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“It’s a shifting scale with these new cars throughout the season”: Former F1 driver Anthony Davidson explains why the 2022 season is in for a big shake-up in the field

Somin Bhattacharjee
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Former F1 driver Anthony Davidson expects a continuous shake-up throughout the field during the course of the 2022 season. 

The 2022 F1 season will see big changes in regulation take shape. Teams have now been preparing for these changes, for well over a year. At last week’s pre-season testing in Barcelona, the outfits and drivers got to try out their 2022 challengers on track for the first time, to gather sufficient data and insight ahead of the first race in Bahrain next month.

The last major regulation change in F1 took place back in 2014 with the introduction of the turbo-hybrid engines. It turned out to an era dominated by Mercedes, with Red Bull being the only serious threat to them in 2021.

Now that a new era of F1 is just around the corner, all teams have the chance to start from scratch. In particular, many expect the likes of McLaren and Ferrari to make a major push up the field.

After the first pre-season test in Barcelona last week, Sky Sports pundit and former F1 driver Anthony Davidson shared his thoughts on the upcoming campaign. Davidson stated that it was too early to make any predictions.

The Brit feels that all teams will field a completely different car at the next testing in Bahrain in March. Data and results taken from these runnings will be put to use, and the car designs are expected to be altered.

Also read: Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner names his replacement for Russian race driver who is on verge of losing his seat

A shake-up within the F1 field would be great for the sport, says Anthony Davidson

Davidson went on to suggest that teams would constantly focus on developing their cars throughout the campaign. The first race in Bahrain may provide us with surprises, but the strongest team that day may not get the final laugh in the end.

“I think it is too early to say at the moment who has the edge or not,” he said to Sky Sports. “The cars will roll up in Bahrain and be very different to the cars we saw in Barcelona.”

“This was just an early test for all the teams to go through the system checks. We saw lots of unreliability, lots of red flags coming out so very early days.”

“Then it is just a shifting scale throughout the season with these new cars as they are finding so much time in the wind tunnel all the time. It is going to be an ever-changing thing as the season goes on which is great,” he continued.

“I want to see close competition so hopefully these new rules have really allowed us closer competition throughout the year.”

Also read: How a fight between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at McLaren led to the biggest fine handed out in Formula 1 history

About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Basketball Editor Somin Bhattacharjee first discovered the game during the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Not long after, he turned to the NBA and found himself drawn to the Golden State Warriors — right at the start of Stephen Curry’s rise. Over time, the admiration turned into full-blown support for the team, one that continues even as the Curry era approaches its twilight. A true hoophead, Somin also follows EuroLeague basketball closely and enjoys exploring the game beyond the NBA. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. Since 2021, he has penned over 3,000 articles for TheSportsRush, covering everything from breaking news to sharp opinion pieces and detailed exclusives. He thrives on writing about in-game moments and the reactions that make basketball a uniquely emotional sport. Beyond basketball, Somin plays different sports including soccer and remains a passionate fan of Spanish football giants Real Madrid

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