021, F1 cars will have a new look, with simplified aerodynamics designed to put more emphasis on mechanical grip and make it easier for cars to race each other. It’s claimed that a 2021 car will retain 86% of downforce when a car length behind another, compared with 55% on the current machines. F1 boss Chase Carey said the aim of the new rules was “to improve the competition and action on the track and at the same time make the sport a healthier and attractive business for all.” He continued: “We made many changed during the process as we received input by the teams and other stakeholders, and we firmly believe we achieved the goals we had set out to deliver.” Carey also revealed that new engine rules and a commitment to increase the renewable element of the fuel used are designed to reduce F1’s impact on the environment, saying: “In the next few weeks, we will be launching plans to reduce and ultimately eliminate environmental impact of our sport and business.” F1 2021 rules in details Technical regulations Aerodynamics: The new rules will simplify the look of the cars, desensitise certain areas and reduce wake to make it easier for cars to follow each other. There will be a simpler front wing, bargeboards will be banned and ground effect will be added by a long diffuser under each sidepod in order to put an emphasis on mechanical grip. Restrictions will be introduced in a number of areas to limit the impact of aerodynamics, although the rules will still ensure visual differentiation in areas such as the nose, front wing, engine intake and sidepods. Power units: The current 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid powertrains will be carried forward, although to cut costs there will be new restrictions on certain materials, increased weight and the introduction of a standard fuel pump. Engine suppliers will also be obliged to provide equal-spec engines to works and customer teams. Transmission: To make ‘considerable’ savings on gearbox research and development, the configurations will be frozen for a certain period, with more restrictive rules introduced in order to not ‘lock in’ a performance advantage for one team. One complete redesign will be allowed in a five-year cycle. Suspension: Suspension setups will be simplified, with hydraulic systems banned and a requirement to use ‘simpler’ internal systems (springs and dampers). Wheels: The size of wheels will be increased to 18in, while tyre blankets will be retained – albeit at a lower cost – for 2021 and 2022. There will be prescribed-design hubs, nuts and wheel retention systems. Brakes: Front disc sizes will grow from 278mm to 330mm and have a simpler geometry (with fewer vent holes). A standard supply will be delayed until at least 2023. Chassis: There are larger cockpit dimensions so that taller drivers aren’t penalised. A prescribed front floor structure will be introduced to stop teams seeking an advantage from flexible floors and strong side beam protection to aid side impact safety. Fuel: The renewable content of the fuel used will increase to 20% for 2021, with a commitment to increase that percentage in the following years. A number of new standard parts for the fuel systems will also be introduced. Weight: The minimum mass of the cars will increase from 743kg to 768kg to account for the new wheels, tyres, standard parts, safety features and heavier power units. Safety: Cars will feature increased front energy absorbtion and side chassis strength. There will also be improved headrests and wheel tethers and new features to improve debris containment after accidents. Sporting regulations Races: The maximum number of races will increase to 25. Race weekends: Weekends will be reduced to three days from the current four (which currently comprise three days of on-track action and one day of off-track events). Development: There will be reductions in the amount of wind tunnel testing and CFD development allowed and limits on power unit dynamometer testing. Financial regulations The new cost cap for teams will be set at $175 million (£135m) for 21 races, adjusted by $1m (£773,000) for each race above or below that number on the calendar. The cost cap will exclude a number of items, including driver salaries, marketing, non-F1 activities, year-end bonuses, FIA entry fees and the costs for the ‘three highest pair
Origin: F1 bosses unveil new 2021 rules to boost racing
racing
Racing Corvette C8.R’s flat-plane-crank V8 will also power street-legal ‘Vette
Chevy has been pumping up the metaphorical tires of its newest racing Corvette, the C8.R, which it recently surprise-revealed alongside the 2020 Convertible Stingray.The engine powering the C8.R is an all-new naturally aspirated V8 with dual overhead cams and a wild flat-plane crankshaft. And due to IMSA and FIA rules, it’s limited to 5.5 litres of displacement, which is room enough to push out around 500 horsepower, 480 lb.-ft. of torque and a helluva growl. But the real news wrapped up in the announcement, the detail that’s going to make at least 300 people very excited, according to Jalopnik, is that the brand will also plunk the naturally aspirated power plant into a road-going version of the car.A Chevy rep confirmed with the publication that the engine will make its way into a future road-ready model — FIA rules demand that 300 of the engines must be made for the road-ready version. And bless the FIA for that! Because without the racing regs in the way, there’s no reason the street car shouldn’t expand displacement and access even more power. Chevrolet hasn’t disclosed which car will receive the built-for-track engine, other than to say it will be “a future production-based engine,” but the Z06 nameplate is already well-known as a performance Corvette trim, so that’s definitely not off the
Origin: Racing Corvette C8.R’s flat-plane-crank V8 will also power street-legal ‘Vette
This lawn mower wears a Honda racing throwback livery
A Twitter user by the name of McMike has earned a pat on the back and a handful of free stickers from Honda for painting his lawnmower in the same colours as one of the automakers old F1 racing cars.In a Twitter thread spanning back to January 2019, @_McMike_ chronicles the build of his 2019 Honda lawn mower dubbed Mowrichiro after company founder Soichiro Honda complete with doctored pictures and videos showing the mower tracing its lineage back to the RA273 race car.Multiple updates are included, showing the painting and building of the mower, as well as the self-made memes: Mr. Honda on a shirt with the mower, a photo of the lawnmower inserted into a picture of the real race car in 1966, that sort of thing.Inspired by Honda’s 1966-67 Formula One team, I’m very proud to launch the Mowichiro Honda HHRA273 the challenger for the 2019 Formula Lawn season. #McMower #FormulaLawn #Mowichiro #F1 #RA273 pic.twitter.com/wbRaVWRczS McMike (@_McMike_) February 8, 2019The real Honda RA273 was powered by a 400-horsepower 48-valve 3.0-litre V-12. By contrast, Mowrichiro is probably making somewhere around 4.4 horsepower.The 3.0-litre V12 engine used in the RA273 was adapted from the RA272s 1.5-litre V-12, engineered by Shoichiro Irimajiri, who would go on to become the CEO of Sega and spearhead the Dreamcast video game console project. (Obviously, he was a man of great ideas.)The RA273 wasnt a very successful racing car, earning only a fourth-place victory in the Formula 1 World Championship in 1967 in the hands of John Surtees. However, it did pave the way for the RA300, which won the 1967 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, again in the hands of John Surtees, with the same 3.0-litre V-12 engine.Earning the support of the factory, McMike received a reply from Honda Racing itself, asking for his address so it could send him some sweet die-cut racing stickers for his devotion to the
Origin: This lawn mower wears a Honda racing throwback livery
Toyota UK called hypocritical for video game street racing Tweet
2020 Toyota SupraHandout / Toyota A social media manager for Toyota UK got the brand in some hot water this week when they sent a response to a Twitter user who wanted to know why Toyota didn’t have any cars in the new Need For Speed video game. The Tweet has since been deleted, and the whole situation explained by Toyota UK, but we screencapped it so you can see what’s set the Internet ringing with cries of “hypocrisy!”Keeping its cars out of projects that romanticize illegal street racing sounds like a decision made with noble intentions, but it doesnt quite square up with what else we know about Toyotas current media partnerships.Because rumour has it Toyota will be lending its image to another media franchise that isn’t exactly renowned for its promotion of responsible, law-abiding driving. According to an Instagram image of a Supra on set and reporting by Motor1, the 2020 Toyota Supra will be one of the four-wheeled stars of the latest Fast and Furious film. All talk of hypocrisy aside, Toyota issued a five-Tweet clarification in the wake of the now-deleted post that kicked this whole thing off, explaining it has no plans to licence its cars to any video game franchises outside of Gran Turismo Sport. About last night ToyotaUK (@ToyotaUK) August 21, 2019Officially, Toyota Motor Corporation has no concrete plans to license its model range to any other games besides Gran Turismo Sport at the moment. 3/5 ToyotaUK (@ToyotaUK) August 21, 2019Well be really excited to share our future plans with you as soon as were able to. In the meantime, whether its Gran Turismo Sport, Forza or Need for Speed, keep on racing. 5/5 ToyotaUK (@ToyotaUK) August 21,
Origin: Toyota UK called hypocritical for video game street racing Tweet
Nissan plugs in quickly to electric racing
Nissan e-dams driver Sebastien Buemi had a big weekend in Brooklyn in the season-ending races of the 2019 Formula E campaign, which marked the first season for the automaker.Nissan BROOKLYN, NY When the vast majority of road cars are electric, will there be a fan base for gasoline-powered racing?Its an interesting question, and one that was bandied about by an impressive panel conveyed by Nissan during the recent Brooklyn stop on the 2019 ABB FIA Formula E calendar, the two-race event marking the end of a very successful fifth season for the all-electric, open-wheel series.Series CEO and founder Alejandro Agag made an analogy to horse racing, noting that while it was huge in the early days of the combustion engine, an era when many people still had daily contact with the four-legged creatures, today it is a niche sport.Nissan global motorsport director Michael Carcamo, who oversaw a very successful inaugural Formula E campaign for the Nissan e.dams team, agreed that even when EVs rule the roads, combustion-engine racers would still have a place.We still go to the Goodwood Revival to see cars from fifty, sixty years ago, so I think there will always be a space for the craftsmanship and artisanship of building a (gas) motor and a car, he said, adding that emissions on a racetrack are very small compared to the global total of vehicles. What we need to do is do well for the environment and the world, but theres no reason why racing has to stop.Not too surprising an outlook given Carcamos impressive career resume, which includes a mechanical engineering degree from Tufts University, a half-decade working in IndyCar, and a 17-year tenure with Nissan, the last three as global motorsport director overseeing Formula E, Super GT, prototype and GT3 racing activities.What is surprising is that it took Nissan so long to join Formula E, considering the automaker is an EV pioneer. Its all-electric Leaf model debuted in in 2010, and in March of this year global sales surpassed 400,000 units, making it the worlds best-selling highway-capable electric car. Nissan global motorsport director Michael Carcamo worked in IndyCar for five years before joining the Japanese automaker, and oversaw a very successful inaugural season for the Nissan e.dams two-car team in Formula E. Andrew McCredie Despite waiting until the fifth season of the open-wheel series to join in on the emission-free fun, Nissan proved that its extensive battery and electric powertrain knowledge from a decade of Leaf development was transferable to the racetrack. Nissan driver Sebastien Buemi won the Saturday race in Brooklyn and finished third in the Sunday race, results that gave him second place in the final drivers championship standings. The title was won by defending champion Jean-Eric Vergne of the DS Techeetah team. Buemis strong results, combined with teammate and rookie Oliver Rowlands good showings, gave the Nissan e.dams team fourth-place in the overall team standings, just one point shy of Envision Virgin Racing. By all accounts, a very successful rookie season for Nissan, the first Japanese manufacturer to enter the series.We knew we faced a steep mountain to climb when we entered this championship and the first half of the season certainly tested us, said Carcamo. We also now have a full season of data, experience, and knowledge in the Formula E championship which will not only allow us to build a better race package for season six but will also play a key role in improving our electric vehicles for the road.That latter point, in essence, is the raison d’etre for Formula E. The real world RD achieved by running the battery packs, motors and inverters flat out for the course of a race is invaluable for the automakers in the series. Its why Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are fielding teams for season six, joining the established teams from Audi, BMW, Jaguar and Nissan. That the racing is wheel-to-wheel exciting, many of the drivers have F1 experience and the winner is often in doubt until the final lap is just a bonus. Driver Sebastien Buemi and Nissan global motorsport director Michael Carcamo celebrate in the Nissan e.dams garage during the Brooklyn race weekend, in which Buemi won the first race and placed third in the second race. Nissan During the panel discussion Carcamo alluded to this transfer of knowledge from racetrack to road car by saying the secret sauce of this series is efficiency.I caught up with him in the Nissan e.dams garage the next day to find out what he meant by this.As compared to other race series where every team and every manufacturer is only focused on achieving the maximum power, and so power density is the most important factor, in Formula E we all have a limit to the power output and its regulated (by FIA), the engineer in him explained, adding the DNA of an electric vehicle are the powertrain and battery management systems. Theres no way to get around that FIA rule, so the only other choice you have is
Origin: Nissan plugs in quickly to electric racing
This is the battery-powered SUV racing the new Extreme E off-road series
For what seems like ages, the founder of the fledgling Formula E race series has been talking about upping the electrified ante with an off-road series.On what type of tracks will it run? Who are the drivers? What will the trucks look like?We now have an answer to the last question, at least, thanks to a big reveal at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the U.K. last Friday.Called the Odyssey 21, the steroidal off-road machine zipped up Lord Marchs driveway under the command of Indy 500 champ Gil de Ferran in what was the prototypes first public display. Built by a French company called Spark, it was powered by batteries designed by none other than the Williams Formula One team.Using its healthy-but-undisclosed amount of right-now thrust, the Odyssey 21 is capable of hurtling itself through the atmosphere to 100 km/h from rest in about 4.5 seconds before topping out at about 200 km/h. Non-racing conditions could stretch its total range to 200 km. The plan is to allow manufacturer teams to use their own powertrain and bodywork so the units looks more like road-going SUVs.As for racing locations, series honcho Alejandro Agag says they have identified three of the five locations needed, including an altitude and jungle site along with a desert location. Ocean and polar locales are still in the works. Agag also said the series would be open to the idea of hydrogen-propelled cars when the technology permits.Formula E has seen many advancements despite being a relatively young racing series, including format changes and battery improvements. All this gives hope to the reality of this Extreme E series in
Origin: This is the battery-powered SUV racing the new Extreme E off-road series
You can buy this Audi R8 LMS GT2 to go racing
Audi R8 LMS GT2Audi The Stphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) is hosting its inaugural race series next year, and Audi has already built a race car to compete in their GT2 class.Its called the R8 LMS GT2, and yes thats quite a mouthful, but its also quite a car.Audi starts with the latest road-going version of its R8 supercar, throws away anything that makes it too heavy, then adds a few horsepower and some downforce.The race car makes 630 horsepower from its 5.2-litre V10 powerplant, a small bump over the 612 offered in the street car. What really makes this vehicle a track weapon, however, is the weight savings.Most of the interior has been thrown out, and whats left has been replaced with carbon-fibre substitutes. The diet has resulted in a dry weight of 1,350 kilograms, a healthy weight to power ratio of 2.1 kg/hp. The whole shebang ends up being 100 kg lighter than Audis GT4-spec counterpart. Audi says the vehicle has more in common with the R8 Spyder than the coupe, despite the race car being a hard-top. This is likely to give the vehicle a lower centre of gravity, and allow the use of lighter weight materials for the hard top.Carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, a redesigned splitter and a rear diffuser round out the changes that make the car more sticky.It also has the best tires ever, which take on the highlighter yellow colour scheme and create a cool strobe effect that make them look like a computer graphic from the 1980s.If you want to race one, its going to cost you 338,000 euros before taxes, or about half a million Canadian dollars. Deliveries will begin before the end of next
Origin: You can buy this Audi R8 LMS GT2 to go racing
Alfa Romeo Racing edition Giulia and Stelvio celebrate F1 return at Goodwood
An aero package developed with help from Sauber adds a unique front splitter, more prominent rear spoiler and wider side skirts. Inside the cabin, unique stylistic details include Sparco racing seats with red stitching and carbonfibre shells, and carbonfibre inserts in the gearknob and steering wheel. Just ten Giulia and three Stelvio models will initially be made available for UK customers, with prices starting from £89,500 for the Giulia saloon and £96,500 for the Stelvio SUV. Both cars will be taking part in the Goodwood hillclimb at this year’s Festival. The Alfa Romeo Racing edition cars were first revealed at the Geneva motor show earlier this year alongside the Stelvio Ti, equipped with a 276bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine, and a Giulia Veloce Ti in Misano Blue featuring extensive use of carbonfibre. Alfa also used that event to announce trim level revisions and a rejigging of the engine range for the 2019 Alfa Giulietta: the Super, the Speciale and the Veloce. There is now a choice of three different Euro 6D-compliant engines – a 1.4-litre 118bhp turbo petrol and 1.6-litre 118bhp diesel in manual or automatic, plus a 2.0-litre 168bhp diesel available in TCT automatic transmission only. The entry-level Super comes with cruise control, dual air-con, front foglights and rear parking sensors as standard; side skirts, sports seats, tinted windows and an oversized exhaust come with the Speciale; and the top-of-the-range Veloce includes 18in dark alloy wheels, twin exhausts, Alcantara and fabric seats, electric mirrors, auto headlights and wipers, and Uconnect
Origin: Alfa Romeo Racing edition Giulia and Stelvio celebrate F1 return at Goodwood
Toyota Gazoo Racing tests Super Sport hypercar ahead of Le Mans debut
A production version of Toyota Gazoo’s GR Super Sport Concept is set to be entered into a new hypercar-based class at the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race from 2020, and the factory racing outfit has been conducting early track tests at Fuji Speedway in Japan. An official video, published just as the team was winning the LMP1 division of this year’s Le Mans 24 Hour race, shows Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda trying out the Aston Martin Valkyrie rival alongside test driver Kamui Kobayashi. Toyoda’s participation in sports car development is well documented; the recently launched GR Supra was not signed off until he had a chance to put it through its paces at the Nürburgring. Styling changes over the Super Sport concept, shown in 2018, are minimal, save for the addition of a mild camouflage paint scheme. Two prototypes feature, one with a prominent roof scoop and one without, though it is not clear which is the race car and which is destined for series production. Homologation rules dictate that the top-rung Le Mans hypercars must be strongly related to roadgoing equivalents, meaning reigning LMP1 champion Gazoo Racing will soon reveal a road-going version of the Super Sport. The company says: “Both road and race car are undergoing design and intensive development at the company’s technical centres in Toyota City, Higashi-Fuji and Cologne.” The model’s name has yet to be confirmed. First shown at last year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, the concept is based on the company’s World Endurance Championship prototype racer, the TS050 Hybrid. The concept features the same carbonfibre structure as the racing model and has a 2.4-litre V6 petrol engine with electric assistance behind its cockpit. The road-going version of Gazoo Racing’s concept will sit above the new Supra. Gazoo, Toyota’s performance and racing arm, also recently introduced the Yaris GRMN hot hatch, which marked Gazoo’s arrival in Britain and serves as its entry-level model. Gazoo president Shigeki Tomoyama said: “If the e-Palette concept (an autonomous pod that was revealed in Las Vegas) is the next generation of the horse-drawn carriage, the GR Super Sport Concept would be the polar opposite as the next-generation racehorse. Its appeal is more personal, like that of a much-loved horse to its owner. “Despite the differences between the two concept models, both are electrified vehicles equipped with the latest IT technologies and are set to become safe and environmentally friendly connected
Origin: Toyota Gazoo Racing tests Super Sport hypercar ahead of Le Mans debut
Toyota Gazoo Racing commits to new hypercar class at Le Mans
A production version of Toyota Gazoo’s GR Super Sport Concept is set to be entered into a new hypercar-based class at the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race from 2020. New rules announced by the FIA will allow hypercars such as the Aston Martin Valkyrie and McLaren Senna to race in competition form from 2020 onwards. Toyota’s hybrid concept, revealed last year, looks close to the form that will be adopted by such models and is likely to be part of this new pack. Homologation rules dictate that the top-rung Le Mans hypercars must be strongly related to roadgoing equivalents, meaning reigning LMP1 champion Gazoo Racing will soon reveal a road-going version of last year’s concept. The company says: “Both road and race car are undergoing design and intensive development at the company’s technical centres in Toyota City, Higashi-Fuji and Cologne.” The model’s name has yet to be confirmed. First shown at last year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, the concept is based on the company’s World Endurance Championship prototype racer, the TS050 Hybrid. The concept features the same carbonfibre structure as the racing model and has a 2.4-litre V6 petrol engine with electric assistance behind its cockpit. The road-going version of Gazoo Racing’s concept will sit above the new Supra. Gazoo, Toyota’s performance and racing arm, also recently introduced the Yaris GRMN hot hatch, which marked Gazoo’s arrival in Britain and serves as its entry-level model. Gazoo president Shigeki Tomoyama said: “If the e-Palette concept (an autonomous pod that was revealed in Las Vegas) is the next generation of the horse-drawn carriage, the GR Super Sport Concept would be the polar opposite as the next-generation racehorse. Its appeal is more personal, like that of a much-loved horse to its owner. “Despite the differences between the two concept models, both are electrified vehicles equipped with the latest IT technologies and are set to become safe and environmentally friendly connected
Origin: Toyota Gazoo Racing commits to new hypercar class at Le Mans
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