FIA cancels plan for spec F1 brakes in 2021

The FIA has canceled its plan to introduce a single specification of brake system components and materials in 2021 so that it can fully understand the impact of the new regulations.

Formula 1 is set for a radical regulation change in just over a year’s time, with the sport aiming to deliver cars that are less aerodynamically sensitive when following closely. There is also a hope to close up the grid through both technical regulations and financial restrictions, and one way of doing both is by standardizing more parts.

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One of those parts originally identified was brake systems, but the FIA has now released a statement saying the 2021 regulations will not include standardization in this area.

“To allow further evaluation of the real-world performance of 2021 Formula 1 cars, the FIA has chosen to delay the potential implementation of single suppliers for brake friction materials and brake system components,” the statement read.

“The significant regulation changes and their interpretation by the teams will affect multiple aspects of the 2021 cars, and considering the critical role of the brakes in both safety and performance, the FIA has decided to cancel both the selection process for brake systems and for brake friction materials in F1 until further studies can be undertaken.

“The FIA would like to thank the preselected bidder, Brembo, for providing a thorough and sound proposal based on the specifications supplied to it. Nonetheless, and in light of the considerations regarding car performance mentioned above, it has been decided to reassess the situation in 2021.”

The change is seen as a victory for the larger teams in F1, who have been complaining about how restrictive the 2021 regulations will be.

“I doubt there’s any aero department that’s read those rules and got particularly excited about them,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said in Singapore when asked by RACER if the 2021 regulations are too prescriptive. “For any aerodynamicist, prescriptive design is not in their DNA.

“There’s probably a few long faces in the aero department... but that’s not just unique to Red Bull, and our strengths over the last few years hasn’t purely been solely down to aerodynamics. It’s more digesting those rules, they raise some questions which will no doubt be put forward in the coming meetings which we seem to have endless amounts of and we will see where they end up.”