With BWT (a supplier of water treatment systems) partnering with the Alpine F1 team, the new 2022 racing cars have taken on ‘flipped’ livery with pink becoming the most prominent colour. This unique livery, which highlights the partnership with BWT, will be used for the first two races of the season while the historic blue of the Alpine brand will be maintained.
Second F1 car by Alpine
The BWT Alpine F1 Team’s new car is known as the A522 which is its second F1 car. It has been under development over the past 18 months to meet the significant regulation changes introduced for the 2022 season.
Besides a completely new chassis and car build, the A522 also has an all-new RE22 power unit. The engine specification and packaging has allowed the team some extra freedom in shaping the rest of the car to better exploit the latest technical regulations and adjust for the new E10 fuel specification, E10 which is the next step to sustainable fuels in the sport.
Fernando Alonso (left) is a 2-time World Champion, while Esteban Ocon has been in F1 since 2016.
The team will again have the services of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, who were ranked 10th and 11th in the Drivers Championship last year. Ocon enters his third consecutive year powered by a Renault engine, while Alonso embarks on a historic and potentially record-breaking 20th season in F1. The 40-year old Spaniard has been World Champion twice (2005 and 2006) and was the youngest world champion, and then youngest 2-time champion in the sport’s history at the time.
The Alpine A521 in last year’s championship where the team finished fifth in the Constructors Championship.
About BWT
BWT (Best Water Technology) is Europe’s market leader in water treatment, with the mission to provide water of perfect quality for all purposes, everywhere in the world, directly from the tap, the water dispenser, or the table water filter. Its pink colour symbolizes the company’s mission to ‘Change the World – sip by sip’ and to make it a little bit better every day by implementing the Bottle Free Zone concept. In this respect, BWT will also be deepening its partnership with Formula 1 over the next few years. A multi-year partnership is part of the joint commitment against the use of single-use plastic and for sustainable positive change.
BWT was earlier involved in F1 with the Racing Point team which was rebranded in 2021 to become the Aston Martin COGNIZANT F1 Team.Besides partnering with the Alpine F1 team, BWT is also a partner with Formula 1 and is committed to eliminating the use of single-use plastic bottles at event facilities.
“We plan to make the Paddock free of single-use plastic bottles by 2025. To achieve this goal, BWT is providing water stations throughout the Paddock and the Paddock Club where drivers, crew and fans alike can enjoy fresh local water mineralized with magnesium, zinc, and silica in reusable bottles,” a statement from BWT said.
The reveals of the 2022 Formula 1 racing cars continue this week, starting with Scuderia AlphaTauri’s new AT03. Like all the other contenders in this year’s championship, the AT03 has been engineered to meet the significantly changed technical regulations aimed at not just furthering sustainability in the sport but also promote closer racing.
“I am excited to finally reveal what our 2022 Formula 1 car will look like. It is a completely new era for F1 and we hope that this package will be very strong, following last year’s success,” said Franz Tost, Scuderia AlphaTauri Team Principal. Though finishing 6th in the Constructors Championship, the 2021 season was the team’s most successful ever since they first raced in 2006 (as Scuderia Toro Rosso).
Same driver line-up
The drivers will be the same as for 2021 – Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda. Frenchman Gasly, who entered F1 in 2017, finished 9th overall in the Drivers Championship last year and scored one podium (third place in the Azerbaijan GP). Tsunoda began his first season in F1 last year in place of Daniil Kvyat and finished 14th in the championship.
The livery of the AT03 retains the white and navy blue colours that have become familiar with the team but with changes in the paint scheme. Gasly’s car will carry the number 10, while Tsunoda’s will have 22 which, incidentally, will be his age this year.
Honda power units, Red Bull name
The AT03 will run with Red Bull power units which are actually Honda power units supplied by Red Bull Powertrains, a F1 power unit maker owned by Red Bull. Red Bull Powertrains was established last year to take over the operation of F1 power units developed by Honda after the Japanese carmaker ceased its involvement in F1 at the end of the 2021 season. Naturally, the Red Bull Racing Team will also be using the same V6 engines during 2022.
The area where the biggest and most obvious changes can be seen – and the most important new element – is hidden underneath the car! A ground effect floor features two tunnels so that a much greater percentage of a car’s downforce is generated from the underside of the car.
Among other 2022 rules, the front and rear wings are much simpler in design, with no rear wing endplates or bargeboards. Each team can interpret the rules as they wish, but within very strict templates for what is permissible.
New requirements for chassis design
The chassis is the core element around which the entire AT03 is built, able to absorb more energy than before in front, rear and lateral impact tests. The 2022 design also requires the power unit to separate from the chassis in a crash without damaging the fuel cell. To further protect the driver in a frontal impact, the nose section is longer. All these changes have seen the car’s minimum weight increase by approximately 5% to 795 kgs.
Another very visible change is the switch from the 13-inch wheels that have been the norm in F1 since the 1960s, to 18-inch wheels, with just one supplier – BBS Motorsport – for all 10 teams. Aesthetically more pleasing and modern, the real function of the bigger low-profile tyres supplied by Pirelli is to make them less prone to overheating, so that the drivers can push harder for longer. However, they still have a performance drop-off to allow for interesting strategy choices. The compounds are also new this year, with Pirelli producing 5 different dry weather compounds of which three are chosen for each round, along with two wet weather options.
Yuki Tsunoda in the AT02 during the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship.
Both drivers are pleased with the looks of their new cars but do not know how they will perform with all the changes resulting from the new regulations. “We won’t know the true performance of the AT03 until we get it out on track at pre-season testing in Barcelona but so far, I think it looks great and I am very excited to get this new season started,” said Gasly. Last month, to get them warmed up for the new season, the drivers ran their 2020 car, the AT01, at Imola.
The MCL36 is McLaren Racing’s new Formula 1 car for the 2022 world championship which sees significantly changed technical regulations. The new regulations – which include a switch to 18-inch wheels – have forced the engineers to completely overhaul their designs but the FIA expects that the racing will become closer and more exciting for fans.
With aerodynamics being crucial to performance, Formula 1 cars are designed with features to generate as much downforce as possible. At the same time, this must be achieved without sacrificing performance so it’s a challenge which engineers faced when developing the MCL36.
Gulf Oil racing car inspiration
The new bodywork, described as having ‘speed and elegance… very vibrant’ by McLaren CEO Zak Brown uses similar colours as before but with a different livery. It has ‘Fluro Papaya’ as the dominant colour which will certainly make the car easily identifiable on the track. The blue (lighter than in 2021) is similar to that used by Gulf Oil in its racing cars before, and the racing link with the oil company goes back to 1968.
More sustainable fuel
McLaren will continue to use the Mercedes power unit in the MCL36 which, apart from being improved, has been retuned to run on E10 fuel instead of E5. This is the most significant regulation change of the hybrid era began in 2014. The change is part of the FIA’s move towards making motorsports a sustainable activity and fuels must use sustainable ethanol. The engineers have had to optimize the combustion process but just how well the engine will run on E10 fuel will only be known during official pre-season testing towards the end of this month.
The drivers are the same ‘Commonwealth pair’ as in 2021 – Daniel Ricciardo from Australia and Lando Norris from Britain. Ricciardo, who finished 8th in the Drivers’ Championship last year, began racing in 2011, while Norris, aged 22, entered F1 with McLaren in 2019.
Lando Norris in the McLaren Racing MCL35M at a round of the 2021 F1 World Championship.
McLaren Racing finished fourth in the championship last year with their highest points finish since 2012 that included one race win during the year. They have 20 world championship titles to their name and will be trying just as hard in 2022 to add another. The new regulations are helpful, in a way, in levelling the playing field again as each team has to now start to make their car more competitive from essentially the same ‘base’. The promise of closer racing could also be advantageous for some drivers.
2022 Arrow McLaren SP Team IndyCar racing cars
IndyCar and Extreme E challengers
Also unveiled at their base in England was the team’s IndyCar and Extreme E challengers. In addition, the livery of team’s esports programme, McLaren Shadow, was also shown to the world. The team also presented the 2022 Arrow McLaren SP team of Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist who will start their 2022 IndyCar campaign at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Florida, on February 27.
Emma Gilmour and Tanner Foust will race with this all-electric rallycar in the Extreme E series this year.
The McLaren Extreme E all-electric off-road racer will be used for the second season of the all-electric off-road series which began last year. The drivers will be Emma Gilmour from New Zealand, and 4-time US rallycross champion, Tanner Foust. Gilmour, who has also taken part in the WRC, becomes the first female McLaren racing driver, in-line with the team’s commitment to showcase and inspire diversity in motorsport. The McLaren Extreme E team will be on the starting line for the first round of the 2022 Extreme E Championship at the Desert X-Prix in Saudi Arabia next weekend.
The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team is the third of the F1 teams to show its new racing car which will be used in the 2022 championship The car retains the overall green bodywork with new sponsor’s logos all over. The sponsors this year include Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil and gas company which is one of the largest companies in the world.
Designated the AMR22, it is totally new to meet the significant changes in technical regulations for the sport. These include aerodynamic aspects – which are expected to allow for more overtaking – as well as a switch to larger 18-inch tyres that give a new look. However, as the new regulations will be around a while, the design of the car will continue to evolve and might even have changes when the first round starts.
The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team will continue to have 4-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll (whose father is Executive Chairman of the company) as its drivers.
Aston Martin returned to F1 racing only last year and after a difficult season, finishing seventh in the world championship. But it is no stranger to GP racing as Aston Martins raced in the top-level category 100 years ago, starting with the 1922 French Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel in the AMR21 during the 2021 season which the team finished overall seventh in the world championship.
Aston Martin says that data from the 2021 season demonstrates that the global platform of Formula 1 is heightening brand desirability and product familiarity for Aston Martin as the sport enjoys growing popularity worldwide. Its website traffic increased by 15% when there were races on, compared to non-race Sundays. This increased to 25% on weekends where the company supplied the Vantage and DBX as Official F1 Safety & Medical Cars.
Lawrence Stroll, Executive Chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, said: “The return of Aston Martin to Formula One has been a monumental moment for the brand, with transformative impact for our performance credentials and global awareness. Through the race team and our status as the Official Safety and Medical Car of Formula One, we have been able to showcase our product and test new technologies on the world’s greatest circuits.”
Official testing will take place at the Bahrain International Circuit over 3 days on March 10-12. The first round of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship season will also be at the same circuit on March 20.
The 2022 Formula 1 World Championship will see the biggest changes in technical rules in some 4 decades. Among those changes – which are expected to contribute to close racing with more overtaking – are the switch 18-inch wheel rims from the current 13 inches. This means installing new low-profile tyres from Pirelli, which continues to be the tyre-supplier for F1.
13 inches since 1960s
Tyres in 13-inch size have raced for nearly the entire history of the championship to date, from the 1960s. Nonetheless, at the time – and into the subsequent decade – there was still a lot of regulatory freedom around wheel size. In the 1980s, 13 inches finally became the definitive size.
Pirelli first ran a 13-inch tyre in Formula 1 at the 1981 San Marino Grand Prix with the Toleman. Then, in the same season (Michelin and Goodyear supplied tyres then) and subsequent ones, other teams adopted the Italian tyres for their cars. Since 2011, Pirelli has been the sole tyre-supplier for the sport.
The first win for Pirelli’s 13-inch tyres came at the 1985 French Grand Prix, fitted on Nelson Piquet’s Brabham-BMW. Pirelli brought in a new generation of 13-inch tyres from 1989 (two years after the P Zero name was born) which were used until 1991. As Global Tyre Partner from 2011, Sebastian Vettel was the first to claim a championship for a Pirelli 13-inch tyre with Red Bull.
Wider tyres, faster lap times
In 2017, Pirelli innovated by introducing tyres that were 25% wider than they had been previously, providing a bigger footprint and more grip, which in turn resulted in lap records being lowered all over the world.
Since becoming sole supplier, more than 400,000 13-inch tyres have been produced from the Pirelli factories at Izmit in Turkey and Slatina in Romania.
Testing since 2014
The 18-inch tyres have been tested on F1 cars since 2014 when Pirelli first ran such tyres at a test at Silverstone with Lotus reserve driver Charles Pic. Initially, it was the intention to adopt 18-inch tyres from 2021 as part of a package of new technical regulations, but this was deferred to 2022 due to the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the meantime, Pirelli successfully ran 18-inch tyres in Formula 2 since the 2020 season and completed 36 days of 18-inch testing with Formula 1 cars that were modified to accommodate the new size. It’s actually the size of the rim that changes, adding 5 inches (127 mm) to the diameter that has been a constant in GP racing since the 1960s. This has been characterized by compact, very wide tyres featuring a ‘pot-bellied’ sidewall seen on four corners of the racing cars.
With a bigger emphasis on technological proximity to the road car as well as aesthetics, the brand new P Zero F1 tyre has the same tread width as before (305 mm at the front and 405 mm at the rear) but a slightly bigger overall diameter, which grows from 660 mm to 720 mm. The most significant change is a reduction in the sidewall, which now resembles that of the low-profile Pirelli tyres that, for years, have been seen on many performance road cars.
Less turbulence, closer racing
This new profile will change the behaviour of the racing cars, making them more precise when changing direction. From the tests carried out so far – in both dry and wet conditions – the drivers’ feedback has been positive, and the new tyres will contribute to even more competitive races, with cars that are less sensitive to aerodynamic turbulence while following behind one another (so racing can be closer). The lower sidewall also means that the tyre will flex less, meaning that it will have less impact on the overall aerodynamics of the car.
The compounds for the 18-inch tyres will also be completely new, to ensure maximum consistency and less overheating. Five compound grades will be available for the 2022 championship, three of which will be chosen for each race weekend (as has been the case this year).
Pirelli tyres were on the racing cars during the first years of Formula 1 in the 1950s,
By going from 13-inch to 18-inch, Pirelli is the only tyre manufacturer that has competed in Formula 1 with all the wheel sizes that have been part of the World Championship’s history. It’s a story that began in 1950, with its first wins and titles with Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Maserati. Those were front-engined racing cars that ran on tall and narrow tyres.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina over the weekend was the last race in F1 history where the cars ran on 13-inch tyres. To celebrate the ‘changing of the guard’, all the 13-inch slick tyres used in the race had a special logo on the sidewall: ‘Next year I turn 18’.
Ever since Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms of the 1980s transformed China’s and opened it to the world, the country’s presence in the auto industry has kept growing, to the extent that it is now the world’s largest motor vehicle market. And even in motorsports, the country has steadily become more involved, initially providing world-class racing circuits.
Where drivers have been concerned, this has been slower as racing was non-existent before, let alone private ownership and use of cars. The only people who were able to drive back then were mostly drivers in the military and commercial vehicle drivers. In fact, even as the auto industry modernised and opened up in the 1990s, only a small number of people could qualify as motoring journalists as most had no experience of driving. In one instance, one global carmaker assisted a group of Chinese reporters with a short driving course before they attended a media event for a new model outside China.
Of course, there have been racing drivers in Hong Kong and Macau for decades as these two regions had developed independently from mainland China. They operated with western-style economies and so there were some drivers who could purchase racing cars and go overseas to participate in races or rallies (many coming to events in Malaysia).
But as with many things, China has been progressing rapidly and next year will see the first Formula 1 driver from the country. Guanyu Zhou is one of the new drivers who will replace Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi when their contracts end with Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN at the end of the 2021 season.
Started in karting
Zhou is by no means a rookie in racing, especially since you can’t get to F1 without making progress through the various stages of the sport. Like many F1 drivers, he started in karting (in 2007) and was Karting China Champion from 2008 to 2010. He finished second in Italian F4 in 2015, before collecting victories in Euro F3 and F2 events, Formula 1’s feeder series. The Chinese youngster has been a multiple race winner in the FIA F2 Championship with success at all levels of racing in his career. He made his F2 debut in the 2019 season and finished seventh with one pole position and five podiums, winning an award for highest-placed rookie. His Race win in Sochi also made him the first mainland Chinese driver to win an international single-seater race.
As an official the driver for the Renault F1 Team, which became the Alpine F1 team, Zhou had a chance to drive Fernando Alonso’s A512 racing car in FP1 of the Austrian GP this year. He says that Alonso (below) inspired him to pursue a career in racing when he was young.
2021 in particular has been a breakthrough year for the driver, who is currently in second place in the standings in F2 and is ready to mount a challenge for the title in the final two events of the season in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. He is racing with the British UNI-Virtuosi team this year.
On the radar of F1 teams
Zhou, 22, has been on the radar of most F1 teams for some time. He was an official test driver for the Renault F1 team in 2020 and this year, he took over Fernando Alonso’s A521 for FP1 in Spielberg, making him just the second driver from mainland China to take part in an official F1 session, and the first in 8 years.
“From a young age, I dreamt of climbing as high as I could in this sport that I am so passionate about. Now the dream has come true. It is a privilege for me to start my Formula 1 career with such an iconic team, a team that has introduced so much young talent into Formula 1 in the past. I feel well-prepared for the immense challenge of Formula 1, the pinnacle of my sport, alongside a proven, world-class talent in Valtteri Bottas,” said Zhou, who is called ‘Joey’ by his team mates at UNI-Virtuosi.
Zhou has been racing with the British UNI-Virtuosi team for the past 3 years.
“Next year, the target will be to learn as much as possible and as quickly as possible. To be the first ever Chinese driver in Formula 1 is a breakthrough for Chinese motorsport history. I know a lot of hopes will be resting on me and, as ever, I will take this as motivation to become better and achieve more,” he said.
Zhou will have Valtteri Bottas (above left), who is 10 years older, as his team mate, taking over from Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi (right).
Zhou will join a team with extensive heritage and tradition, completing a highly competitive line-up alongside Valtteri Bottas, who comes from the successful Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Racing Team. Thus there will be a combination of youth and experience for Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN to move forward, at a time when the sport embraces a completely new set of regulations, and all teams start from scratch in their quest for glory.
Guanyu Zhou will be the 28th driver from Asia to race in Formula 1 since the championship series began in 1950. The first driver from Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh from Thailand, who was among the racers in the first ever F1 race and would continue until 1954. 65 years later, Alexander Albon, another Thai, would enter F1 with the Toro Rosso Team.
Of the 28 drivers from Asia, Japan is the one with the most – 21, with Hiroshi Fukuda being the first to take part in 1975. Albon (above right) and Yuki Tsunoda (above left) have been the most recent Asian drivers, with Tsunoda currently racing with Scuderia AlphaTauri.
Drivers from three other Asian countries have also taken part in F1 – 2 from India, 1 from Indonesia and of course, Alex Yoong from Malaysia.
With a Chinese driver racing in F1 next year, we should see an increase in attention by motorsport fans in China.
Alfa Romeo’s global branding
“Alfa Romeo is delighted to welcome Guanyu Zhou into its family as the first Chinese driver in Formula 1. The decision to recruit Zhou has been made in complete agreement with the Alfa Romeo Racing team and is the result of a specific objective and a clear strategy; for Alfa Romeo to become a global premium brand,” said Jean Philippe Imparato, CEO Alfa Romeo.
“Guanyu Zhou represents a key opportunity to take full advantage of the potential offered by the global F1 platform and serves as a privileged entry point into the Chinese market that plays a notable role in Alfa Romeo’s future. Welcoming Zhou to the team speaks of the inclusive power of a brand that inspires visceral and universal emotions, shared the whole world over,” he added.
The Formula 1 organisation has released its calendar for next year and the 2022 Formula World Championship will have 23 rounds, one more than 2021. Perhaps to be on the safe side, the Australian GP is no longer the season-opener, as it was for many years. In 2020, the opening round in Melbourne was cancelled at the last moment as the pandemic worsened and there was hope that it could be held later in the year. But that didn’t happen and in 2021, the same thing happened and Bahrain had to quickly take over for the first round.
This year, the Middle Eastern venue is again the season-opener on March 20, along with Jeddah, Saudi Arabia hosting Round 2. It will be the second time for the Jeddah Street Circuit but at this time, little is known about it since the first race on it will only be towards the end of this year’s championship. It is likely to be a night race as it would be cooler, especially in March.
The Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir where the 2022 championship will start.
Round 3 will be held in Australia, a rather long journey down under and then for Round 4, the teams will have to fly all the way to Florida in the USA where there will be the first ever F1 race in Miami. It will be one of two races to be held in America, the other being Round 20 in October in Texas. The Miami circuit will be new to everyone but the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, is a familiar one already.
After Miami in the early part of May, the teams will then return to Europe where there will be 3 rounds before crossing the Atlantic again for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. Then it’s back to Europe for 8 rounds until September 25.
The Spa de Francorchamps Circuit for the Belgian Grand Prix is the longest one on the calendar, with each lap being 7 kms long.
The only two rounds in the Far East are in Singapore and Japan during October. Both venues had cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the severity of their pandemic conditions that made it not only risky for the participants but would also have been troublesome logistically with long quarantine periods.
The Singapore GP – which was the first-ever F1 night race – is scheduled for October 2 next year. Hopefully, it will run and not have to be cancelled for the third time due to the pandemic.
After Japan (which hopefully will not be hit by a typhoon at the time), the next venue is in the western hemisphere 14 days later for the second race in America. While they are in the Americas, they will head south to Mexico City for Round 21 and then Sao Paolo’s well known Interlagos Circuit for Round 22. By then, it will be mid-November and the final round of 2022 will be at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on November 20.
Hopefully, unlike the 2020 and 2021 seasons, the schedule as published can be retained and rounds do not have to be cancelled or postponed because certain countries introduce lockdowns again or tougher quarantine requirements. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to be diminishing and health authorities in many countries are hopeful that we will be able to have ‘normalcy’ in 2022, so motorsports and other activities can be held safely.
The FIA Formula One World Championship will run for the 73rd time in 2022 and as has been the case periodically over the decades, the technical regulations set by the FIA have changes. Often, these changes reflect changing economic, social or technological circumstances. The changes for 2022, which took some 2 years to formulate, were originally meant to be introduced in 2021 but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were postponed to 2022.
“The regulations have been a truly collaborative effort, and I believe this to be a great achievement,” said FIA President Jean Todt when they were announced in late 2019. “A crucial element for the FIA moving forward will be the environmental considerations – Formula 1 already has the most efficient engines in the world, and we will continue to work on new technologies and fuels to push these boundaries further.
However, the restriction to a US$175 million budget for each team took effect in 2021. This meant that much of the development work to meet the new regulations had to be done with the budget cap in mind. This restriction helps to level the playing field between the less rich teams and the well-funded teams like Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS and Red Bull Racing Honda which are known to have spent US$550 million and more during a racing season.
“The 2022 regulations from the FIA will create the conditions for closer racing where the cars can get closer to each other,” said Stefano Domenicali, Formula 1 President & CEO, echoing Ross Brawn, Formula 1’s Managing Director of Motorsport who said that ‘we want much closer competition. We want them battling wheel-to-wheel’.
The new regulations are expected to make racing closer, which is what spectators and fans want.
Powerplants will not change and the new generation of F1 cars will still use the same 1.6-litre hybrid V6 turbo engines. Hybrid engines were introduced in 2014 in place of the unturbocharged V8 units. The hybrid units have been complex and expensive to develop and by 2025 or so, the FIA will come out with new powertrain regulations that will use completely sustainable fuel. F1 cars currently run on a 5.75% blend of biofuel, and next year, they must use E10 (10% ethanol blend).
“Formula 1 has long served as platform for introducing next generation advancements in the automotive world. We are delighted by the momentum on sustainable fuels which perfectly aligns with our plan to be net zero carbon as a sport by 2030. Our top sustainability priority now is building a roadmap for the hybrid engine that reduces emissions and has a real-world benefit for road cars. We believe we have the opportunity to do that with a next generation engine that combines hybrid technology with sustainable fuels,” said Brawn.
The cars have evolved visually, and this is for commercial as well as technical reasons, the former being to have more appeal to spectators. The technical reasons include having to extend the front end to improve crash protection, while the rear end of the car must also be able to absorb 15% more energy. Romain Grosjean’s terrifying crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix and the way the car broke had engineers working hard to ensure that the power unit will separate in a way that will not allow the fuel tank to be exposed and leak.
Chassis strength has also been increased for better resistance to side impacts and inevitably, these changes have added weight to the car. The regulations have therefore been adjusted to allow the minimum weight to be 790 kgs, about 5% from the 752 kg limit for this year’s cars.
The F1 cars will also use bigger wheels in 2022; until now, they have been running on 13-inch wheels but next year will see them rolling on 18-inch wheels. While these may have a certain visual appeal – big wheels usually do – the drivers and engineers are not excited about this change. They have various implications on performance, including a possible increase in lap times, apart from adding weight.
Pirelli, the tyre-suppliers for F1, have developed new low-profile tyres which they say will not be as disadvantageous as the general view suggests. The new Pirelli compounds and constructions for are said to reduce the amount the tyres overheat as they slide along the track surface.
Bigger wheels, while also allowing for bigger brakes, will require close study of aerodynamics in those areas. And aerodynamic performance has always been a crucial element in the design of a F1 car. Designers in each team will have their own styling ideas for the various sections of the car while adhering to regulations, of course.
Downforce has been vital since the 1970s when people like Colin Chapman used aerodynamic principles to make the car ‘stick’ to the road more. However, in racing conditions, especially at the speeds of F1, the ‘dirty air’ from the car ahead can impact the car behind, with up to 35% of downforce being lost – even when 20 metres apart. If closer, this loss can even be as much as 47%.
The 2022 car, developed by Formula 1’s in-house Motorsports team in collaboration with the FIA, has given a lot of consideration to the ‘ground effect’ and can reduces the loss to just 4% at 20 metres and 18% at 10 metres.
Winglets are a clever aerodynamic feature on aircraft and over-wheel winglets will appear for the first time on F1 cars, along with wheel covers, last seen in 2019. While the covers can help in the aerodynamics, they have little to do with the actual tires. As a physical seal on the wheel, they will also help to reduce the dirty air coming off the car and the turbulence it causes in its wake.
The winglets will manage airflow coming off the front tyres and direct it away from the rear wing. Again, this is being introduced in the interests of reducing the negative effects on cars behind. This is expected to allow closer racing.
The 2022 car has fully shaped underfloor tunnels rather than the stepped floor used currently. This can generate and preserve large amounts of useful downforce through ground effect. As for the rear wing (which still has DRS), this also has a revised shape and position to move airflow higher up as it departs from the car so that the following car has more ‘clean air’ and can come closer.
The US state of Florida, which has had the famous Daytona 500 race since 1959, will also have a round of the Formula 1 World Championship in 2022. Miami will be the 11th location in the USA since the modern F1 championship began in 1950. The other circuits have been at Riverside, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix, Indianapolis and the Circuit of the Americas (Texas).
“We are looking forward to bringing the greatest racing spectacle on the planet to Miami for the first time in our sport’s history. The Hard Rock stadium entertainment campus in Miami Gardens exists to host the biggest global events to benefit the entire greater Miami region and Formula 1 racing is as big as it gets. We have worked with specialist designers to create a racetrack that we, Formula 1 and the FIA believe will provide great racing and we hope to create best-in- class unique fan experiences that are reflective of the diverse and dynamic nature of Miami,” said Tom Garfinkel, Managing Partner of Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.
Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
Brand new track
Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins, will sit at the heart of the circuit. The Formula 1 organisation and the FIA will be liaising closely with the promoter who will build a brand new track that will provide high-speed straights, multiple overtaking opportunities and exciting racing while meeting the highest safety standards.
The circuit will be 5.41 kms long, have 19 corners, 3 straights and potential for 3 DRS zones with an estimated top speed of 320 km/h. It’s not known if Hermann Tilke, the engineer who has designed many of the modern F1 circuits (including the Sepang International Circuit), will be involved.
The new circuit will be built on the grounds around the Hard Rock Stadium.
The race will provide an additional tourist boost and economic impact to local businesses in the greater Miami region. Additionally, there will be a programme to support local businesses and the community to ensure they get the full benefits of the race being in Miami Gardens, including a STEM education programme through F1 in Schools as well as the opportunity for local businesses to be part of the race weekend.
“We are thrilled to announce that Formula 1 will be racing in Miami beginning in 2022. The US is a key growth market for us, and we are greatly encouraged by our growing reach in the US which will be further supported by this exciting second race. We will be working closely with the team from Hard Rock Stadium and the FIA to ensure the circuit delivers sensational racing but also leaves a positive and lasting contribution for the people in the local community,” said Stefano Domenicali, President & CEO of Formula 1.
A Formula 1 race in California in 1976.
Spectator presence still uncertain
Meanwhile the FIA and Formula 1 said that during the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Italy, 4,523 tests for COVID-19 were performed on drivers, teams and personnel between April 12 and April 18. Of these, 2 people tested positive. The aggregated information from each Grand Prix is being provided for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency.
As in 2020, the races this year will be run under stringent Standard Operating Procedures with participants required not only to undergo COVID-19 tests but also operate in a ‘team bubble’ which prevents interaction with others during the event. Spectators have not been allowed so far, although in 2020, two events (in Portugal and Russia) allowed spectators with social distancing measures applied. The organisers are hopeful that the situation will ease further as the season proceeds and limited numbers of spectators could be allowed into the circuits.
Most of the races in 2020 were run without spectators present, while the teams had to operate in a strict ‘bubble’.
