Aston Martin confirm 2021 car will have entirely new chassis
Aston Martin confirm 2021 car will have entirely new chassis
Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer has confirmed the team's first car this year will carry an entirely new chassis despite the supposed carryover of parts from last season.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that severely affected F1 over the first part of last season, it was agreed that the introduction of new regulations would be delayed by a year to 2022 and there would be a freeze on last year's cars into this season in a bid to save money.
The teams, however, were still permitted two development tokens each under the rules to use as they saw fit, which has resulted in Aston Martin opting for chassis changes.
This is due to the fact the FIA has made significant tweaks to the regulations to trim downforce.
"We didn’t have the normal latitude of development that we usually do, so from a philosophy standpoint in running a low-rake car, that has stayed the same," Szafnauer told Sky Sports F1.
“Having said that, even though we didn’t have a lot of latitude for development, the FIA did make aerodynamic changes, and significant ones to take downforce away and slow us down. Because of that, we have had to redevelop the whole thing.
“This is the first time that a carryover car has had many of its parts new, so although the philosophy is carryover we will still have a lot of new parts on the car, a lot of new aerodynamic development, even a new chassis for us as well.
“Although the car will be similar to last year, it’s predominantly new.”
The four aerodynamic changes are all relatively minor, but when added together they do significantly affect downforce, leading to a team like Aston Martin opting to work on how it can make gains again in this area.
Whichever team has greater success then it could ultimately prevail in the race for the best of the rest behind Mercedes and Red Bull.
After narrowly missing out on third in the constructors' championship last season to McLaren, Szafnauer has confirmed "it will be the target for us" for the coming year.
“I don’t think it will be easy, we’ve got some formidable competitors there," he added.
"Ferrari will work hard over the winter to do better than they did last year; McLaren gets a new powertrain, the same one that we have, and I’m sure they did that for reasons of competitiveness.
“And then there are some driver movements as well, so we’ll see how all that pans out. There are some differences.
“And, of course, the FIA have big rule changes. They took out big chunks of the floor for us to lose downforce and depending on how the teams claw that downforce back, that’ll have a big impact on performance as well.
"So there are some things that have changed over the winter, and it will be really interesting to see the job everybody has done and how it pans out in the competitiveness stakes."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Audi agree STAR driver contract as Mercedes driver tipped for new F1 seat THIS season - GPFans F1 Recap
- 2 hours ago
Ferrari show off new-look drivers following HUGE announcement
- 3 hours ago
McLaren leading fight for HUGE cash injection
- Yesterday 21:57
Newey set to announce STUNNING Red Bull departure
- Yesterday 17:57
Newey Red Bull exit wish CONFIRMED as F1 guru's reasons revealed
- Yesterday 20:57
F1 legend reveals 'FLOOD' of death threats after controversial decision
- Yesterday 19:57
Related news
Driver suggests Newey tempted by 'enticing' offer from F1 rivals
Alonso hints at another EXTENSION to F1 career
Stroll's F1 exit dilemma RIDICULED by former driver
Alonso in U-turn revelation on Aston Martin deal
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860