The time for the presentations of the cars for 2022 is approaching, and the expectation is growing for the solutions adopted by the designers to adapt to the new regulation. There is strong curiosity to understand the effects of the new regulations on the scale of values on the track. The hope of the Federation is that this year’s revolution will bring greater competitiveness and balance, and also allow other teams to enter the fight for the title.
But is this a plausible hope? Will we really have a more “compressed” grid in 2022 and many teams capable of fighting for the victory in at least a single race? Or once again who has the best designers and the greatest technological capacity will be able to dig an unbridgeable gap between themselves and their opponents?
The moment of truth is not that far off. From the “mysterious” Montmelò tests scheduled at the end of the month, it will already be possible to understand a lot about the scale of values for next year. It will be a very difficult session to decipher, closed to the public and of which only the best times at the end of the three days will be announced. But if someone knows how to dig a certain advantage between himself and the others or, vice versa, if he remains detached from the group during the season it will not be easy at all to close the gap.
James Allison, Mercedes’ Chief Technical Officer, already thought about sounding the alarm a few weeks ago. Despite the regulatory body’s intentions, it cannot be ruled out that some team gets the project wrong and is hopelessly behind. Or find the ingenious solution that makes the car impregnable. History teaches.
If we go back in history, the last two regulation changes are dated 2009 and 2014. In 2009 the aerodynamics were heavily modified (although not like this year) and a return to smooth tires was imposed. The aim was to make the cars less sensitive to the wake of the opponent in front, and the result was not achieved. On the other hand, Ross Brawn identified a “loophole” in the regulation and put on the track a car that was almost unreachable for three quarters of the season, with many greetings to the hopes of hard-fought races and close duels.
Worse still in 2014. The introduction of the hybrid engine gave Mercedes an incredible advantage, which the other engineers were only able to reduce after several years. The ability of the Germans to maintain a high level of technological development, without resting on their laurels, did the rest. And we had the strongest and most enduring streak in the history of the highest category. Only interrupted this year thanks to the miracles of Verstappen on the track and Newey at the drawing board.
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In order not to get burned again, the federation, unlike in previous years, has enacted a very accurate regulation. Anyone who thinks that Formula 1 should be a field of comparison for the designers’ creativity will be able to turn up their mouths. But to prevent the genius of the moment from putting a car on the track that is one second faster than the others, this time the FIA technicians worked in depth.
The result is a technical regulation which already in terms of “size” is double the number of pages of previous years. And also as a philosophy it is truly innovative. The definition of standardized mechanical components is widespread, of those that can be copied from other teams and of the few that can be freely designed. The definition of the volumes of the bodywork and of the characteristics of the main mechanical parts is very detailed. All with the aim of clipping the wings of the most unscrupulous technicians.
In what field, then, can it be expected that the major innovations will be concentrated? As we have known for a couple of years, the ground effect will return to next season’s single-seaters. This concept, in addition to the ability to generate a large aerodynamic load, has among its peculiarities a notable instability.
In practice, a few millimeters of variation in the car’s height from the ground are enough to significantly alter the value of the downforce. It is therefore easy to deduce that the most important challenge for the designers will be to minimize the vertical movements of the car so that the aerodynamics of the bottom of the car can work correctly.
If we consider that the use of 18-inch Pirelli tyres instead of 13-inch ones will in any case force a complete overhaul of the suspension, it can be concluded that it is precisely in the field of the suspension system that we will have to intervene heavily. Create new systems capable of absorbing the greater stiffness (and heaviness) of the tires. And in addition to ensuring an almost constant height from the ground. This is the most important challenge imposed by the new regulation.
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