The small change that will be F1 2021's big talking point

As focus sharpens for Formula 1 teams on the new, yet familiar, 2021 cars there is a growing understanding that this year one minor rule tweak will actually create a major challenge

Published Jan 28, 2021, 12:43 PM

When Formula 1 teams signed off on some detail tweaks to the floor dimensions for 2021 in a bid to cut back on downforce, it did not generate a tremendous amount of fanfare.

It was hardly a surprise, though. For what initially appeared to be quite small dimension tweaks - barely 10cm of floor area being removed ahead of the rear tyre - the difference is pretty much indistinguishable on television or from trackside.

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Author Jonathan Noble

Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.