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The mega money days are over for F1 and the arms race has drawn to a close. As the world economy continues to cool and car sales dip faster than anyone ever envisaged, so the sport finds itself having to contract faster than its structure really allows. The test ban, further engine mileage limits and wind tunnel restrictions should go some way to stabilising things in the short term. The following three years will be all about gradually downsizing and it will have an effect on the structure of teams, structures that grew with boom years money that's been withdrawn savagely suddenly. This is F1's cold turkey phase. The Honda pull-out has shocked the F1 community, but probably only because most of it was living in a bubble. That bubble has been well and truly pricked now and with dark talk of 'more to follow' in the weeks ahead it's now very clear that the window of opportunity for the teams to band together to form their own series, where all generated revenue was put back into the sport, has firmly closed. The thought of going to a nervous, jittery board and suggesting they team up with the others to break away from the established championship and set up their own is now very much pie in the sky. It would be risky, costly and could attract all the wrong sorts of headlines in the current climate. That idea, borne of the unity of FOM and it being headed by Ferrari's Luca di Montezemolo, is no longer of the time. © 2021 Autosport
In the magazine: Wheldon the Lionheart In AUTOSPORT magazine this week, we reflect on the life of Dan Wheldon with those who knew him best, and remember the day, just a month before his death, when he showed off IndyCar's staircase of talent Mag 
MPH: Mark Hughes on... A law that invariably applies in racing: the genie will not go back into the bottle once released F1 
MPH: Mark Hughes on... Competitors entering motorsport are getting ever-younger - but are even the youngest missing out on a crucial age in physiological development? F1 
MPH: Mark Hughes on... So, team orders failed to secure the world championship for Fernando Alonso. But neither he, nor the Ferrari team, can function happily – or truly effectively – any other way F1
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Evans on the talking points of WRC 2021 He came close to the title last year, and now Toyota's Elfyn Evans gives his verdict on what to expect from 2021 as the World Rally Championship prepares to reconvene for the Monte Carlo season opener WRC 
The enigmatic legacy of a misunderstood Indy stalwart Flashes of brilliance amid spells of obscurity have been too common for Marco Andretti. While the third-generation racer has opted to bring his full-time IndyCar career to a close, his peaks and troughs have never been for want of trying IndyCar 
The "balls out" battle between MotoGP's true greats Senna vs Prost is regularly cited as motorsport's greatest rivalry. But it can easily be argued Rainey vs Schwantz can stake that claim. That rivalry was in full swing during the 1991 500cc season, remembered fondly by both stars 30 years on... MotoGP 
The mistakes Mercedes cannot afford to make in F1 2021 OPINION: After clinching the last seven Formula 1 world title doubles, Mercedes of course heads into the 2021 season as the overwhelming favourite. But there are still distinct hurdles it must clear to keep that streak alive F1 
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