Lewis Hamilton and other F1 drivers had a massive role to play in bringing about regulation changes to the sport in 2022.
F1 have introduced new aerodynamic regulations ahead of the 2022 season, that are set to shake the field up. Since 2014, Mercedes have been the outfit that have dominated the sport, until Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s charge in 2021.
The sport wants to reduce the gap between the field, by reducing the amount of dirty air produced by the cars. This is what acted as a barrier to overtaking in previous seasons, with drivers describing the recent years’ cars as ‘the enemy of overtaking’.
The dirty air produced by the cars made it very difficult for the ones behind them to overtake. This created a further gap among drivers in the field, making races very one-sided.
Here’s a few more looks at 2022’s new machinery 👀
F1’s regulations are set for a shake up at the start of 2022, with this new car aiming to make the racing closer than ever before #F1 #F12022 pic.twitter.com/0FSMPSvzPN
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 15, 2021
According to reports, the likes of Lewis Hamilton among several other drivers, wrote to the FIA expressing their concern about the same. This was done before the 2020 season, but the regulation changes ended up getting delayed because of the Covid 19 pandemic.
With aero-dynamic tweaks added this year, the amount of dirty air produced is expected to be less. The FIA believe that this will provide fans with better racing action and allow drivers to be more competitive on track.
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Ross Brawn explains why the FIA and F1 had to comply with Lewis Hamilton and co’s request
The last major regulation change in F1 came with the introduction of turbo-hybrid engines in 2014. It kickstarted an era that was completely dominated by Mercedes, with the German team winning eight consecutive Constructors’ Titles.
It was in 2021 that another team finally posed a serious threat to the Silver Arrows’ dominance. Red Bull fell short of the Constructors’ Crown in the end, but Verstappen was able to deny Hamilton another Drivers’ Title.
F1 wanted to solve this problem of one or two teams winning all races. Managing director Ross Brawn explains why they went ahead with the drivers’ request.
The fastest times from the pre-season session in Barcelona! ⏱
Not long until Bahrain now 👀#F1 pic.twitter.com/rSjbv9Xslt
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 27, 2022
“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 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.”
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