The coronavirus pandemic has been a sobering impact on many facets of daily life. One of the biggest hit industries is the entertainment and event industry such as sports, concerts and anything where large groups of people would normally gather.
That has a knock-on effect as the ramifications begin to seep upward through an organization and Formula 1 is no different. Today’s news is an example of how impacts such as these often prompt organizations to seek ways to minimize impact.
In a report from Autosport, the teams were on a conference call this week to discuss multiple scenarios including unchanged technical rules for 2021 as well as freezing component development including chassis, gearbox and other mechanical parts. In short, pausing some of the larger and more expensive elements of the proposed 2021 technical regulations. This would leave aerodynamics as the main differentiator for the foreseeable future.
As Formula 1 intimated, there are a lot of decisions to be made with multiple stockholders and pausing the 2021 regulation changes will be a relief for the teams and their 2020 budgets. As I mentioned previously, establishing a cost-cap first, then mandating the technical changes seems like a better plan anyway and this would ensure that teams can’t spend a fortune on the new spec car and then ride that advantage for a 5-7 year period. Maybe it is a good time to pause the 2021 proposed changes?
There as also talk of how to get a full season in for 2020 with options of running through January and delaying the 2021 season start. Lots to discuss, we aren’t out of the woods yet, folks. It remains to be seen how the impact affects car manufacturers as we saw in 2008 with Toyota, BMW and Honda all leaving the sport.
Hat Tip: Autosport
