The small change that will be F1 2021's big talking point
As focus sharpens for Formula 1 teams on the new, yet familiar, 2021 cars there is a growing understanding that this year one minor rule tweak will actually create a major challenge
When Formula 1 teams signed off on some detail tweaks to the floor dimensions for 2021 in a bid to cut back on downforce, it did not generate a tremendous amount of fanfare.
It was hardly a surprise, though. For what initially appeared to be quite small dimension tweaks - barely 10cm of floor area being removed ahead of the rear tyre - the difference is pretty much indistinguishable on television or from trackside.
Share Or Save This Story
Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.
Jonathan has won multiple awards for journalism - in 1991 he was the winner of the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Sir William Lyons’ Award for young journalists, in 2010 he was awarded the Outstanding Individual accolade for consumer journalism in the Haymarket wards, in 2011 he won Haymarket’s Scoop of the Year, and in 2018 he was awarded a prestigious Medaglia d’Oro at the Lorenzo Bandini Awards for his contribution to F1 journalism.
More from Jonathan Noble
Hamilton: Norris would have been better off conceding in Turn 1
Shanghai F1 grass fire mystery remains; emergency team on standby
F1 teams and Pirelli had no warning of "painted" Shanghai track surface
FIA still chasing answers over bizarre Shanghai F1 grass fires
Audi a player, not a spectator, in F1 driver market - Sauber
Mercedes joins Williams and RB with 'quick and cheap' F1 cockpit airflow upgrades
Alpine gets F1 spare car for first time as lighter chassis appears
Why F1 2026 worst-case fears could be key to new rules success
Latest news
Hamilton: Norris would have been better off conceding in Turn 1
Leclerc: Sainz “over the limit” in F1 Chinese GP sprint race defending
2024 F1 Chinese GP sprint results: Verstappen wins from fourth on grid
F1 Chinese GP: Verstappen passes Hamilton to win first sprint of 2024
Prime
The short-term pain that hides a very real Williams improvement
How a Shanghai to Sheffield journey paved the way for China’s F1 hero
Why F1 2026 worst-case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.