Newey: 2021 regulations are an ‘awful shame’

Jamie Woodhouse
Adrian_Newey_PA

Red Bull’s design chief Adrian Newey has lashed out at the new Formula 1 regulations for 2021, branding them an “awful shame”.

Next year Liberty Media will introduce their first set of rule changes into Formula 1, and they certainly won’t be minor tweaks.

The sporting, technical and financial regulations are all receiving a major overhaul, aimed at making the series more affordable and competitive.

And part of this will be achieved by heavily restricting the freedom which designers will have to innovate with their cars – Formula 1 even assembled somewhat of a code-cracking team to sniff out any potential loopholes in the 2020 regulations.

It’s this restriction which turns Newey against the regulations – as someone who has designed title-winning cars for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, he feels the 2021 changes are an “awful shame” and are not what Formula 1 is about.

“In many ways I look forward to regulation change because it’s an opportunity to try to understand new things. What I don’t like is the general trend in successive regulations to become ever more restrictive,” he told Inews.co.uk.

“What was very nice about the last major change back in 2009 was that it wasn’t more restrictive. But these new ones for 2021 are very restrictive and prescriptive. And I think that is an awful shame.

“It makes it a little bit GP1 which is not what I think Formula One should be.

“It’s been pushed through regardless of what people think, so whether it’s good for the sport or not, only time will tell.”

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