By Paolo Pipolo
Four years of ground effect era have passed by leaving a 3-year long Red Bull dominance, a 4-time World Champion Max Verstappen, a disappointed and confused Ferrari and – last but not least – a McLaren (and a Lando Norris) reigning champion.
The Circus said goodbye to DRS and is ready to approach what it seems to be the hugest changing in regulations ever: active aero is coming.
THE “AGILE CAR” CONCEPT
The “agile car” concept is the core of the new regulations and it’ll bring lighter (-30kg) and shorter cars, cutting downforce but, in the meantime, improving the performances. The main concern is that, counting on less downforce, the cars may be more complex to drive, leading to more mistakes and different driving styles.
Active aero will allow both rear and front wings to be adjusted into two different modes – straight mode and corner mode. Basically, on predetermined straights, both wings’ flaps will open (even if the driver isn’t within one second of the car ahead) while in corners, the flaps would close, guaranteeing the downforce needed to turn. The main difference from DRS is that this is not an overtaking aid rather than a tool to improve efficiency.
THE POWER UNIT SITUATION
Power units will be modified as well, aiming to balance combustion engine and electric component. In the ground-effect era, ICE produced around 80% of the total power (550kW) and the MGU-H (which won’t exist anymore) the remaining 20% (120kW). The new regulations will decrease the combustion power to 400kW, increasing the electric component to 350kW (quite three times more compared to the past). And it’s not over yet. As a matter of fact, drivers will also dispose of an electrical “substitute” of the DRS: the override mode, an additional electric power, available on straight, whose purpose is helping overtakes.
ELECTRIC POWER MANAGEMENT AND PARTIAL AERO MODE
Electric power management will be crucial, if not decisive, in every race. On the other hand, the active aerodynamics, according to FIA, should help in this sense, bounding the use of electric power on the straights. It isn’t excluded, indeed, that the electric component may not be enough to cover the longest straights as Baku or Las Vegas, forcing drivers to suddenly slow down and downshift long before the turn.
Another main change will occur in wet races. As most readers will remember, DRS could not be deployed unless the track was dry. Conversely, from now on, in wet conditions, drivers will count on the so-called “Partial Aero Mode”, that makes only the front wing’s flaps to open, keeping the rear one closed. And that for the same purpose of avoiding the excessive deployment of electric power, as well as to avoid the car to be excessively pushed to the ground by the downforce, causing the floor to get more consumed than allowed.
NEW DRIVING STYLES?
This radical reshaping, most likely, will take time to become used to for drivers and could force them to change their driving style to better adapt to the cars’ features. Even though this situation is clearly not ideal, it could also represent an opportunity for teams as Ferrari that need a fresh start after years without glory and for the most talented drivers to stand out from the crowd.
As for the 2022 regulations, of course, the only aim is creating more spectacle on track, getting all teams and drivers closer to each other and make races more unpredictable. Will these new rules attend the expectations, or will drivers be overcome by the new features of the cars?
THE FIRST FEEDBACKS
After the very first days of test in Barcelona, several drivers expressed their feelings. Andrea Kimi Antonelli informed that lift-and-coast may be an option not only during the race, but also in qualifying, and the same sustained Ocon. That since drivers need to save as much battery power as they can. “If you stay full throttle, you are basically putting the handbrake at the end of the straight” said the Haas driver. Pretty explicative, isn’t it?
His teammate Ollie Bearman also stated that following the cars ahead in the turns may be more difficult, while closing the gap in the straights appears to be easier. Moreover, both Haas drivers and Antonelli reported to have felt the cars being more agile, smaller and lighter, sign that the regulations could have worked, at least in this area. Antonelli, though, also talked about a potential problem with tyre degradation, caused by the smaller dimension of tyres matched to the increased power.
A NEW BEGINNING
Tricky cars, different driving styles and a new era just about to begin. The occasion – probably the last one – for Ferrari to get a competitive car to its drivers. On March 8th, the new era of Formula 1 will make its official debut in Melbourne, Australia. For that time, teams and drivers shall get themselves ready for the beginning of the season.
And then, it’ll be lights out and away we’ll go.
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