Racing Point’s technical director Andy Green has voiced his dissatisfaction with the new regulations for the 2021 season, suggesting they offer more problems than solutions.
Having spent three decades working in Formula 1 as an engineer, Green has seen his fair share of technical upheaval, but described the new regulations as “the biggest regular reform in my career. The changes are monstrous.”
Even before the 2020 season has started, Green revealed teams are hard at work on their 2021 designs, hoping to find a loophole their rivals will fail to exploit.
“We tap the regulations for freedom that the FIA has not thought of. In principle, we try to break the basic idea of the regulations. 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,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.
“I would even bet that something similar would happen to the double diffuser in 2021.”
In addition, Green is unhappy with how the FIA and Liberty Media have gone about their stated intention to slow the cars by three seconds a lap, saying: “I don’t think it will be a great car to drive.”
“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 air flow afterwards. The flow looks very, very messy.”
“There are a few nasty aerodynamic areas on this car. We won’t be able to solve the problems there, but we have to mitigate them as much as possible,” he continued.
One problem Green fears his team won’t be able to solve adequately is the minimum weight limit, with the increase from 745 to 768 kilograms not enough to compensate for the introduction of more standardised parts and an increase in the minimum weight of the drive unit from 145 to 150kgs.
“Quite simply: The minimum weight is too low for the parts that we have to screw onto the car.”
In one final parting shot, Green also took aim at the look of the cars, suggesting he would’ve liked something more “exciting”.
“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. 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.”