F1 2022: New car regulations bring fun back for formula one drivers

There were plenty of smiles on driver faces at the end of last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - and it augers well for excitement levels for the rest of the season. HERE’S WHY!

Alpine's French driver Esteban Ocon and Spanish teammate Fernando Alonso jostle for position during the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. Picture: Andrej Isakovic/AFP

“It’s pretty much like a go-kart race,” was Esteban Ocon’s assessment of racing this season with a new generation of car after last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The “fun” that the Frenchman talked about the drivers enjoying in Jeddah is the result of new regulations for this season that mostly relate to aerodynamics and make overtaking much easier.

The rules have been designed to improve racing as a spectacle and met Ocon’s approval after the Alpine driver enjoyed a tussle on the street circuit with Fernando Alonso, his teammate.

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“It was a lot of fun,” Ocon, who could not stop smiling, said. “It’s a completely different philosophy now racing with these cars.”

Charles Leclerc was equally excited, despite losing out on a victory in the closing laps to his championship rival Max Verstappen.

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon is enjoying the new regulations for this season. Picture: Andrej Isakovic/AFP

“Oh my God, I really enjoyed that race,” the Ferrari driver said. “Every race should be like this. It was fun, I liked racing like this and it was much easier to follow than I initially thought.”

To watch the drivers battle it out made for great viewing on Sunday and there was a sense that it would not have been possible with the previous generation of cars. The first impression is that these new regulations really have made a difference.

Leclerc, who leads the championship after two races, was vying with Verstappen for several laps, the pair exchanging places at the front with the aid of DRS (drag reduction system) until eventually Verstappen came out on top.

Under the previous regulations, when the pursuing car got within three lengths of the car in front, it lost about one third of its downforce, and within one length it lost almost half.

Now when a car is within three car lengths, it loses less than 5 per cent of its downforce and when it is within one, it loses about 20 per cent.

Downforce is essential in any overtaking manoeuvre because it is what keeps the car on the track, along with the grip from the tyres, and allows the drivers to push without the fear of sliding off the track.

Charles Leclerc said racing was “fun” at the Saudi Arabia GP. Picture: Lars Baron/Getty Images

The new rules changed how downforce was created, so instead of the front and rear wing pushing the car into the track, it is now largely generated by the floor of the car — the so-called “ground-force effect”.

The downside of having groundeffect cars is the sight of them porpoising — bouncing or hopping. This is caused when the air rushes between the track and front wing and is funnelled through two tunnels in the floor, sucking the car ever closer to the track until it stalls and the car bounces back up.

This air-flow problem tends to repeat, making it look as though the cars — especially the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell — are bouncing on the straights.

However, while the aerodynamic changes may have improved racing in these early stages, several of the drivers have complained that the tyres are affecting performance. That is one reason why the number of overtaking manoeuvres in Bahrain and Saudi this year was broadly similar to last season.

“The cars are better to follow, it just depends on the tyre,” Verstappen said. “The hard tyre was capable of following closer but the other compounds — and this depends on the track — just fall apart.

“As soon as you follow for a few laps, they just open up.

Max Verstappen snared his first win of the season in Saudi Arabia. Picture: Clive Mason/Getty Images

“It’s probably the tyres but, also, the weight of the car pushes you over the tyre edge. This is something we need to look at for the future.

“We’ve improved the following and the racing but if the tyres don’t let you for whatever reason, that’s a bit of a shame. In the first stint [on the medium-compound Pirelli], we could have raced a bit more if the tyre didn’t die.”

Alonso agreed. “Following was easier,” the Alpine driver said. “I think the tyre is the biggest differentiating factor still, not the following. So, we need to see, we need to drive more races.”

Verstappen is not the only driver to mention the increased weight of the cars this season as a factor which could affect racing. The limit for the car plus driver increased from 752 to 795kg this season to incorporate the larger tyres and some extra safety features.

That will go up by another 3kg after teams voted to lift the limit as they were struggling to hit the target.

Drivers have long complained about making the cars heavier, which not only makes them less fun to drive but less fun to race as it can be more difficult with the extra weight.

It is still early days with these regulations but on the basis of the first two races, it does appear to be better racing, but there are still some issues that need to be ironed out to ensure it gets to where the F1 bosses, drivers and fans hoped it would.

Originally published as F1 2022: New car regulations bring fun back for formula one drivers