F1 2021 has finally arrived, and with it a brand new challenge for racers everywhere.
The new handling model for F1 2021 has seen setups radically change from the previous year, so don't think you can just copy & paste your Spanish Grand Prix setup across!
Fortunately, we have been pounding the Circuit de Barcelona-Cataloyna track to get a setup that will work for you.
CLICK HERE FOR OUR F1 22 SPAIN SETUP
F1 2021 Spain Setup
While the F1 2021 version of the track hasn't changed to match the new layout, the requirements for the track very much have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEHlVriPnRY
It's still a tricky circuit that tests every facet of the car and driver. The sweeping high-speed corners mixed with just 1 long straight and the slow, tight final sector means this Spanish Grand Prix requires a very unique setup to conquer.
Aerodynamics
These wing angles may look more like a Hungaroring setup than a Spain one, but trust us, it works.
We've gone with 7-11 wings here, which will keep the car planted to the asphalt through the sweeping curves in the first sector. While not the fastest down the straight, in clean air this will let you push the limit in the corners.
You can take the rear wing down to 10 if you are expecting a mid-grid start though, as it may help with overtaking.
Transmission
The transmission sets how the power moves through the rear wheels. Will they rotate at the same rate, or be allowed some difference?
We've found that a 70% on-throttle differential works well. Locking them up more than last year gives you good traction out of corners. This could lead to understeery moments on corner exit, but we've balanced that with the aerodynamics.
55% off-throttle differential keeps the car rotating on turn-in as you trail brake but doesn't create such a gap with the on-throttle value that you lose control when you put your foot down.
Suspension geometry
This part of the setup hasn't changed too much from F1 2020.
Full right on the front camber and full left on the rear camber is still the best way to go.
However, a click of front toe (0.06) usually generates the best results along with a fully left rear toe. This part of the setup can be very tricky to get a sense of, especially on controller.
If you want to get a feel for the impact it's best to reverse these values in time trial, then you can feel the way they act on the car.
Suspension
The suspension setup is almost completely different from last year.
Suspension is set to 8-7, with the roll-bars at 8-8. It's a very stiff setup, and thus highly responsive to changes of direction, which will keep you competitive through the chicanes.
While this will take some life out of the front tyres, we can get that back later.
The ride height is set to 3-6. The rake needs to be higher this year, as the aerodynamics from the floor now count for much more so having it bang off kerbs and the track is no good.
Brakes
Going 100/50 this year is not possible. It will result in a lot of rear locking, which will fling the car into the barriers almost instantly.
We've gone with a 97% brake pressure with 56% brake bias. This gives you the performance to be super-late on the brakes, while preventing lockups for the most part. If you are still locking up regularly than drop the brake pressure a touch.
Tyres
The Spanish Grand Prix is front-limited, so we can extract some performance from the rear.
We've set the front tyres to 21.4psi to protect them from wear but also increase the contact patch with the ground and extract some extra grip.
The rears are set to 23.1psi to give some more performance in high-speed situations, this should help the performance down the pit straight.
We are continually testing and updating our setups so be sure to bookmark this page and check back regularly!