Round two of the 2022 Formula 1 season is fast approaching, just a few days after Scuderia Ferrari secured a stunning 1-2 result in the first race. The F1 World Championship returns this weekend for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which takes place less than three months on from the first ever event at the Jeddah Corniche. Last December, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished seventh and eighth, but now the Maranello team is confident it can achieve much more, with the target of a second victory in 2022.
Xavier Marcos Padros, the Spanish Formula One engineer, currently the race engineer for Charles Leclerc, previews the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for the Italian side’s official website:
Personally, how does it feel to be starting your 15th season in Formula 1?
Xavi Marcos: “The first race of the season is always special, because it’s the start of a new adventure. This time however, it’s even more special because there are many new factors to take into account and I’m keen to find out, if everything we have done in terms of processes and procedures is taking us in the right direction and delivering the benefits we are expecting. Of course, we used the test sessions to do a sort of general trial run, but it’s only on a race weekend, with its pressure and expectations, that we can really judge how well we have prepared. Those pressures and expectations can lead to mistakes and we have worked with the entire team so as to be calm in managing all the various aspects of the weekend. We must concentrate on ourselves and work with confidence.”
The cars are completely new: from a technical point of view, what do you think could make the difference on track this weekend?
Xavi Marcos: “I think that, putting to one side the different car designs, whoever has done the best job in preparing for the season down to the smallest detail, will have a competitive advantage at the start. There are so many new elements involved and whoever has understood the new format better, especially the limitations involved, could have the edge for at least the first third of the season. When I say format, I mean the whole package: the completely new car, the little time available to work on it, the 18 inch tyres and also the fact the drivers must modify their driving style to suit it. All in all, whoever understands the limitations and opportunities of this more compressed weekend format, will have an ace up their sleeve on track.”
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And looking at the long term, given this is the first of 23 races, what factors could be key over the course of the season?
Xavi Marcos: “Car development will clearly be the main element, but there are other key factors such as on-track organisation, which is my responsibility. Let’s not forget we are embarking on the busiest season ever in the history of this sport, so I think that now, more than ever, it’s the smallest details that can count when it comes to making every task more efficient. One of the aims will be to expand the flow of information between the engineers and the team at the track and those back in the factory.”
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