FORMULA ONE fans are lapping up Lewis Hamilton’s title fight with Max Verstappen – and next year promises to be even better.
Seeing the seven-time world champion fighting the young Red Bull ace has been gripping and it could signal the changing of an era.
But one thing that is changing for 2022 is the rulebook, as F1 faces its biggest overhaul in its 71-year history.
Many fans have questioned why, with such a close fight between Verstappen and Hamilton, there is a need for new rules.
But F1’s masterplan, which was laid out in 2018, is to make the racing even better, with multiple drivers battling it out for the title.
So what is changing?
The biggest difference is with the cars and we will see a complete transformation from this year’s challenger.
While the current models are quick, they generate so much turbulence from their honed aerodynamics that is impossible for another car to follow closely behind.
Think of how a speedboat generates choppy water, it is the same for F1 cars only with ‘dirty air’.
It means that once a car gets close to another, it is forced into the turbulence, losing around 40 percent of its downforce and grip.
It means the driver behind is unable to mount a serious attack on the car in front as he has lost performance from his own car.
The biggest shake-up with the 2022 cars is the design will shoot that air upwards, rather than behind, meaning cars are capable of travelling closer together, which in turn leads to closer racing.
Other key changes are over-wheel winglets for the first time and wheel covers, again with the ideal to create downforce but without causing turbulence.
What else is new?
Bigger tyres. Big is beautiful but the new 18″ wheels will not only look better, they will also feature slick low-profile tyres for the first time.
Pirelli have designed new tyres that reduce the amount of overheating when they slide.
That is another factor that will help with closer racing, as drivers currently lose performance with an overheating tyre.
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The other crucial aspect, although it will not be noticeable to TV viewers, is the shift to a biofuel, while the turbo-hybrid engines currently being used will carry over.
F1 chiefs are hoping that the new cars will lead to closer racing, while teams will be limited to spending £105million on developing their cars as part of a reduced cost cap.
In theory, that should help the likes of Williams and Haas at the back of the grid be more competitive with the midfield teams – Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin and Alpine.
And at the sharp end, it will move the bigger teams closer together.
So while this year’s duel between Verstappen and Hamilton is exciting, the goal for 2022 is for it to be an even better show.
