F1’s sliding scale aero testing rules work put Ferrari in an advantageous position. F1's sliding scale aero testing rules work put Ferrari in an advantageous position.

The epilogue of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship left a feeling that could be based on a mistaken belief. The prevailing idea is that even in the championship that kicks off in March with the Bahrain Grand Prix, ​​Red Bull and Mercedes will be ahead of the rest. Not that this is unlikely. In fact, these are two rich teams, full of resources and which have dominated over the last twelve years, leaving little more than crumbs to the competition.

Whoever wins, it is an old unwritten law of sport, always starts with the status of favourites. But, for some time now, the F1 technical regulations have provided a sort of balance of performance that rewards those who are behind in the constructors’ standings.

The best, in short, will see a significant reduction of the hours available to work both at CFD and in the wind tunnel. A condition in itself limiting but which could represent a real obstacle when we find ourselves in a phase of overall rewriting of the principles that guide the aerodynamic choices which the designers will have to make.

The new regulations began to produce their effects in the season which ended with the victory of Max Verstappen. The International Federation justified the “BOP” by explaining that it was necessary to further control spending in the budget cap era. The real – and badly hidden – reason for this introduction is due to the desire to reduce the gaps between the cars on the grid as much as possible.

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From 1 June – that is, from when the regulatory prescription became valid – to 31 December Red Bull suffered the greatest negative effects deriving from being first in the constructors’ standings at that time. The hours of work available for Milton Keynes engineers were, in fact, 360. Exactly ten less than Mercedes which was second in the ranking after the Paul Ricard race. Ferrari, which was fourth behind McLaren, could count on 390 hours, 97.5% of the total. This state of affairs will repeat itself in 2022 based on the sporting achievements from last year.

This is a condition that generates some concern for the top teams. Mercedes, in particular, fears the return of the Maranello team which will have more time to prepare the 2022 model. After suffering an indirect blow from the extension of the agreement between Red Bull and Honda that gives more strength and stability to the rivals of the last few decades, in Brackley they believe that Ferrari can seriously return to the top of the category.

Ferrari, therefore, will have more time, in a context of regulatory change, to be able to intervene above all on the development of the car in the race. An aspect also underlined by sporting director Laurent Mekies. This is an undeniable advantage in the economy of a championship, especially in the event that some team should start with a handicap resulting from a bad interpretation of the new regulation text.

Each team, at this stage, is sure that it has worked to the best of its ability. But not knowing what the level of the opposing teams may be does not let anyone sleep peacefully. Not even to those who, like Mercedes, have been able to win eight consecutive constructors’ titles after a massive regulatory change.