Key to the new 2022 Formula 1 rules was that these cars needed to be able to efficiently and effectively follow, race wheel-to-wheel and overtake, which they are able to do but Pirelli F1 tyres are still an issue say drivers.
Four races into the new season of new rules and the racing has appeared to be much closer, drivers able to follow for sustained periods of time without sacrificing performance; also able to cutback and switchback as we witnessed in the intriguing on track duels between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
We tapped into the opinions of drivers ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix. How is it from a driver’s perspective? Are the new-gen cars really that much better to race?
Whatever the case, in the years of Mercedes’ monotonous reign it was easy to predict a winner Betting on the Formula 1 races but not so now, but the odds are better as there are more surprise results than ever before.
Speaking to reporters at Imola, Red Bull veteran Sergio Perez had no doubt: “Yeah, I think certainly we are able to follow closer. I think racing has improved. I think we’ve had good racing up to now but as well, we’ve been to circuits that generally have had good racing.
“I’m happy with these regs. I just feel like we are all learning from them at the moment, all the drivers, all the teams, no one is at 100% yet so there is still a lot of improvement that will be done and we are all figuring out how to race the best in these conditions. But certainly, racing is different to before.
Last year Yuki Tsunoda was somewhat of a wayward F1 rookie with AlphaTauri, this year he appears to have tempered that wild streak but remains explosive and exciting. The best of Yuki may well be seen in these cars if a solid and impressive seventh place at Imola is anything to go by.
He echoed his older rival: “Pretty much the same comments as Checo. Just interesting how the visibility is especially in the rain conditions. How different it is compared to last year’s car. Last year’s car was really hard to see in rainy conditions, especially in Spa.
“Hopefully, that visibility will be better. If it’s so I think even in rainy conditions, I think overtaking will be possible and it will be a more exciting race. So yeah, we’ll see,” added Tsunoda.
Norris: It’s been a good show so far for F1, there’s been a lot of racing
McLaren’s Lando Norris, who has been in his fair share of track battles so far this year said: “Yeah, of course, the thing has been met. There’s a lot of evidence so far that things are in the right direction.
“I don’t know if it’s hit all the exact numbers and whatever that has been but it’s been made to have better racing, closer racing, more overtaking and I think every race you’ve had so far has been exactly that.
“So yeah, I think what’s done is good. I think it’s been a good show so far for F1, there’s been a lot of racing, it’s shaken the order up a little bit, and so on. So I think the reason for changing everything and doing what they’ve done has worked,” added Norris.
F1 elder statesman Fernando Alonso gave his view: “the new regs are supposed to bring all the cars closer together and multiple teams could win races and drivers and things like that and I think the order of the qualifying is still team by team, you know, not drivers by drivers so there’s still a thing that the sport, in general, should keep looking into that and improve it.”
“I agree with all the comments, but maybe to be a little bit more negative on some others because I think we still… it’s easy to follow cars, for sure.”
Alonso: To follow cars, you still damage a lot the tyres
The Spaniard continued: “Aerodynamically I think we don’t lose as much downforce as before but the tyres are still an issue. To follow cars, you still damage a lot the tyres. In wet conditions, I didn’t drive in Barcelona, because we had this problem with the car in the morning.
“But I guess it’s gonna be difficult, these cars on the low speed, you know, corners, and the slower that you run, obviously, in wet conditions, that will be a challenge, also on the wet tyres, and to put temperature in them,” explained the Alpine F1 driver.
On the other side of the talent and experience scale, Williams driver Nicholas Latifi said: “Yeah, from the aerodynamics side and the following I mean, that’s been clear. I think every driver feels it’s much easier to follow compared to last year.
“Yeah, I think over the next years, I mean, hopefully, the rules do close the field up a bit along the lines of what Fernando was saying. But yeah, I mean, when I get back home on Monday and I watch the races back, I mean, it’s clear.
“And as a fan of the sport as well, the races are more exciting than they had been in the previous years so I think that’s a good first step for these first years’ regulations,” added Latifi.
This weekend’s Miami Grand Prix will provide a plethora of unknowns on the temporary street circuit for the first-ever F1 race in the city; the top of the list will be getting a handle on the rubber on tarmac as quickly as possible.