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Back on the tracks - What to expect from the 2022 F1 Season

NEWS STORY
14/03/2022

Are you still reeling from last year's thrilling F1 season finale that saw Max Verstappen sweep the championship title from Lewis Hamilton after an intense battle at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

Well, it's about time to stop living in the past and start thinking about the future because we've got a lot more racing drama coming our way with the new F1 season that's about to kick off shortly.

With updated regulations, huge technical overhauls, brand new cars, and changes to the driver line-up, the 73rd Formula One World Championship that will start in Bahrain on Sunday, March 20 is set to be one of the best seasons yet. After the three-day pre-season testing event that took place in Barcelona, the fans are already intrigued and waiting for more.

So, if you want to find out what the 2022 F1 season has in store for us, here's everything you need to know before the first race of the championship.

Who's going to race?

First thing first, let's see who's going to compete on the race tracks and keep us on the edge of our seats for the entire season. There have been a few notable changes, especially for Mercedes who's promoting George Russell to partner up with Lewis Hamilton this year. This means Valtteri Bottas will leave the team to join Alfa Romeo following the retirement of F1 veteran Kimi Raikkonen. Wiliams has signed a one-year deal with Alex Albon, while Guanyu Zhou makes his F1 debut at Alfa Romeo.

Here's the full driver line-up for 2022:

• Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell
• Red Bull: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez
• McLaren: Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris
• Ferrari: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz
• Alpine: Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon
• Alpha Tauri: Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda
• Aston Martin: Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll
• Williams: Nicholas Latifi and Alex Albon
• Alfa Romeo: Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas
• Haas: Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher

Brand new cars

Now let's move on to the most exciting and expected change of the season: the brand-new F1 cars that will be introduced on the circuit this year. The cars have already been revealed and tested out at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya that hosted the first pre-season testing event, giving everyone the chance to analyze them and voice their opinions over the changes that have been implemented. We'll go over some of the key points of the new F1 car for a more in-depth analysis.

As specialists at Legal Expert point out, road accidents can have terrible outcomes. But in F1, accidents on the tracks can result in truly dramatic consequences, so, as was expected, the new cars have been designed with safety in mind. Their body allows for smoother racing, meaning they are less prone to turbulence. This gives drivers the possibility to run closer to one another, so we'll probably see more overtakes during the race.

Manufacturers also tried to learn from past mistakes and address existing issues by making it possible for the power unit to detach from the chassis without affecting the fuel tank, reducing the risk of explosion. All the changes made to the car have led to an increase in minimum weight by 5%.

The tire size has been altered as well. The cars now have 18-inch low-profile tires that are less temperature-sensitive, which will not only improve performance but will also be in line with F1's sustainability agenda.

When it comes to wheels, manufacturers have decided to bring back trends from the past - wheel covers and over-wheel winglets that were in use before the 2010 ban. These features will allow for better control of the car by smoothing the turbulence created by the wheel and tire and reducing the aerodynamic wake generated by the car in the lead.

Another aspect worth noting is the recently introduced cost caps. This measure was supposed to be put in place in 2021, but it seems it took one more season for the idea to finally materialize. Manufacturers are required to keep the cost of production under $140 million. Despite current budget limitations, most 2022 F1 cars are still a lot more expensive than their predecessors.

New regulations

Apart from brand new car features, there are also a series of rules and regulations that will take effect this season. One notable change to the racing regulations is the fact that drivers will no longer be required to start the third round of qualifying using the same tires they had on their fastest lap in round two.

A virtual race control room will also be introduced, to assist the race director in the decision-making process by providing live input and analysis. Hopefully, this will allow for better enforcement of sporting regulations and eliminate some of the controversies and incidents that have plagued the 2021 season.

Addressing safety car controversies

Speaking of controversies, if you're up to date with what happened in the 2021 F1 season, you already know that Michael Masi's decision to allow the cars between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to unlap themselves led to heavy criticism. As a result, this year we're going to have new regulations in this respect as well.

The new rules for 2022 specify that the Safety Car period will end when the message "lapped cars may now overtake" has been sent to all competitors. Then the lapped cars will be allowed to overtake and the Safety Car can return to the pits. These regulations strive to make Safety Car interventions clearer and less time-consuming than they were in the past.

23 race weekends

The 2021 season was marked by Covid restrictions, making it impossible for F1 teams to participate in all the races. But this year, organizers have big plans, looking to reintroduce the 23 races season that will start on March 20th in Bahrain and end in Abu Dhabi on November 20th. If things go according to plan, you should get ready for a long and exciting F1 season, with favorites such as Singapore, Japan, Australia, and Canada back in the racing calendar.

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