The front impact test has been increased to demand an absorption of 48% more energy than the previous car, and a 15% increase for the rear impact test.įollowing Romain Grosjean's high-profile Bahrain crash in 2020, the power unit will separate from the chassis without exposing or rupturing the fuel tank in the event of a severe enough crash.Ī longer front nose has been introduced, based on findings into the FIA's investigation of Anthoine Hubert's fatal Formula 2 accident at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019, as well as stronger chassis sides to deal with side impacts. The 2022 car chassis has had extremely stringent crash test requirements put on it. This, in theory, means the following car will essentially drive 'under' the disturbed air caused by the car in front.Īs ever, Formula 1's push for greater safety continues unabated. The merging of the two airflows results in a much narrower convergence, with a revised diffuser design throwing it into the air. The new, unusual rear wing not only looks cool, but the design is also intended to collect wake from the rear wheels and redirect it into the flow coming from the underside of the car. The intent is to send the wake down the sides of the car in a fluid manner, rather than underneath or pushed out from the sides. The new front wing will obviously generate downforce in the traditional way, although is heavily concentrating on controlling the front wheel wake and down the car in a much less disruptive fashion. Without the requirement for disruptive aerodynamic appendages like vortex-generating barge boards, lips, flaps and scoops everywhere, following cars should be less disturbed by those in front of them.Īside from that, the front wing redesign for 2022 is also much more simple. The 2022 car will use underfloor tunnels, which will generate large amounts of ground effect downforce. But the obvious disruption of this philosophy has resulted in modern cars being unable to follow each other closely, so Formula 1 is returning to a ground effect-like formula. Ground effect, which was used to great effect in the 1970s and 1980s, creates suction underneath the car to pull it into the tarmac.į1 moved away from ground effect almost 40 years ago, with the focus switching more towards over-car airflow. These will help to direct the wake of the air coming off the front wheels and direct it away from the rear wing.įrom 2022, Formula 1 cars will begin to use a different form of aerodynamics. Over-wheel winglets are also set to be introduced, something that has never been seen in F1 before. The physical seal of a wheel cover prevents the teams from finding ways of redirecting air through the wheels. However, it also reduces the downforce of the car itself. This is done to reduce the aerodynamic wake coming off the cars, for the benefit of those behind. However, as a change in itself, the switch from 13-inch to 18-inch tyres is expected to have a minimal impact on overall lap time.Īside from the wheels themselves, wheel covers return for the first time since 2009. Pirelli are predicting lower tyre degradation overall, with Mario Isola also revealing that many races could become one-stop as a result of the change. This increased stability means less focus is required from the teams to address the turbulence, meaning lower costs. Testing so far has only resulted in positive driver feedback, with less tyre flex and less impact on car aerodynamics. The changed behaviour of the tyre means the cars will handle differently, making them more precise due to the far stiffer sidewall. The sidewall reduction will be the biggest change, more closely resembling a road car. Pirelli's new 18-inch tyres, which were extensively tested by the F1 teams on mule cars in 2021, will run the same tread width as now, but with a bigger diameter. Why? Well, aside from the improved aesthetics of bigger wheels, the relevance towards road car technology is far greater. From 2022, the cars will race with 18-inch wheels. It's a move that's been coming for a while now, and that is a shift away from the traditional 13-inch wheel that has been a mainstay in Formula 1 for more than 30 years.
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