The Concorde Agreement won’t take effect for two years, but there’s no question it will have an impact on the sport. How much? For whom? Big questions remain.
While 2021 is still two seasons away, there are still plenty of questions about Formula 1’s new Concorde Agreement, including what the new rules will entail and how many teams will continue in the sport.
So far, 10 teams are currently involved, but the settling number remains in doubt. ercedes has dominated the Formula 1 grid since 2014 when the hybrid era began. Lewis Hamilton has won every Grand Prix title since then–apart from 2016–when Nico Rosberg took the championship in (you guessed it) a Mercedes. But have the Silver Arrows gotten to the point of domination that they have nothing yet to prove?
Mercedes’ team manager Toto Wolff: “Everything indicates that we will stay. But it’s not a given.”
”The platform to which Wolff is referring is electric. If Mercedes decides to go all-in with electric, then we could see the carmaker move its racing program to Formula E. Because the team also makes engines for four other teams, it will be important to see where Mercedes settles.
Ferrari, Mercedes’ prime competitor, has been around for nearly 60 seasons, and it seems that they will continue in 2021. Others are in Mercedes’ uncertainty boat, including Honda, Renault, and Haas.
Honda is putting its money on an immediate championship (in 2020), and a championship is a must for Max Verstappen. The Red Bull team managed to win a couple of races this season with the Dutchman, but it needs to close in on Ferrari.
For Renault, the French team seems to be putting all its eggs into one basket by hiring Pat Fry and Dirk De Boor. The goal is improving aerodynamics for 2020.
Finally, there is the American Haas team, a team that is coming off its worst season in its four-year history. A crooked sponsor, followed by a car that lacked grip in its design, did not please owner Gene Haas. So is it possible for Hass to win titles? Team manager Guenther Steiner feels that 2021 rules could give his team at least a chance to improve.
Steiner talks about Hass (photo, Motorsport)
“The development, whatever the regulations, is always in aerodynamics,” Steiner commented. “That’s the main thing to develop. There is still enough freedom where we can develop areas of the car to make them different from each other. We’ll try to get a little bit more performance out than our competitors. The floor is always one of the most important things in a Formula 1 car. It’s always been important and will continue to be, so not a lot will change in that respect. You’re always working to get everything out of the car from wherever you can.”
“In the end, that was achieved, and it was the biggest argument between FIA, FOM (Formula One Management), and the teams, “Steiner elaborated. “The teams didn’t want to have a single-make car or be boxed in too much. We didn’t want to end up with a GP1 series. In the end, FOM opened up creativity by opening up the regulations. So, hopefully, we can achieve it.”
All these ideas still have a lot of time to be straightened out before this Concorde agreement approaches. However, with the idea of having low-emission cars in 10 years’ time, it seems that F1 cars will certainly be different–and will give fans a better show–than they already do.
