Tech: F1's New Exhaust Regulations Explained

Going into the 2021 season, there will be very little change to the cars what with the majority of parts being frozen between the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to the COVID-19 crisis, and the upcoming 2022 regulation changes.

However there are some changes coming to the 2021 cars, with the floor being one of the more visual changes (more information at https://overtakemedia.site123.me/articles/tech-the-floor-tweaks-to-slow-down-f1-2021?c=single-seaters). One less visible change that could potentially have a big impact is the changes to the exhaust regulations.

Up until now, the exhaust sytem of an F1 car has not been considered part of the actual power unit. This has meant teams can design and manufacture exhaust systems independantly, and there was no limit on how many times a team can replace their exhaust system.

This has now changed, with amendments to Article 23.3 of the Sporting Regulations saying that teams will now only be allowed to use 8 exhaust systems per year before being penalised from 2021. This brings it inline with the system used for the rest of the power unit componants, including (but not limited to) the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine), MGU-K and MGU-H (Motor Generator Unit - Kinetic/Heat) and Turbo.

This is to further reduce expendatures from teams, both because of the COVID-19 crisis but also to stop the larger teams from spending lots more than the smaller teams, through research and development of materials and system layouts, and the cost to replace the exhaust.

It means teams, unless suffering extreme issues with their exhaust system, are unlikely to do what McLaren did in 2019, which was to fit brand new exhausts between qualifying and the race at 3 consecutive races (Bahrain, China and Azerbaijan). 

It remains unknown just how large the performance impact will be for running older exhausts, but what it does add is another element that could cause a race-ending mechanical failure.