2021 F1 Concept car

[mikael]

Sept 3, 2019 4:24:05 GMT Carl said:

Shocking news from a reliably dubious source:

theluggnutt.com/2019/08/22/f1s-2021-1-24th-scale-wind-tunnel-test-car-is-actually-just-a-full-scale-1991-f1-car/

The more photos that appear, the more does this ring true: the 2021 concept car does actually look a good deal like the 1991 Ferrari ...

[René]

The Ferrari concept by John Barnard was genius and arguably far ahead of its time. The new concept car actually looks more compact than the current cars but I don't know if that's really the case.

The Ferrari shown above is the 1990 car. The 1991 car was the 643, unfortunately the least successful of the 640 series but damn it was pretty!

[chrisb]

that John Bernard Ferrari really was pretty and these concept cars look a whole lot better than existing models, my biggest regret is that these new rules will again stifle innovation -

[charleselan]

To my eyes the last good looking F1 car could well be the 1995 Ferrari 412, probably the only downside being the ever growing barge boards but even those aren't too intrusive. It sounded superb also with the last V12 motor and even Michael thought it a great car when he first tested it at the end of the 1995 season.

[René]

Yes, that was a great looking car. And Michael was indeed impressed with it.

That will always be a big "what if", what could he have done with this car? He would have won races for sure as he was certainly a level above Berger and Alesi.

[mikael]

This is an interesting article, even just to glance over, to understand how it happened that all cars now are all alike, more or less:

www.f1technical.net/features/23219

So it's not that all teams have arrived at the same solution (assisted by, say, CFD) - the shape is really specified.

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On another matter, I find the talks about four-cylinder F1 engines for the next generation (of engines) quite interesting. If the maximum fuel flow-rate stands, then, having small "furious" engines would certainly be more interesting than larger "muzzled" ones.

www.grandprix.com/news/renault-opposed-to-four-cylinder-f1-engine-idea.html

A lengthy article from Auto Motor und Sport (Google-translated, unedited):

Formula 1 with four-cylinder?

There are many meetings on the engine of the future, but not much further. It is not even clear whether the new engines will have four or six cylinders. The manufacturers divide themselves into different camps according to their wishes. If no agreement is found by Monza, the FIA ​​could arbitrarily create facts for 2026.

The target is still 2025. Then a new drive concept should replace the current one. But this will soon require an agreement on what the future should look like. Despite several meetings of manufacturers at all levels, most recently on July 29, not much progress has been made on the fundamental issues. A new attempt is to be started in Monza after the summer break. It could be the last.

There is only agreement that climate-neutral fuel and a hybrid drive are compulsory. But you shouldn't wait until 2026 with that. By then, all trains have left politically. Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, Red Bull, Audi and Porsche also come to a common denominator when it comes to costs. It's supposed to get cheaper with a budget cap, preferably under $ 100 million. But it is also clear. The technical concept determines the budget. And that is still completely open. 
             
Problem with newcomers

New prospects like Porsche or Audi would prefer a completely new start. That's logic. Then they would start on an equal footing with the established manufacturers. But not everyone thinks that is a good thing. Renault takes the position that you have to earn your merits hard.

Audi - DTM - four-cylinder engine - 2019
Is Audi coming to Formula 1? A four-cylinder racing engine had already been built for the DTM in Ingolstadt.

"It makes little sense that we come up with a concept that sells three companies in order to gain a new one," warns Alpine technical director Marcin Budkowski. The development disadvantage of newcomers can also be compensated for with a temporarily higher budget cap or more test bench hours.

In this situation, the two fundamental questions remain unanswered. Should you keep the V6 engine or start a new chapter with a four-cylinder? Should the desire for 400 kilowatts of electrical power be achieved by expanding the MGU-H or by recuperation on the front axle? Ideally without four-wheel drive. We asked the manufacturers currently represented in Formula 1 and asked who wanted what when they could choose freely.
Mercedes advocates optimization

Two directions can be roughly filtered out. Mercedes and Renault represent one, Ferrari and Red Bull the other. Mercedes is in favor of maintaining the six-cylinder engine. For cost reasons. Every new design costs money.


The defending champion would also like to receive the MGU-H as a technology, but would be willing to compromise if it turns out that the desired total electrical output can only be achieved via the front axle. The classic energy recovery on the rear axle is at its limit for reasons of driving dynamics.

Renault basically swims on the same wave. "If we have CO2-neutral fuel, we don't need a four-cylinder.

The V6 is already here. Why reinvent the wheel?" Says Budkowski. The chassis engineer is reluctant to use an electric motor on the front axle. "That means massive modifications to the car, more weight and more costs."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner believes that it is impossible to cut costs with the current drive architecture. "Such an engine will always cost two million dollars. But we have to cut it by half."

When it comes to hybrids, Red Bull sees no need to increase the proportion of electricity. A simple MGU-K is enough. The green element is met by the environmentally friendly fuels. And the fig leaf hybrid will neither get better nor worse, whether you feed 120 or 400 kilowatts into the system.

     
Ferrari is more for a new beginning 
     
Ferrari is also in favor of a new beginning, albeit different from Red Bull. As a sports car manufacturer, Maranello focuses on the technology's relevance to series production. CO2-neutral fuels are an absolute requirement. Then it doesn't really matter how many cylinders the engine has. The V6 is no longer a religion, as it was eight years ago in the last engine discussions. "We are open to a new start with a four-cylinder," says Maranello. And what about hybrid? Here, too, Ferrari is ready for a rethink. Recuperating on the front axle brings closer proximity to series production than the MGU-H, which has not yet made it into a single road car.

The FIA has a free hand for 2026

Time is running out. If one of the manufacturers believes that they can achieve their goals by delaying the debates, then they are on the wrong track. Both the FIA and F1 management know the importance of getting the new engines up as early as possible.

If there is no agreement by the end of the summer, the FIA can present manufacturers with a fait accompli and make them hurry. The Concorde agreement expires at the end of 2025. The association can do what it wants for 2026.