Drivers have had to spend most of pre-season testing getting to know the cars and a unanimous verdict is that following is a lot easier.
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2022 will mark the beginning of a new era for Formula One as a slew of technical regulations by the sport’s ruling body, the FIA, will come into play. Cars will be a lot different than before as aerodynamics takes the front seat and a budget cap of USD 140 million will help the so-called smaller teams closer to the big fish on the grid. The drivers have had to spend most of pre-season testing getting to know their new cars and a unanimous verdict is that following has become a lot easier. Reigning Formula One champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull was the latest to share the sentiment as he said that following other cars was ‘at least better than last year.’
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“I do think it is better,” Verstappen said. “It’s at least better than last year, when if you got behind someone, you suddenly got understeer or a lot of oversteer. It was uncontrollable.”
“When I’m behind a car now, I do notice that I’m losing downforce, but that happens front and rear. So that makes it more predictable and controllable for drivers. It also depends on the balance of the car of course. If you had a lot of understeer or oversteer last year, it was difficult to drive that car as well. Driving any car on the limit is difficult, so I think it’s pretty much the same,” the Dutchman added.
Of course, the new cars are not all pros. There are certain disadvantages, the most visible one being porpoising. Another issue is the weight. Nearing 800 kg, it has been somewhat unsatisfactory for a lot of drivers to maneuver through slow corners. When asked about whether the cars are fun to drive, Verstappen said that it depended on the circuit.
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“That depends a bit on the circuits we go to,” he said. “These cars are a lot slower in the slow corners because they are a lot heavier. On a track with a lot of slow corners, it will be less fun for us to drive. But if we go to circuits with a lot of fast corners, it really is a fun car to drive.”
The 2022 Formula One season kicks off on March 20 with the Bahrain Grand Prix.
