2021 Regulations Postponed

The FIA Postpone 2021 Regulations Until The 2022 Season 

Unsurprisingly, Formula 1 have officially announced the postponed of the technical shifts that were due to be instituted by the FIA in the 2021 regulations shift.

It is a good thing there was unanimous agreement and the decision to push regulations extensds only to the technical regulations. The FIA & Formula 1 have decided to hold the financial regulations. But keep in mind, there was an extensive grace period available so this really doesn’t adjust things terribly much as teams should have already been preparing for this.

The financial burden is going to be great for teams like Williams who were already depending on the $175 million cost cap to assist in bunching the field more. This may have them struggling even further despite the agreed upon decision to freeze all development of the chassis with the 2021 chassis having to be entered to race in 2021. Other parts are subject to freeze too but until they announce a full on Power Unit, there’s plenty of ways the bigger teams especially can find incremental gains in performance over the midfield.

The Official FIA 2021 Regulations Postponement Statement

The FIA recently said in a statement Thursday March 19th that “All parties further discussed the current situation of the 2020 championship and how the sport will react to the ongoing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic…”. See the rest of the statement below.

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The FIA on postponing 2021 Technical Regulations until 2022
“​Due to the currently volatile financial situation this has created, it has been agreed that teams will use their 2020 chassis for 2021, with the potential freezing of further components to be discussed in due course. The introduction and implementation of the financial regulations will go ahead as planned in 2021, and discussions remain ongoing between the FIA, Formula 1 and all teams regarding further ways to make significant cost savings. All teams expressed their support for the FIA and Formula 1 in their ongoing efforts to restructure the 2020 calendar as the global situation regarding COVID-19 develops. All of these commitments will be referred to the relevant governing structures for final ratification.”

What’s Next For Formula 1?

Now that Formula 1 has moved forward with the cancellation of the Monaco Grand Prix and the postponement of the Dutch & Spanish Grand Prix, the 2020 season is shortening dramatically which only further complicates the 2021 season as the financial regulations hold. The real interesting conversation started to blossom is how are contracts going to be handled. Let’s not forget a majority of contracts on the grid expire this season so will it be a holding pattern with 1 year extensions all around? Or does a driver go for broke and looks to secure a seat in the midst of the chaos? Moreover, while there is a chassis freeze in place, what does this mean for the Ferrari PU story?

As more Formula 1 news pours out, I’ll be sure to keep sifting out the important stuff and presenting it here.