Formula 1 chief Ross Brawn has claimed the sport would have begun to deteriorate had the regulations not been shaken up for 2022. The regulation changes, focused on improving closer racing, came about after drivers led by Lewis Hamilton penned a letter to the FIA encouraging the alterations.
The 2021 season may well go down in history as the greatest F1 season of all time, but the fact that two drivers – world champion Max Verstappen and Hamilton – were the only men in consistent contention for wins highlights the issues with the sport.
As a result, the 2022 regulations are designed to redesign aerodynamics, encouraging closer racing and improved parity across the grid.
It is reported that Hamilton and his fellow F1 drivers led the calls that resulted in the overhaul of regulations, moving on from last year’s cars dubbed the ‘enemy of overtaking’ by Grand Prix Drivers’ Association chairman Alex Wurz.
Racers wrote to F1’s owners Liberty Media as well as the FIA to explain their thoughts regarding ‘dirty air’, which came from the back of the vehicle in front and made overtaking difficult.
New rules based around aerodynamics mean there should be cleaner air coming off cars, and closer racing should become more common.
Brawn believes the changes were needed and came about just at the right time.
“Due to the nature of the regulations, inevitably when we start the season, we may see some scatter in the performance of the teams,” said F1’s managing director motorsports Brawn.
“I think that’s unavoidable, but I also think it was unavoidable to go that route. I think where we were, it was just going to get worse and worse.
“We had a little hiatus with Covid because the teams were constrained in a way with what they were able to do.
“They had to use the same chassis and various other parts but there’s no doubt the cars would just continue getting worse and worse and worse.”
Brown picked out the 13-inch wheels as an area of development where the sport had reached its limit, and teams are now set to don 18-inch wheels.
“There were some quite complex aspects to the cars we were racing that were causing a differentiation between the teams as well,” added Brawn.
“If you look at a simple thing like a 13 or an 18-inch wheel, getting a 13-inch wheel, with all the movement of the tyre, to be representative in the wind tunnel was a fascinating but massive exercise.
“As soon as you go to an 18-inch wheel, the movement and the sidewall of the tyre are much reduced, and much less complex for a team to model and represent.”
The disparity in development ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix was clear for all to see at pre-season testing in Barcelona at the Circuit de Catalunya last week.
Brawn is adamant that no teams have made many mistakes: “Every decision we’ve made has been towards not dumbing down the sport but making it achievable for more of the teams and to get closer competition going on for the future while still leaving a meritocracy so the best teams still win.
“So I think there will be a bit of disparity in the beginning, we all know that with new rules, but I’m not expecting huge disparity unless somebody makes a complete cock-up.”
For Mercedes star Hamilton, the changes within the sport should not stop there – he has called for more women stewards and less ‘bias’.
The 37-year-old controversially lost the 2021 drivers’ world championship to Verstappen on the final lap of the last race last December.
Credit: Daily Express,Getty Image,CNN
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