NEW: RADICAL-LOOKING CARS
“The new F1 car has had more research than ever”
Formula 1 is set for one of the most dramatic overhauls in its 71-year history from next season as futuristiclooking machines with larger wheels and swoopy wings will replace the current generation of car.
With less drag, simplified suspension and a return to ground effect aerodynamics, the design of the 2022 car should transform the category.
Why is this happening? F1’s two key objectives are to improve overtaking and make races less predictable.
For the first time, a new set of rules have been written that puts the interest of the fan first.
An aerodynamic working group made up of technical bosses and the teams (who pooled their resources) have been working together to find a solution to the problems of the current generation of car – primarily the difficulty in overtaking.
“When we started this project, we looked at a philosophy which was to improve the entertainment,” says Pat Symonds, F1’s chief technical officer. “And the new car is the culmination of more research than has ever gone into the design of a future F1 car.”
Just as the 2021 season has sprung into life, away from the race track boffins are now furiously working on the next generation of car, based on the plans presented by F1 in
October 2019.
Originally the new regulations were slated for this season, but the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic sensibly led the rule-makers to delay their introduction until 2022. Teams also had to take a hiatus on designs until January 1, 2021, so the smaller resourced outfits wouldn’t be disadvantaged.
The 2022 cars will feature radical changes that will make them less reliant on wings for aerodynamic performance, so they should be easier to race. Eyebrow wings positioned above each of the front wheels will be mandatory to control airflow coming off the tyres, while bargeboards behind the front suspension will be banned.
Front wings are simplified, rear wings are bigger and the floor of the cars will be revised to increase ground effect.
Financial prudence has meant the current 1.6-litre V6 hybrid turbo engines will remain into 2022 and beyond but with development frozen to end the spending war between the manufacturers.
While there will be more standardised parts to save costs, there is wriggle room to allow different concepts and styles to be created so F1 avoids looking like a spec formula.
“We do expect there’ll be numerous areas where the cars will look different to each other,” says Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s head of single-seater technical matters.
“The nose, the front wing, the engine intake, the sidepod inlet, the sidepod shape itself, the rear wing: there’s quite a lot of areas where we will still see a notable performance and visual differentiation.
“We feel we’ve taken a huge step towards creating rules that still allow aerodynamicists to be creative,” adds Tombazis, “while achieving the key objectives.” Pat Symonds