Big changes are on the horizon for F1 as the cars pack closer than ever to produce a season of ecstatic racing. That’s exactly what every single one of us heard as the sport acknowledged the rule changes for the 2022 season.
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Many including Dr. However, Helmut Marko and Valtteri Bottas recently admitted the changes are not noticeable enough and thus predicted a repeat of 2021.
In particular, the Red Bull advisor sounded fairly confident that Mercedes and Red Bull will continue to lead, while teams like Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine will remain some distance from the front runners.
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But for the first time, here’s someone who acknowledged the hype surrounding the 2022 campaign – Toto Wolff. The Mercedes boss said that unlike in the past, neither team can get the 1-second lead over the rest of the field.
What did the Mercedes boss say?
In an exclusive interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Wolff revealed that finding loopholes would no longer work. Even if one team manages to pull off a clever invention by exploiting a loophole in the rulebook, the other teams will most likely easily copy it given the simplicity of the 2022 cars.
No matter how far a team falls from the rest, Wolff believed the dominance would be short-lived.
Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 10, 2021 Mercedes Managing Director Toto Wolff addresses the Team Principals press conference FIA/Handout via REUTERS
“I believe that the budget ceiling will change significantly. If someone finds a loophole and runs away with it, everyone will copy it. The cars will all be very similar. There may still be differences in the first year. After that it evens out. There will no longer be a team that drives a second ahead,” he said.
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Wolff also acknowledged that more F1 teams will be fighting for the title in the years to come. “Of course, the financially strong teams weren’t particularly happy that we lost a lead there. But it’s all turned into an arms race between Red Bull, Ferrari and us,” he said.
Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in action at the start of the race pool via REUTERS/Giuseppe Cacace
“Now everything is more balanced. I think there are five or six teams that can win in the future. That’s good for the sport. It’s not always the same team that wins the Super Bowl.”
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Overall, the excitement continues to build as the much-anticipated 2022 season draws near. So do Wolff’s words come alive in the very first season of the new era? We will know in time.
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