How F1 drivers reacted to the 2022 car design reveal

All 20 drivers were recruited for a photo shoot with the new car, and it gave them a decent opportunity to walk around it and kick some tires.

Although they’d seen drawings and, in some cases, wind tunnel models, the full-size model gave them a real idea of ​​what next year’s cars will look like. The glittery paintwork might be a bit of a nuisance, but what really mattered was the aero package.

As with the fans, the real reactions from the drivers were undoubtedly mixed, but inevitably they were careful not to say too negative – that would be politically incorrect.

There was a brief uproar on social media when a clip surfaced in which Daniel Ricciardo criticized the new look, but the McLaren driver later denied that the 2022 car was the subject of his comments.

“If they can get what they set out to do, it will be great for the drivers,” said George Russell. “And we all just want tough, fair races. And that was a bit difficult with the current cars and the current regulations.

“But I think the direction we’re going is going to be great. So as long as you have a fast car, that’s important to us.”

For the drivers, the bottom line is that this isn’t just a styling exercise – some very clever people from both Formula 1 and FIA have worked on the project for years.

“I think that’s the exciting thing,” said Ricciardo. “They haven’t just gotten to the point in the last six months and said, ‘Oh, we have to change something, and that’s how it will be.’ In any case, a lot of thought and effort has been put into it.

“So it definitely not only fills us with confidence, but also with excitement that it will be cool and fun. And in fact, the more I look at the car the more I look it still looks pretty cool.”

The start event of the Formula 1 car 2022 on the Silverstone starting field. Three-quarter detail on the back

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Charles Leclerc agreed that he was encouraged by the body of engineering knowledge that went into the project.

“The more people know the sport, the better it is of course,” said the Ferrari driver. “Because they know exactly what we have to do to have better races.

“So I really hope it does as expected, so more raceable cars. That is basically what we all want, more exciting races. That is the main goal of this car and I hope that is achieved.”

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly also appreciated the fact that so much effort had been put into the future car concept and every aspect of the championship under the new management of F1.

“I think that’s really positive,” said the Frenchman. “It’s important to always question what you do and what you have and try to improve the product that you have. So these days, F1 is ultimately entertainment, and we have to entertain people.

“And the more you improve the race, the more chances you have of growing your audience and fan base. I think that’s what they’re trying to do, like in racing, I think that’s going to be a win for everyone.

“For us drivers it will be more exciting to drive and fight on the track [companies] will be happier, and all the viewers and fans who follow on TV will be more excited too. So I’m really looking forward to seeing what we get next year. “

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The key to the 2022 car concept is making it easier for drivers to negotiate corners and then being able to overtake. Solving this problem has been something of a Holy Grail for the past few decades, and previous attempts have had limited results.

“It’s very, very important,” said Leclerc. “It’s very hard to explain what happens when we sit behind a car with these cars, but it’s just very, very difficult to follow. We lose a lot of time and then it’s just impossible to overtake. So hopefully the Die The racing ability of these cars will be better. “

“I think that’s all,” Ricciardo said of the following puzzle. “This is really the key to really making the sport better.

“They did some old reruns on our TVs before and it was 2019. And I was behind Carlos.” [Sainz] for the last 10 laps, and you could see that I was catching everything and then just losing through the corners.

“It was clear that I was faster back then and had a fresher tire or whatever, but just couldn’t do anything about the dirty air. And if that improves, I think you’ll see so many more races … and even Side-by-side racing. That is really the hope, and I think there is enough data to support it. “

Ricciardo confirmed that the problem persisted to varying degrees throughout his 10-year F1 career.

“Looking back, I think 2014 was probably the best racing year. So I liked 2014 because the cars were also narrow and you could cross a bit easier. It was always a problem, but ’14 was less.”

The start event of the Formula 1 car 2022 on the Silverstone starting field. Side stand detail

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Gasly gave a good explanation of how big the problem of following is in modern F1.

“You lose a lot of downforce,” he said. “And then it affects your brakes, it affects your aerodynamics, it increases the glide on the tires, and the tires can’t handle it at the moment.

“And then you basically lose six, seven tenths in three turns, and then you can’t pressure the guy, you can’t get close enough to try some things. So yeah, it’s a real problem.

“It’s not an easy solution because, to be honest, we’re going at such speeds. It’s very, very difficult just to follow exactly physically. But I like that they do their best to make it happen. And that’s positive. “

The data Ricciardo mentioned earlier was presented to drivers by Ross Brawn some time ago, and they appreciated the fact that the F1 executive went out of the way to explain in detail the intent of the aero changes.

“It’s always good to see numbers on paper,” said Gasly. “I mean, if you look at the numbers, it looks really positive. Obviously in this world you learn not to trust the numbers all the time, because sometimes you expect certain things and then, for whatever reason, something is different.

“I like the approach of making a change and trying to improve the sport. And the philosophy, I think that’s clearly the right way to go with the budget cap and try to limit the areas of performance development.

“Because as an athlete, at the end of the day, you want to feel like you have a big impact on your performance when everything is dictated by the car, it’s not that great and it’s not that much fun.

“At the same time, a driver is never nice when you fight another driver and know that he has a second in his pocket thanks to his car.

“The more we narrow those gaps between cars, the more we focus on the drivers and I think the more entertainment we’ll get. Hopefully these new cars will bring this to life.”