A whole year with a big red 1 on his nose: the first Dutch Formula 1 world champion did not have to think long about it at the end of last year, shortly after that heroic final round in Abu Dhabi. Of course Max Verstappen would drive with the start number 1 in 2022. Lewis Hamilton never did, but Verstappen has been warming up all winter for his upcoming triumph as reigning champion.
These are the weeks of sharp and bold forecasts, as usual at the start of a new year. But the professional coffee grounds viewers have a much harder time predicting the new proportions this year. Even after three days of testing and two free practice sessions in Bahrain, where the first Grand Prix of 2022 will be held this weekend, there is still little meaningful to say about the mutual relationships.
In previous years, the experts could say with reasonable confidence that Mercedes and Red Bull would rule. But 2022 is a year zero. The sport has been given a whole new technical regulation, coupled with a budget cap, so the big question is: will the cards be shuffled again this season or can Verstappen successfully defend his world title?
Throwing sand in each other’s eyes is a common practice during such tests, also because there are so many variables: teams can drive with new or old tires, a lot or little petrol, a lot or little down force† In three days in Bahrain we have seen everything: stability and speed at Red Bull and Ferrari, a sometimes restless Mercedes, a McLaren with braking problems, a remarkably quick Haas, a Williams on fire.
The new technical regulations are one of the greatest technical revolutions in the history of the sport. There have been such upheavals before: think of the demise of turbocharged engines in 1989, the generation of narrower cars with grooved tires that appeared in 1998, and the introduction of the hybrid engine in 2014. But nobody really seems like the back of the tongue. and it has been a long time since the playing field has been so open.
Less turbulence
The technical restart for 2022 revolves around a major simplification of the aerodynamic concept and the return of the so-called ground effectwhich last played a significant role in Formula 1 in the early 1980s. By forcing the teams to generate the downward pressure mainly via the floor of the car instead of via the wings, the FIA motorsport federation hopes that the competition and the spectacle on the track.
In theory, that approach should lead to much less turbulence and therefore less loss of grip in direct combat. This would make it easier for the drivers to drive closer to their predecessor and then overtake them. The hope is that the all-too-common parades where all cars keep their distance for about a second will come to an end. The choice for more standard parts, including the wings, should also help with that ambition.
The cars look a lot more aggressive on the track, a look which is helped by the switch to larger wheels. Breeding pond Formula 2 already made the switch last year, and now Formula 1 is also going from 13 to 18-inch wheels. In addition, Pirelli has developed new tires that should make it easier for drivers to push the tires without directly leading to overheating.
It is fascinating how differently the teams have interpreted the new regulations. With a completely new playing field before them, the engineers have come up with a wide variety of solutions, and it is clear that the limits are far from being reached. More than in previous seasons, the pace of development during the season becomes a crucial factor for success.
Long-term contracts
In Bahrain, for example, there was a lot of discussion about the Mercedes, where the sidepods (the air intakes on the side of the car, part of the cooling mechanism for the engine) had almost completely disappeared. A radical approach, but does it work? Mercedes’ pace so far suggests it’s not yet fully mastered and will struggle at the start, but it’s possible in a race or six that the reigning Constructors’ World Champion has set a new standard again. .
There is significantly less change on the driver level. Most striking is the fact that Lewis Hamilton has got a new teammate at Mercedes in the form of George Russell (24), also British, a talent who has been loaned to Williams for the last three years. Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton’s loyal water carrier in previous seasons, has moved to Alfa Romeo and has Guanyu Zhou, the first Chinese driver in Formula 1, as a colleague.
But apart from the role change at Mercedes, a lot remains the same. The other teams that can be counted as the main contenders in advance – Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Alpine – will all appear in the same line-up as in 2021. In addition, drivers such as Verstappen (Red Bull), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Lando Norris ( McLaren) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) long-term contracts with their employers.
That ensures consistency: in all these cases the collaboration between team and rider is a well-oiled machine. Even Russell is not really new to Mercedes, as a former student of the German team’s talent program. This already shows the contours of the World Cup battle for the coming years. The only question is really how long seven-time world champion Hamilton (37) will continue, especially after his dissatisfaction with the highly debatable season finale of 2021.
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Photo Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters
New race directors
The aftermath of that race has had significant consequences for race management and how it is organised. Michael Masi had an impossible task in those much-discussed final laps and tried to pass a solo judgment while the field was behind the safety car: to restart or not? While there was really no way for the Australian race leader to satisfy both Mercedes and Red Bull, the fuss over his eventual decision to restart the race was such that the FIA decided to remove him from his post.
In his place, two new race directors have now been appointed who will be in charge on a rotational basis. Eduardo Freitas comes over from long-distance racing, while Niels Wittich brings experience from the German touring car class DTM. In addition, with Herbie Blash, they get a permanent sounding board. Blash, former team manager of the Brabham Formula 1 team, also held that advisory role for many years for race leader Charlie Whiting, who died in 2019.
Furthermore, a VAR-like system has been introduced that should help the race management to quickly assess questionable situations from all possible angles. The rules surrounding the deployment of the safety car and rounding back a lap (one of the main points of discussion surrounding Masi’s decision in Abu Dhabi) have also been revised and clarified, while radio communication between team bosses and race management is no longer televised. The FIA hopes this will put an end to the constant discussions about race management decisions.
It became clear in Bahrain that mud-slinging between the top teams will again play a prominent role in 2022. During the first day of testing, there was a lot of fuss over a statement by Red Bull boss Christian Horner, who said the design of the new Mercedes would not be “in accordance with the spirit of the rules”. Red Bull first denied that Horner had spoken to media, later stating that no “official statements” had been made, while the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport – that printed the quotes – stood his ground and stated that Horner’s quotes were not made up.
It all reminds of the PR game that Red Bull and Mercedes played alternately last season. In this case: you complain at the coffee machine to a journalist about your competitor and that journalist writes it down. You then send out a press release stating that you have not officially complained. Reporters neatly take over that statement, but in the meantime your original complaint is still circulating and suspicion has been aroused.
So if you are also looking forward to a new battle between Horner and his Mercedes colleague Toto Wolff in addition to the battles on the track: the verbal knives have also been sharpened.