magazine reckons Formula 1 car design will undergo more radical change in the next 10 years than in the past decade, so it has teamed up with Renault F1 chief designer (
), Pat Symonds to give their take on what the F1 car of 2020 will look like and how it will perform.
Low-profile tyres on bigger wheels, the return of ground-effect aero, KERS that produces 250bhp and a standard, non-downforce rear wing will be key components, says Symonds.
How so? Well, the results take into account the likelihood of future rules on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, but assume that F1 will remain an open-wheel, open-cockpit formula.
F1 teams already have to reduce their fuel consumption by 35 per cent in future cars, while a more environmentally-friendly 1.6-litre turbo engine will be introduced for the 2013 season.
"A few simple assumptions can determine the basic architecture of the car," says Symonds. "By the time we add a few changes, such as larger wheels and low-profile tyres, we start to get a fairly clear picture of what the car might look like.
"The illustrations we've produced are certainly an artistic impression, but they capture the essential characteristics of a car that will be contesting the Formula 1 World Championship in 2020."
Environmentally friendly? All sounds slightly depressing to us. But it does raise an interesting question - what would your ideal F1 car of 2020 be like? Answers on a postcard, please (or in the thread at the bottom of this article, whichever's easiest...)