Formula 1 will supply a glimpse of what the season might appear like when its new era of cars hit the monitor in testing in Barcelona on Wednesday.
It can be the first pre-season testing after considered one of the collection’ largest rule adjustments, and the first time drivers and groups will get an actual sense of what to count on in 2022.
F1 has applied main adjustments to enhance racing and take a look at to make the collection extra aggressive, with new aerodynamics and tire necessities that can make the cars totally different from earlier years. They will characteristic new rear and entrance wings, in addition to bigger wheels, to permit riders to experience nearer to one another and hopefully enhance the variety of overtakes.
Older cars misplaced downforce — and their potential to nook quicker — the nearer they received to the cars in entrance. The adjustments had been meant to cut back this downforce loss and provides trailing riders a greater probability of overtaking.
“Every decision we made was to not dumb the sport down, but to make it more accessible for more teams and to have higher competition in the future while leaving it a meritocracy so may the best teams always win,” mentioned motorsport boss Ross Brawn.
The final time F1 made such drastic rule adjustments was in 2014 when the turbo hybrid period started. In 2017 F1 had already launched design adjustments that made the cars wider and quicker to attempt to make the collection extra thrilling, though that did not cease Mercedes and Red Bull from dominating.
“Honestly, I don’t think the regulations will drastically change the general scheme of things,” Brawn continued. It will deliver the cars collectively quite a bit and I feel we’ll see a few of the mid-pack groups compete. I feel we can have a bigger group of aggressive groups. »
F1 is coming off considered one of its finest seasons as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton fought for the title till the finish, with Verstappen profitable in his Red Bull on the ultimate lap of the ultimate race to finish to Mercedes’ seven-year dominance.
“I’m optimistic for the coming season,” Brawn mentioned once more. Good groups will at all times do good work. They have the experience and the expertise. While I’d love to see it, I do not suppose we’ll see any back-to-back groups dominating abruptly this 12 months. »
Due to regulatory adjustments, pre-season testing has been cut up into two segments, with the first classes going down from Wednesday to Friday in Barcelona and three extra scheduled for March 10-12 in Bahrain forward of the season kick-off. , March twentieth.
“Now, with the new laws, you have got to get used to the automotive. It’s not such as you get behind the wheel and it is an improve from final 12 months, Verstappen mentioned. Numerous issues are unknown about the automotive… I’m very curious to see how the automotive behaves on the monitor. »
Fuel
The cars may also use the next proportion of sustainable gasoline and new security options. There can be a decrease price range cap for groups and changes have been made to race weekends to permit drivers and groups to arrive at circuits later.
The two free apply classes on Friday will happen in the afternoon in order that the press briefings can happen in the morning as an alternative of Thursday. There may also be some adjustments to the dash race weekends, with extra factors awarded up to eighth place and the lead place will now go to the Friday qualifying winner and the factors award will enhance on Saturday at the finish of the race. finish of the dash.
It can be F1’s longest season to date with 23 races, with the Miami Grand Prix beginning in May on a avenue circuit. Races in Japan, Canada, Australia and Singapore return after being pulled from the calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the driver aspect, George Russell has been promoted to Mercedes to change Valtteri Bottas, who finds himself at Alfa Romeo alongside Zhou Guanyu, the first Chinese driver in F1 historical past. Russell’s place at Williams went to Alex Albon, whereas two-time world champion Fernando Alonso returns to Alpine at 40 – the oldest driver on the grid after Kimi Raikkonen’s retirement.
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