Formula One unveils 2021 concept cars to improve racing

The intention is to develop cars that are “more raceable,” according to Ross Brawn, Formula One’s managing director of motorsports.

Ross Brawn...“I'm pretty optimistic we are going to produce some great looking cars that are going to be able to race each other more closely.”

Formula One on Friday unveiled plans for futuristic new cars to be used from the 2021 season to improve racing and be more attractive to fans.

Ross Brawn, Formula One’s managing director of motorsports, told reporters at the Singapore Grand Prix that the intention was to develop cars that are “more raceable” and that fans would be eager to stick pictures of the new vehicles up on their walls. “I'm pretty optimistic we are going to produce some great looking cars that are going to be able to race each other more closely,” Brawn said.

Efforts to develop new aerodynamics

The former Mercedes team principal said he had been working with teams and motorsport governing body FIA to develop new aerodynamics that would enable cars to follow each other at shorter distances without a loss of performance.

Read: Mixed response to Toto Wolff's three-car team proposal

“What we established early on in our research is the cars we have now are very bad in following each other,” said Brawn. “Once the cars get within a few car lengths of each other, they lose 50 per cent of their downforce.”

Brawn showed three different concept designs and said the 2021 cars would incorporate the best features from all of them. The unveiling came days after designs had been leaked on social media. The three design concepts include simpler front and rear wings and a sweeping integrated halo cockpit protection system to improve aesthetics.