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What's with the 3 or so meters of run off though? Kinda defeats the point still. Should've done it something like this: Image Unavailable, Please Login They can have an accident in the early bit, but run wide (where the advantage is gained) and they get punished. Now it's just asphalt still and get their laptimes deleted...
The first 25 years of F1, the cars did not leave the road with their outside tire. Now, they are considered still on the road if any part of their inside tire remains on the white line. We would all be better off by returning to the previous definition of the road surface.
+1 the track border means your car is not at all over it. Any part/wheel etc. Having 2 wheels is not acceptable at all. You are off track if all 4 wheels are not ON the surface of the track inside the track border/line.
Outside the white line, only grass, a gravel bed, a guardrail or a wall should exist. Kerbs (red/white) should be reduced by half, and there should be no tarmaced run off areas. At the moment, the only tracks where drivers respect the limits are street circuits like Monaco, Singapore, Macau, etc ...
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/albert-park-formula-1-modification-works-complete/7471371/ https://motorsport.tv/embed/5Lz9zQs5-albert-park-formula-1-modification-works-complete - Video link Albert Park modification works complete ahead of F1 return By: Andrew van Leeuwen Jan 21, 2022, 4:17 AM Modifications to the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix layout at Melbourne's Albert Park have been completed ahead of this year's race. Australia is due to return to the F1 calendar with the third round of the 2022 season on 10 April, the first time it will have hosted an F1 race since 2019 due to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 event was cut short by a positive COVID-19 case at McLaren before a wheel was turned in practice, and it was called off last year altogether due to the country's closed borders. The break in racing has allowed the Australian Grand Prix Corporation to complete significant works to the Albert Park layout aimed at creating more overtaking opportunities. Changes to the layout include Turns 9 and 10 being turned into a fast, sweeping complex, while a number of other corners have been widened to increase apex speed. Paired with the new-spec cars due to be introduced this year, its expected the layout will be provide improved wheel-to-wheel racing and faster laptimes. The circuit, mostly made up of public roads around Albert Park lake, has also been resurfaced for the first time since it began hosting F1 back in 1996. "Five seconds a lap quicker, but [with] the new-spec cars, closer racing," said AGPC CEO Andrew Westacott when asked what to expect from the new layout. "You can actually tail the car in front and expect to be able to overtake and be in a competitive position. Image Unavailable, Please Login Albert Park modifications Photo by: Australian Grand Prix Corporation "The main location is Turn 11 at the south end of the lake near Ross Gregory Drive and Ross Gregory Oval. We expect that to be a major overtaking opportunity. "The widening of five other turns, particularly the increase of speed at Turn 6 where they're going to go from about 90 km/h to 150 km/h, that really does set it up for speeds in excess of 330 km/h around Lakeside [Drive], pulling four and a half Gs. "Making sure the racing is going to be as exciting as possible is the reason why Formula 1 has changed the specification of the cars for this season. And it's the reason why we've resurfaced the track for the first time in 25 years." Newly-signed Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas won the last Australian Grand Prix for Mercedes in 2019.
https://motorsport.tv/embed/3yo6gJWE-how-do-f1-power-units-actually-work-f1-engines-explained - Video How Do F1 Power Units ACTUALLY Work? | F1 Engines Explained Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team: Technical Features
5 seconds faster in Australia sounds pretty good, similar to the changes in Abu Dhabi. Still impressed with how the changes there affected the racing in the last race.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/unpacking-the-technical-changes-behind-f1-2022s-rules-shakeup/7472432/ Unpacking the technical changes behind F1 2022's rules shakeup By: Jake Boxall-Legge Jan 21, 2022, 7:50 AM Formula 1 cars will look very different this year as the long-awaited fresh rules finally arrive with the stated aim of improving its quality of racing. Autosport breaks down what the return of 'ground effect' aerodynamics - and a flurry of other changes besides - means for the teams, and what fans can expect A full year after Formula 1’s reimagining of ground-effects was supposed to underpin an all-new aerodynamics package, the long-awaited technical overhaul finally enters from stage left in 2022. But the changes have a lot to live up to. The 2021 contest proved to be one of the best F1 seasons in years, with exciting races providing a more than adequate stage for one of the all-time greatest championship battles to claim the globe’s attention – and it did that with the old cars. This year’s fresh aero package has promised to add closer racing and afford a greater chance for drivers to overtake on track. Let’s hope F1 can cope with the hype. If it feels like a long time since the rules were first announced, that’s simply because it is. F1’s first concept model was unveiled in the latter half of 2019, and the planned 2021 date for the new regulations to come into effect was delayed by the ol’ you-know-what throwing a virally contagious spanner in the works. Luckily, that had the side effect of placing the bulk of design and development for 2022 under the remit of a cost cap, which would not have been possible with a 2021 start date. Therefore, the overhaul in technical regulations acts as something of a soft reset, and it’ll be impossible to predict the pecking order until the season kicks off properly in Bahrain. Not that this is ever going to stop us trying, of course. What we can do is explore what the 2022 regulations are and what they mean for the teams’ design departments across the grid as they sink their teeth into them. There’s also a smattering of other changes afoot in 2022, when a slightly reshuffled field takes on the championship’s biggest-ever calendar. Image Unavailable, Please Login All-new regulations for 2022 will bring a new look to the cars Photo by: Matt Fiveash F1’s aims for 2022 When outlining the new car concept, F1 and the FIA sought to solve a problem that had irked the championship for decades: a lack of close racing and overtaking resulting in a series of bland races. F1 had tried to solve that problem in 2009, with the skinny rear wing and wide front-wing geometries aiming to restrict the effect of wake when following another car, but undid that work eight years later to make the cars faster. Paddy Lowe, at that time the Williams technical chief, described the 2017 changes as “directionally incorrect” in creating a more serviceable visual product on-track, and so 2019’s adjustments were made to roll ever so slightly back on those changes. Thing is, F1 has struggled to host consistently exciting races throughout its history – it’s not just a modern-day problem. The definition of the new regulations has hence been carried out in a manner unlike previous amendments to the rules, using numerous simulations and models to lessen the impact of the ‘dirty air’ that pervades every attempted overtaking move and washes the chasing car away. The danger here is that F1 has attempted to control the inputs with tightly regulated bounding boxes and standardised parts to get the effect it wants, which some consider anathema to the creative licence designers have previously been afforded. By relying on the floor for more of that downforce, F1 has done a lot of trimming to the body aerodynamic parts to lessen the wake and try to develop that much-coveted closer racing experience But can you argue with the apparent figures that F1 has presented? According to the CFD simulations conducted comparing 2019’s cars to a 2022 concept, F1’s 2022 model retained 86% of its downforce when following one car length behind another, compared to the 55% retained in the same scenario for the 2019 car. Even as far as seven car lengths behind, the 2019 car only produces 79% of its total downforce, while the 2022 car reads at 98%. Although it’s all very well to marvel at the figures in a graph, it’s difficult to know what scenarios these figures extend to. Regardless, if they’re applicable to all sorts of corners, then the figures paint the picture that cars will be able to race at much closer quarters than we’re used to. You must admire F1 and the FIA’s dedication to the cause, given its propensity to dilute past rulesets following lobbying from the teams. In the past, technical working groups helmed by the biggest teams’ engineering figureheads have lobbied for changes that benefit them, but the 2022 rules have been left relatively unfettered by turkeys unwilling to vote for a full Christmas dinner. There’s still been a little influence from teams’ vested interests, but thankfully nothing that should detract from F1’s targets on-track. Image Unavailable, Please Login F1 hopes new cars will enable cars to follow more closely without losing downforce Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images A new technical battleground To try to keep those figures relatively untouched, F1 has mandated new bits of kit for the 2022 cars. The biggest-ticket item is the reintroduction of a ground-effect-style formula for the first time in about 40 years, albeit with the greater sophistication expected with years of progress. The flat underside of the floor and conventional diffuser are now done away with and replaced by Venturi tunnels, which are designed to create greater airflow acceleration, producing the drop in pressure associated with the production of downforce. By relying on the floor for more of that downforce, F1 has done a lot of trimming to the body aerodynamic parts to lessen the wake and try to develop that much-coveted closer racing experience. The rear wing, for example, has shed its conventional wing planes and endplates to become a one-piece design that curls around from the horizontal components to the vertical parts with no exposed edges, limiting the amount of turbulence shed from it. The desire to limit the exposed edges extends to the front wing too, where the endplates bend upwards akin to something you’d be more accustomed to seeing on a jet liner. The tediously named ‘Y250 vortex’, the airflow rotation you’d get from the exposed front-wing-element tops, is thankfully gone since the front-wing elements clip directly onto the nosecone. The increasingly complex bargeboards are gone too, having become ridiculously detailed after their full-size reintroduction in 2017. Pirelli, continuing as F1’s tyre supplier, will introduce its 18-inch tyre as the centrepoint of a redefined wheel assembly. Wheelcovers return, while F1 has introduced a deflector above the front wheels to control the amount of turbulence produced as they rotate. Ditching the long-serving 13-inch tyre for the 18-inch construction will introduce a change in the overall handling characteristics, since the sidewalls will naturally prove to be stiffer owing to the larger wheel diameter, but the teams will undoubtedly try to compensate for the changes in their suspension set-ups. Torsion bars will no longer be permitted for use as suspension springs. Instead, the rules mandate a return to a coil-over-damper arrangement to simplify the geometry, while the ‘third element’ inerters are removed entirely. This has been done to limit any trickery with hydraulic systems, closing off several avenues that vehicle dynamicists have explored over the previous few seasons. The wheel rim covers haven’t been an entirely popular addition after they were outlawed at the end of 2009, but have been introduced as a standard component to yield the airflow targets around the front wheels experienced in the simulations. To tighten things up further, the FIA has categorised every part on an F1 car into four groups, expanding beyond the ‘listed’ and ‘non-listed’ designation implemented previously. Image Unavailable, Please Login Wheel rim covers return as rear wings become a one-piece design that reduce turbulence Photo by: Matt Fiveash Listed parts remain those that the team must design itself and own all the intellectual property rights for, but there are fewer of them as F1 seeks to prioritise its dirty-air studies and hand teams a greater bevy of standardised parts. Those parts, known officially as “standard supply components”, now include the reintroduced wheel covers, the wheel rims themselves, along with the fuel pump assembly to cut costs on non-performance related items. There’s also a subset of listed parts where the teams must manufacture an item to a prescribed design, like the wheel deflector. Teams can still make use of ‘transferable components’, such as the powertrain assembly, suspension and gearbox. This allows the likes of Haas and AlphaTauri to continue operating with several components from their ‘parent’ teams, while Williams will expand its powertrain deal with Mercedes to include gearboxes from 2022. The technical regulations have not just been overhauled in their intent, but also in their wording; previously, bounding boxes were defined by a series of measurements, planes and datum points, but now they refer to a series of computationally defined boxes that designers have to work to in a CAD package The final categorisation includes open-source components, where any designs will be uploaded to a common server and be made royalty-free for use by other teams. Mostly, this includes parts usually supplied by a third-party such as brake assemblies, DRS actuators and steering wheels. The technical regulations have not just been overhauled in their intent, but also in their wording; previously, bounding boxes were defined by a series of measurements, planes and datum points, but now they refer to a series of computationally defined boxes that designers have to work to in a CAD package. This is part of the FIA’s updated scrutineering system, in which it collects all completed CAD assemblies from teams and uses them to determine at a glance whether a car is illegal during pre-event checks. Those changes sit very much behind the curtain, but it’s good to see the FIA contemporise. There are precious few changes to the power unit designs, however. It comes as part of a freeze to allow Red Bull to keep operating the Honda powertrain package under its own steam, following the Japanese manufacturer’s decision to withdraw at the end of 2021. That’s probably been the largest level of lobbying regarding the 2022 rules but, given that Red Bull had a dearth of other options, few would argue against the freeze. Instead, plans for an all-new powertrain configuration have been kicked into 2026, with the much-criticised MGU-H facing the scythe’s remorseless swing as F1 attempts to lure Audi and/or Porsche into its den. As a makeweight step between now and 2026’s revised power units, F1 introduces E10 fuels for 2022 – that’s replacing 10% of the overall fossil fuel volume with ethanol. This forms the first step on F1’s journey towards employing wholly sustainable fuels with a significantly reduced carbon impact. The E10 will initially hinder teams with a slight drop in overall performance, but the oil giants tasked with churning out racing fuel will inevitably find ways to make up the shortfall. Image Unavailable, Please Login F1 moves to new E10 fuels for 2022 Photo by: Motorsport Images Will the new aero targets work? Having a technical overhaul to shake up the order is all well and good, but will the changes actually yield more exciting races? McLaren star Lando Norris raised a very salient point about F1’s aims to reduce the overall dirty-air situation; the revised aero specifications will help the following car catch through the corners, but at a cost. “Everything that they are doing for next year is because they want to try to make the cars better to race and so on,” Norris explained. “But of course if there’s less dirty air while following, there is also less slipstream. It’s like gaining in one area and then losing in another because they are quite related to each other. So I hope it’s better.” Norris’s assessment is pretty much spot on, and many often forget that wholesale changes do have big consequences. To alleviate the reduced potency of the slipstream, DRS will remain for 2022 as F1 assesses the possibility of reducing its reliance on the system later down the line. It also depends on how much the teams are able to explore the bounds of the regulations; creating cars that race competitively on track is not at the top of a team’s list of concerns, and they’ll be looking to fight against that tide. But it’s too early to say how things will play out. If the 2022 rules can bring previously unloved circuits to life with great racing, close-quarters skirmishes and overtaking that extends beyond DRS zones, F1 can consider it a job well done. How will the new cars develop? One thing’s certain when you consider the cumulative effect of the new technical regulations and the cost caps: there won’t be as much in-season development compared to previous years. And there are additional sporting regulations in play, whereby simulation time in the windtunnel and in CFD is restricted depending on your constructors’ championship position. Keeping the bean-counters happy will be the primary restriction on development as the cost cap drops to $135million for the 2023 season, but this could have a knock-on effect on any teams who struggle to pen a functional car from the get-go. But there’s still some leeway to develop, and Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies says that teams won’t be left “screwed” with a difficult start –and, like any other season, any difficulties in testing will provide a focal point to develop towards. “No, I don’t think you are screwed [with a difficult start],” Mekies explained. “I think you put the car on the ground, and you start to check if you measure what you were hoping to measure. And if not, you try to fix that, as you have done the last 40 or 50 years. It doesn’t matter if the car is new. Image Unavailable, Please Login Ferrari's Mekies predicts teams will still be able to recover from a difficult start Photo by: Ferrari “We had a different shape in the past, so we are supposed to be able to, even more now than 20 years ago, to simulate, to understand the flow and to understand how it’s working. So first you try to get on the track what you think you should have. Then where that puts you compared to the opposition, it will just be the push on your development.” In 2021, flexi-wings cycled back into F1 parlance to add another hot coal into the incandescent Mercedes and Red Bull battle. It should be less of a concern in 2022, given the increasing stringency of the load tests, but McLaren technical chief James Key says that there are several new areas on this year’s cars that could be exploited. "You’ve got a couple of different components on the car, the ground effects of the floor and beam wings are back again now, which can have a certain level of stiffness, which you could exploit legally. So there are various new tools to play with in 2022" James Key “Some of the tests are more stringent,” Key explained. “Rear-wing tests, for example, will be a little bit tougher and some of the things that happened earlier in the year with these areas have carried through to 2022 – and I think there is a lot of attention being paid to that. “The front wing in 2022 is a massive thing, but it still has a very stringent set of guidelines on stiffnesses. There’ll always be a few tricks to play, but I don’t think there’s going to be something easy to exploit. “You’ve got a couple of different components on the car, the ground effects of the floor and beam wings are back again now, which can have a certain level of stiffness, which you could exploit legally. So there are various new tools to play with in 2022, and it will probably become some form of issue I’m sure. But it’s not something the teams or the FIA are ignoring; it is a fairly clear area where we are very careful to regulate correctly.” It’s also expected that, with the tightest regulatory boundaries ever recorded in F1’s history, the 2022 formula will rapidly approach convergence in design concepts. If you’re a fan of closely contested seasons, that can only be a good thing, but there’s also a chance that you’ll have to wait for that. This season will be won by the team that understands the new rules the quickest but, as convergence begins to take effect and returns diminish, 2023 and 2024 could theoretically herald the tightest margins ever seen in F1. Image Unavailable, Please Login Several areas can be exploited on the 2022 cars, according to Key - but who will do the best job remains to be seen
Formula 1 bans military air displays at Grands Prix Image Unavailable, Please Login https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/60082961
My prediction: a) The deflectors over the front wheels will become increasingly complicated as the year goes on. b) the front of the field will still not be able to pass each other.
Horner: The engine will be branded as a Red Bull engine Image Unavailable, Please Login An old April Fool joke has become a reality, Red Bull branded engines will power the RB18s of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship conforms team boss Christian Horner. On 1 April 2014, when Red Bull was having huge problems with Renault – Christian Horner at war with Cyril Abiteboul – despite having been partners that won four straight titles before that first season of the turbo-hybrid area which caught all F1 engine builders at the time by surprise, except Mercedes of course. Now eight years later, with Honda pulling out of F1 at the end of last year and over time transferring their operation to the newly formed Red Bull Powertrains, Horner confirmed the engines will be branded accordingly. The Red Bull team principal told RacingNews365: “It will be branded as a Red Bull engine. As part of our agreement with Honda, the engines continue to be assembled in Japan, in Sakura, with support and technical assistance from Japan. Asked if they would be transferring the process to their factory, Horner replied: “Most likely. It’s something we’re in discussion about at the moment. The probability is that the engines will, as per 2022, continue to be produced and built in Japan and shipped to us.” All the working personnel from HRD UK will transfer over to us He added: “We’re very grateful to Honda to provide that olive branch as we transition into being an engine manufacturer. They’ll come as sealed units from Japan; all the race support will happen from Japan as well this year. It’s a technical agreement, so it’s very broad brush at the moment.” As for the personnel involved with the project, Horner revealed all the Honda staff involved will transfer to Red Bull’s payroll adding that Masashi Yamamoto will become a consultant, with Toyoharu Tanabe possibly remaining the link to Honda. He added: “All the working personnel from HRD UK will transfer over to us, so the engines will continue to be serviced out of Honda’s service until Red Bull Powertrains dynos and work are finalised around May or June.” Meanwhile the team’s new car – Red Bull Racing RB18 – is on schedule, according to Horner, with plans to shakedown the car at nearby Silverstone (behind closed doors) under the pretext of a film day before the first test in Barcelona which all teams are granted. “We will do it as usual before going to Barcelona and Bahrain. Three days is not enough for a driver, especially when it comes to a new car. It’s a fairly intense program but it will certainly make the first part of the season interesting, especially for fans,” predicted Horner. Test 1 takes place in Barcelona from 23 to 25 February, with Test 2 set for Bahrain from 11 to 13 March ahead of the season-opening Grand Prix weekend in the kingdom, beginning with FP1 on Friday, 18 March at Sakhir. https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/01/23/horner-the-engine-will-be-branded-as-a-red-bull-engine-rb18/
Not sure how tightly these will be regulated—they might well be a fully defined profile—but anything above the wheel centreline is probably too high to affect the critical floor aero and the lower half, I think, will also be regulated by the brake cooling duct rules. If not, the deflectors might sprout some kind of upstanding vane/vortex generator to aid flow to or around the side pods. I suppose it’ll be similar to the halo where teams were adding a variety of devices but ultimately there’s really not much going on either because too restricted or not much gains to be realized.
Agreed, will not dramatically influence under-body downforce generation. However, can easily be used to create "dirty" air behind the car so other cars do not generate good downforce (while not really increasing or decreasing this car's downforce.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/why-fia-hopes-f1s-new-rules-wont-repeat-mistakes-of-2009/7559159/ Why FIA hopes F1's new rules won't repeat mistakes of 2009 Formula 1 chiefs are under no illusions that the new 2022 rules will be perfect, with the FIA open that there are a few things it could have done better. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Jonathan Noble Co-author: Matt Somerfield Jan 24, 2022, 4:31 AM However, there remains a firm conviction that, when the new F1 cars are unleashed in battle for the first time in Bahrain, the new regulations will hit the target of allowing the racing to be better. And, while it is inevitable that some details will have to be cleaned up over the long haul, there is a degree of confidence that F1 is not set for a repeat of the 2009 scenario – when new rules aimed at helping overtaking failed to hit the mark. What went wrong in 2009? The last time F1 rewrote the regulations in an effort to improve the racing and generate more overtaking was 2009. Whilst much of the work that was done by the Overtaking Working Group (OWG) for those rules did help improve things, there were also some major unintended consequences that meant their efforts were quickly undone by the teams. Image Unavailable, Please Login Brawn BGP 001 2009 double diffuser detail view Photo by: Giorgio Piola The 2009 season is one best remembered for the phoenix out of the flames story of Brawn GP, of which one of those unintended consequences is intrinsically linked. Along with Williams and Toyota, the rebranded team arrived at pre-season testing with a double decker diffuser. Flirting with the wording and intent of the regulations, the rest of the grid were up in arms and demanded the design be banned. But, the FIA gave it the go ahead and everyone else was forced to follow suit. Image Unavailable, Please Login Ferrari F60 (660) 2009 front view comparison with F2008 Photo by: Giorgio Piola The premise of the 2009 regulations was to cut back on all of the ancillary aerodynamic devices that had grown up around the cars in the previous era. They also sought to shift the focus of the front and rear wings, with a taller, narrower rear wing set to deal with wake in a slightly different way. It was hoped this would help cars follow each other better. With the front wing, the FIA not only made the wing wider in order that it interacted with the front wheel and its wake differently, but it added control over a neutral central section. It was intended that this 500mm area would prevent teams from using the central portion of the front wing to create downforce as they had in the past. However, this move indirectly created a breeding ground for what commonly became known as the Y250 vortex. This became an incredibly powerful tool that the teams leveraged to feed into flow structures downstream and improve the overall performance of the car. It helped make cars even more sensitive to turbulence ahead, as any disturbance meant the Y250 flows were not working as well as they did in clear air. The 2009 regulations also permitted teams to use a driver adjustable front wing device that teams had spent resources developing but quickly became redundant. It was replaced in 2011 with the rear wing DRS that is still employed today. A large majority of teams hid the mechanism required to operate the front wing adjustability within their endplate, but this resulted in them being unable to have an increased level of complexity when it came to the endplate’s design. Image Unavailable, Please Login McLaren MP4-24 2009 front wing flap adjuster cutaway view Photo by: Giorgio Piola If we compare the McLaren MP4-24 (above) with the Brawn GP BGP001’s front wing (below), we can see the adjuster is housed on the inboard end of the flap, giving them more flexibility in terms of the design of their endplate and thus a greater opportunity to create outwash. Image Unavailable, Please Login Brawn BGP 001 2009 Spa front wing Photo by: Giorgio Piola The OWG had also originally expressed an interest in removing the bargeboards from the car too, as it was obvious how much aerodynamic power they possessed. However, teams lobbied for them to stay and they got their way. Image Unavailable, Please Login McLaren MP4-24 2009 new bargeboard Photo by: Giorgio Piola Getting it sorted for 2022 The work done on the 2022 regulations is underpinned by the fundamentals of those changes made in 2009. But, whereas those regulations failed to be prescriptive enough and were in a similar format to the outgoing regulations, these new rules have been written from the ground up. PLUS: Unpacking the technical changes behind F1 2022's rules shakeup This, along with a tighter grasp on certain design aspects that will now be the same across the board should increase their chance of success. But the truth of how much teams have got around the original intention in the quest for performance will not be known for a little while yet. Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s head of single-seater matters, is confident enough time and effort has been put into the framing of the rules to ensure that teams do not end up derailing the positive intention that prompted the overhaul. Image Unavailable, Please Login F1 2022 car Photo by: Formula 1 Asked about the prospects of a repeat of 2009, Tombazis has faith that things will be better this time. “There are two or three things which, with hindsight, we would have done a bit differently but I won't tell you [what they are],” he said about the current framework. “But with the 2009 work, fundamentally, clearly much less detail went into it, but the key things learned during that work were correct. They did think about it quite well, in how to understand what the phenomenon [that prevented cars following each other] was, and what should be done. “But, where it failed was afterwards, the rules were just full of so many freedoms that within a few weeks of windtunnel testing, and obviously I was sitting on the other side of the fence [working for a team], we had totally negated all the good things that had been thought of. “The rules were written in such way that, if you wanted, you could make a car that would be easy to follow, but it would be quite slow. Or you could make a fast car that would totally ignore all of these things [to improve the racing]. “We've tried to learn from that and to make rules that are inevitably more restrictive, but hopefully, where there's not so much divergence. “But I'm sure there will be areas where we conclude that we may have made a mistake or we may need to make some adjustment.” Image Unavailable, Please Login Drivers group photo with the 2022 F1 car Photographer:Liberty Media
Hadn’t considered that as a possible tactic but if not creating additional drag (for the lead car), why not. Would be interesting to know of any team tries to exploit this.
Interesting look at the Technical Director position at Mercedes - Who he is, how he manages his teams and impacts and thoughts on development in 2021 vs 2022. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/the-strange-transition-underpinning-mercedes-next-f1-chapter/7588787/ The "strange transition" underpinning Mercedes' next F1 chapter By: Jonathan Noble Jan 25, 2022, 4:46 AM Despite Red Bull and Ferrari's best efforts in recent years, Mercedes remains unbeaten as Formula 1 constructors' champions in the turbo hybrid era. Image Unavailable, Please Login While that run of eight successive crowns is remarkable in itself, what is especially impressive is that it has been done under different eras of technical director. With James Allison having taken up the reins from Paddy Lowe in 2017, last year he stepped into a new senior group role with his place as F1 technical director being taken by Mike Elliott. Having been head of aerodynamics at Mercedes from 2012, before moving to the technology director role in 2017, Elliott certainly had his work cut out as he took on one of the most critical roles inside an F1 team. For his step up came at the very time that Mercedes was battling the impact of the floor and bargeboard rule changes, plus a stronger-than-ever assault from Red Bull. It proved to be a tense (and sometimes controversial) campaign. But through it all Mercedes' best technical brains stayed focus on the main prize; and ultimately ensured the W12 stayed competitive to the final round. Although from the outside it appeared to be a seamless transition for Elliott as he stepped in to the new role, the switch over wasn't without its quirks – as he explains. "I went from being a technology director, where I oversaw a number of departments, to being technical director where I oversee all the technical development and the race team," he said. Image Unavailable, Please Login Mike Elliott, Mercedes Photo by: Mercedes AMG "I think I'm very lucky that I have a really good team around me and they're all very experienced. "I moved from being a peer to that team, to being the technical director, and that's a strange transition to make because these are people I've grown through the company with, and suddenly now you're the boss. "But I think my style of leadership is one where it's to try and get the best out of those people I'm working with, and it's not to be the sort of dictator that stands at the front. "I think sometimes there is this sort of image outside of the teams that the technical director is the person that's involved in every single decision, and it's them that controls everything. The reality of that is I don't think it is very true in many teams. And it's certainly not true in this team. "My job is to try and make sure I've got the right people in the right places, and I give them all the tools they need to be able to do their jobs. So in that sense, it's not very different to what I was doing before. It's just a bigger slice of the pie." Elliott has a very feet on the ground approach to the task in hand, and doesn't view the ups and downs of the 2021 F1 season with the same levels of drama as it sometimes looked from the outside. For example, even when the world appeared to be writing off Mercedes in the build-up to the 2021 campaign, after a pretty torrid time in testing, the team never felt things were that bad. Elliott adds: "To be honest, I didn't think we were as far off as the timing might have suggested. "The problem is in winter testing, you don't know who's running on what fuel levels or what programmes they are running. "Last year, I don't think we had a crisis of the car's a disaster and we need to sort these things out. "I think it was the usual things you go through, getting on top of the tyres, working out what's your optimum set-up for your car and how could we squeeze a little bit more out. "To be honest, the whole season has been a bit like that. You know, how can you just find those little extra bits and pieces that are going to keep bringing you small dividends as you go along? "It's difficult to know what the other cars are doing, what their aero [development] trackers look like, and how they are finding it. "But we found that once we took the hit for the regulation changes, we actually got an a really steep development slope, which is kind of what you expect when the car is being really unsettled. "Our bigger issue was more that developments flattened out fairly quickly. And what I don't know is, for our competitors, whether they took less of a hit, or whether actually their development slope carried on a bit further than ours did." Image Unavailable, Please Login Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, leaves the garage Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images That need to fine-tune and find the perfect set-up window for the car also triggered suggestions from Lewis Hamilton that the W12 was a bit of a 'monster diva' when it came to finding the sweet spot – in reference to it being a step beyond the team's tricky 2019 challenger. It's a perception that Elliott does not agree with entirely – as he reckons the biggest factor at play last year was how much Mercedes' rivals were breathing down its neck. "I think 2019 we definitely had a car that was on a sort of knife edge. And it was difficult to set up," he said. "I don't think the problem of the car was anywhere near as big [in 2021] as it was in 2019. "I think the problem is the overall performance gap is just much smaller. And so, as a consequence of that, a tenth here or a tenth there certainly puts you from being in front to being behind. "I think in previous years, when we've had a car that is three or four tenths up the road, sometimes more, sometimes less, if you turned up at a track and you didn't get the last couple of tenths out of set-up, it didn't matter. You just didn't have the gap you had before. "Whereas I think it's very clear we have had the biggest competition we've had in years and years and years." One of the unique characteristics of the 2021 title battle was the fact that all teams had to juggle the development of the current car with work on the new rules for 2022. It could be argued that Mercedes got its balance right, with it having produced a car that won the constructors' title and came within one lap of securing Hamilton the drivers' crown. However, Elliott says the choices were especially hard for a top squad like Mercedes. "I think the difficulty for all teams is the regulations that we were operating to," he said. "They have been established for so long, that the gains you make are relatively small. "It's a lot of effort that goes into finding a tenth or two in the wind tunnel. Whereas the gains to be found on next year's [2022] car have been pretty large. "It was always going to mean that, if you put all your eggs in [the 2021] basket, you're in really big trouble next season, and that balance is really difficult to strike. "I think if you're a team further down the grid, maybe that's a bit easier to put your eggs into next year's basket than it is for us. "And the other problem we've got to deal with, along with the competitors that are around us in terms of performance, is that the aero testing restrictions mean that the front running teams have less runs to spend as well. So that again forces you into making really difficult decisions." There was another factor too that has started to weigh much heavier on the minds of a top team like Mercedes: the cost cap. While the impact has hit home at the factories – with staffing levels having to be trimmed back – Elliot thinks the true impact of the now $140 million spending limit will only really bite for car development in 2022. Image Unavailable, Please Login The team at work in the Mercedes garage Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images "The impact is going into future cars," he said. "That's not to say it hasn't had an impact. It does. "You've got to think carefully about: is the bit of research you're doing or the thing you're bringing the car worth the cost it's gonna cost you? But as an engineer, I think those judgements have always been there. "In the past it might have been aerodynamic performance versus mechanical performance or overall aero mechanical performance versus mass. Even that cost equation has existed in the past because clearly you wouldn't do things that were stupid money for little return. The balance has shifted slightly. "But I don't think it's been massive. I think we'll see much more of that next season and into next season's development." F1's new era may bring with it some unique and fresh challenges, but despite being relatively new to his role, Elliott's team is very much focused on delivering the same successes as in the past.
If you wanna play, ya gotta pay How much each circuit on the calendar pays F1 Whilst there are 23 races scheduled on the 2022 F1 calendar, there are a total of 25 circuits that hold contracts with the sport. RacingNews365.com takes a look at how much each track pays to host its Grand Prix. The Formula 1 season has become longer and longer in recent years, and the 2022 calendar is set to be the biggest yet, with 23 races scheduled to go ahead. The possibility also exists that this could be extended in years to come. There are in fact 25 circuits that hold contracts with F1, given that China and Qatar each have an agreement for the future, despite not holding a Grand Prix in 2022. Additionallly, there has been much talk over potential new venues such as Las Vegas. But how long are the current tracks on the calendar set to remain, and how much are their contracts worth? RacingNews365.com has taken a closer look into the details. Short-term F1 contracts There are a number of races for which the long-term future is not yet entirely certain. A handful of circuits are on the calendar this year and have yet to sit down at the negotiating table with Formula 1. Other circuits are on the schedule, but are still under negotiation and do not have a contract yet. The expectation is that these contracts will all be finalised. The Belgian Grand Prix, for instance, has a contract up to and including 2022, and a new deal is still being negotiated. The same applies to Monaco, Bahrain, France, Austria and Mexico. Monaco has not yet announced a new contract, but will be on this year's calendar, and nothing is known yet about the following years. Meanwhile, the Austrian Grand Prix, held at the Red Bull Ring, has an option for a multi-year extension. With Red Bull being the owners of the circuit, it seems a mere formality that this option will be taken up. The race in Austin also has no new deal yet, and the same applies for Singapore. They are negotiating for the race there but, since they are on the 2022 calendar, a new deal seems a matter of course. Long-term F1 contracts There are some venues on the calendar that hold long-term deals with F1, and these are mostly circuits that pay a significant amount to host a Grand Prix. Qatar is one example, which has an agreement for 10 years from 2023. Qatar pays $55 million per year for its contract, which is the highest amount on the list of contract costs. Others to spend this much include Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, whilst China, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Russia also all pay a sizeable amount of money. One addition to the calendar which holds a slightly different agreement is Miami, a new track for 2022 which will remain on the schedule for 10 years. F1 itself is working with the race organisers on this venue, meaning that the sport will take on some of the costs. Below is an overview of the F1 circuit contracts, together with the fees they pay each year in dollars (if they are on the calendar). This list has been compiled on the basis of extensive discussions with various parties, including the organisers, Formula 1 and the teams themselves. In all, the hosting fees in 2022 come to a total of around $700 million a year, which is paid to F1. F1 Grand Prix circuit contracts Country Circuit Hosting fee ($) Contract ends Comment Bahrain Sakhir............ 45 million 2022+ Renewal forthcoming Saudi Arabia Jeddah... 55 million 2025 May move to Qiddiya in the future Australia Albert Park... 35 million 2023 Italy Imola.................. 20 million 2025 Contract not yet signed United States Miami.... Collaboration 2031 Circuit still to be approved Spain Barcelona......... 25 million 2026 Monaco Monte Carlo... 15 million 2021* Is on calendar, renewal being negotiated Azerbaijan Baku......... 55 million 2024 Renewed in 2021 Canada Montreal........ 30 million 2029 France Paul Ricard..... 22 million 2022 Austria Red Bull Ring.. 25 million 2022+ Option for multi-year extension Great Britain Silverstone.. 25 million 2024 Hungary Hungaroring.... 40 million 2027 Belgium Spa............... 22 million 2022 New deal being negotiated Netherlands Zandvoort.. 32 million 2023+ Option for two-year extension Italy Monza................. 25 million 2024 Renewed in 2020 Russia Sochi............... 50 million 2025 Held at Igora Drive Circuit from 2023 onwards Singapore Marina Bay... 35 million 2021* Is on calendar, renewal being negotiated Japan Suzuka.............. 25 million 2024 Mexico H. Rodriguez.... 25 million 2022 United States Austin.... 25 million 2021* Is on calendar, renewal being negotiated Brazil Interlagos........... 25 million 2025 Abu Dhabi Yas Marina.. 40 million 2030 China Shanghai............ 50 million 2025 Returns in 2023 Qatar Losail................. 55 million 2031 From 2023 onwards https://racingnews365.com/how-much-each-circuit-on-the-calendar-pays-to-formula-1
Tyres - Tires!! https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/return-of-one-stoppers-wont-matter-if-f1-racing-is-better-pirelli/7591434/ Return of one-stoppers won't matter if F1 racing is better - Pirelli By: Jonathan Noble Jan 25, 2022, 11:03 AM Pirelli thinks an increased chance of one-stop races in Formula 1 this year should not worry fans as long as the racing is better on track. Image Unavailable, Please Login As part of F1's rules overhaul for 2022, which has included a switch to ground effect cars, official tyre supplier Pirelli is also moving to 18-inch wheels. The change, allied to a desire to have rubber that is not so sensitive to overheating, has led to the compounds shifting towards being slightly harder. That will likely mean less degradation, which in turn opens the door for teams to get away with fewer pitstops. While one-stop races are not the preference for F1 chiefs, Pirelli head of F1 and car racing Mario Isola thinks that fewer stops will not influence the show if there are spectacular battles on track. "I hope we don't have less strategic variabilities," he said. "The idea and the way in which we have designed the tyres is to continue to have different strategies, with a mix of one and two stops. "It is also true that with a new product with less degradation, it is possible that we will have less pitstops and the majority of races could be one stop. "For me, it is not an issue as long as we have good races and action on track. "If we have drivers that can push for an overtake, and when overtaking is too easy, it's not good, it is important that drivers are putting a lot of effort in to overtake. That is exactly what spectators want. "There is a survey made by F1 on that and the majority of feedback on that is that spectators don't want easy overtaking, they want action on track and they want fighting." Isola is clear that Pirelli's approach with the 2022 tyres is different to before, with it chasing characteristics that drivers have asked for. Image Unavailable, Please Login Mario Isola, Racing Manager, Pirelli Motorsport Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images "This tyre is designed in a different way, with different targets," he said. "Drivers are asking for less overheating, and less degradation. They want to push on tyres, they want to fight on track. "We decided, and we agreed with the FIA, FOM, and the teams, to follow this direction. "So we had to design a new profile, a new construction, optimise the footprint, and design a new range of compounds. It is a complete new product with a new approach." But despite hopes that the new tyres will work as intended, Isola says a push will be made to improve things further for 2023. "I hope we don't have a lot of difficulties," he added. "I believe that we are already planning a 2022 development campaign, as we never stop the development, to be ready in 2023 with an upgraded version. "If, for example, this year we find that we have to change, maybe one compound, or the delta lap time is not exactly what we expect, or the level of degradation is not exactly what we expect, we have a backup plan to be sure that we move closer to the targets, and we achieve the targets for 2023." However, he thinks if Pirelli does achieve what is intended, and the 2022 car rules work in allowing cars to follow each other more closely, then F1 could be set for a great season. "These targets, of delta lap time and degradation and so on, have been decided around the table," he said. "So we believe that with these numbers, with the simulation, we have better racing. Yes, maybe less pit stops, but more action on track.
