“Overtaking easier than before” – Pierre Gasly has given a thumbs up to the new technical regulations which have allowed last season’s strugglers Haas and Alfa Romeo to consistently fight for points this season.
The new technical regulations have been put in place from this season to facilitate closer racing, something found to be at a premium during the turbo-hybrid era.
The positive results are already to be seen, with two super-competitive races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, both at the top of the field, and in midfield.
The likes of Haas and Alfa Romeo have joined the latter battle, competing with McLaren, Alpine and AlphaTauri for the Top 10 slots, delighting Pierre Gasly, among others.
“The battle between the teams is very intense already this year with two more teams than last year now seeming able to fight in the midfield.
“After two races we can already say that the new regulations have succeeded in making overtaking easier than before.
“It’s a very good thing that you can generally follow another car more closely and we saw the result of that with nice battles through the field, I think that’s a trend that will continue throughout the season.”
Upgrade news:
Red Bull: Front Wing Endplate
Ferrari: Diffuser
Alpine: Floor, Rear Brake Cover
McLaren: Winglets (rear corner)
Aston: Rear Wing
Williams: Beam Wing, Floor, Front Wing, Front Brake Duct
Haas: DiffuserMercedes, Alfa Romeo, AT: no upgrades #AMuS #AustralianGP #F1
— Tobi Grüner 🏁 (@tgruener) April 8, 2022
Are the 18-inch tyres any good?
Just the same, says Gasly, with the Frenchman feeling no significant difference vis-a-vis the previous iteration of 13 inches. He is curious about the number of pit stops though, with Bahrain and Jeddah producing significantly different strategies.
“As for the tyres, the bigger ones do not seem to have changed much compared to the old ones, from what we can see so far.
“It’s a bit complicated to understand, because in Bahrain there were a lot more pit stops than we expected, while in Saudi it was just a one-stopper.
“So, I think it’s a bit too early to get a clear picture of tyre behaviour.”
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