F1 2022 Season - "Big Wheels"

[samoht]

F1’s new era is coming!

With the seats for 2022 now falling into place and plenty of technical changes, it feels like time to start a new thread for the 2022 season.


Aero: much more prescriptive aero regulations, aiming at clean shapes, less sensitive airflow, and much reduced turbulent wake for a following car. Complemented by the abandonment of the flat floor in favour of two ground-effect tunnels either side of the cockpit.

Wheels: 18” wheels instead of today’s 13” items (as per F2 now)

Testing: Increased differentiation of testing allowances by championship position (twice as much as this year, so a 5% reduction per place gained in championship standings)

Engines: Teams can introduce a new engine for 2022, which spec will then be frozen and used unchanged for 2023/24 also. Honda are understood to be preparing a final 2022 engine as a leaving gift for Red Bull.


Drivers:



Mercedes
Hamilton / Russell


Red Bull
Verstappen / Perez


McLaren
Norris / Ricciardo


Ferrari
Leclerc / Sainz


Alpine
Ocon / Alonso


Alpha Tauri
Gasly / Tsunoda


Aston Martin
Stroll / Vettel


Williams
Latifi / Albon


Alfa Romeo
Bottas / Zhou


Haas
Schumacher / Magnussen



Italics for the moves that appear likely but haven't yet been announced.

Thoughts on expected/hoped for driver moves? Predictions for who'll do best with the new regs?

[Freude am Fahren]

I have a lot of faith in Red Bull and Mercedes staying on top with the new rules. I don't have faith in the new rules actually helping the racing.

I'm not expectin gmuch from the Ferrari. Probably still Ferarri and McLaren competing for third with another team or two and Williams, Alfa and Haas bring up the rear. More of the same I bet.

I think the biggest question mark will be Alpine.

I hope Russell does go to Mercedes and they split results at the beginning of the season, so we get to see some battling.

[Rare White Ape]

I think a middle-of-the-front team is going to get a lot of podiums this year. I agree that Alpine is a dark horse. Could also be Ferrari or McLaren. Give it two years then we will return to status quo.

And don’t forget that Adrian Newey is a genius. He may have less of an influence over the car’s shape starting this year, but you just know that he will bring something that others will copy.

And a question: I haven’t been paying too much attention but what’s everyone’s overall opinion on Schumacher vs Giovinazzi so far? I ask this because they are both in the Ferrari junior driver pipeline and are effectively competing for a seat in the red cars once they tire of one or both of their current drivers.

[FaultyMario]

I don't think Gio is F1 material tbh. A shame, actually, i think he is a very interesting person.

[samoht]

Giovinazzi hasn't really shone in two and a half seasons against 40-yr-old Kimi. If he was great, we'd know it by now. A competent midfielder at best IMO.

Schumacher OTOH I don't think we can draw many conclusions from, half a season against a poor teammate in a poor car. Received wisdom is that his junior career was solid but not outstanding.

[JoeW]

I’m guessing status quo as far as team order next year. The usual suspects will continue their reign.

But the real drama I want to see is Russell vs Hamilton. From what I understand Russell is a shark like Hamilton, not a guppy like Bottas. So I am interested in seeing two sharks on the same team for a change.

[Rare White Ape]

Yeah just listening to Russell on the radio during qualifying says it all. He is very determined to drive the wheels off it every time it's required.

I think there will be one or two years of overlap while Hamilton hands over the reigns before retirement. I don't think we will ever see them smash heads and cause chaos, plus I don't picture Hamilton fading away in lower teams like a lot of other ex-world champions.

[FaultyMario]

Russell is still not as good a racer as Norris or Leclerc. He needs to do the werk.

Dude's lightning fast, though.

[Blerpa]

Russell? An hotlapper.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Russell almost won a race until Mercedes let him down. I don't think Toto's doubting him and yet you guys still don't think he deserves that seat?

I'd think he's paid plenty more of his dues in Williams than Max and Charles and Lando...

Anyway, I think these 'kids' have set things up well to be able to make F-1 interesting in the future regardless of rules and after Hamilton is gone...

[Alan P]

Russell will be in the Mercedes next season, Bottas to Alfa in Kimi’s place. Sauber head Vasseur has said that Ferrari’s pick for a seat expires at the end of this season and I believe they’ll want to dump Gio. I’d love Ilott to be given a chance.

Williams may keep Latifi despite their insistence that they no longer need pay drivers. He’s done well enough I think to deserve the seat and the money he brings does make things easier. The other seat seems to be Albon’s if he can get out of the Red Bull link although some have said Nyck DeVries is a possibility.

[FaultyMario]

If Toto is demanding that RB sever ties with Alex in order to have him race in a Williams, then I say fuck it, give Peter Sauber a ring, wasn't he the first to receive Red Bull advertising in F1?

Make Sauber the F1 rejects team!!

[samoht]

I hope Alex gets on the grid in 2022. I don't know how good he really is, but I think he deserves another chance to find out. The further away from Red Bull the better perhaps? But either Williams or Alfa would be a good match IMHO.

I heard Sauber fell out with Red Bull a while back, they wanted him to run one of their juniors but he stubbornly insisted on taking an unknown and inexperienced Finnish driver instead. Some Kimi guy... wonder what happened to him?

[Crazed_Insanity]

Why is Toto not focusing on his own team and stay out of RB business?

[Blerpa]

Why is Toto not focusing on his own team and stay out of RB business?

Because this is F1 and anything must be made to win and boicott others.
It's like the norm in F1 since 1950.

EDIT: Mercedes next season is not only supplying engines to Williams but also the drivetrain.
Nicky De Vries (2019 F2 and 2021 Formula E champion) is Mercedes' protegè and Williams is Mercedes junior team (differently from Mclaren and Aston Martin which are partners).
It is only natural to behave in this way.
Toto Wolff about Albon "He deserves a place in F1 but it is difficult to think about a 100% Red Bull driver driving a car with a Mercedes engine.
We will be happy to work with him IF Red Bull will release him out of their contract" (from italian motorsport.com site)

That's the way Mercedes thinks of Williams: WE.
The rest of the equation is easy to solve.

Also, AR has nothing to do with Ferrari anymore.
The red team is once again laughably bad at organizing long term ties with other teams in F1.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Ah, Toto doesn’t want a RB spy to get a taste of Mercedes engine and report back. Got it. I guess that makes sense.

However if I were Albon, not sure if I want to be the next George Russell and be stuck at Williams forever… and throw away all my RB ties… if I were Gasly, then maybe, but not sure what I’d do if I were Albon. I think I’d only leave if I know that 2nd seat won’t be available for a long long time…

[FaultyMario]

Doesn't Toto or Sussie own share in Williams as well?

I mean, he is first and foremost a Frankfurt speculator, right?

[samoht]

Bottas announces he's driving for Alfa for 2022 and 23 (possibly longer, just said a 'multi year contract').

No surprise, but I like the way that Kimi was allowed to announce his own retirement, then Valtteri allowed to announce his move to Alfa, before Merc announce that George will be driving for them from next year.

This is good for Alfa, hope they manage to make a good car next year.

I think Bottas was the best wingman Merc could've hoped for, hard to think of many drivers as quick as that who are also prepared to keep playing second fiddle and not playing politics. Merc team management's job has been so much easier since Christmas 2016.

IMHO Williams looks a better bet than Alfa, but I can understand Valtteri not wanting to return whence he came, seeing all the same faces again to remind him that his career has peaked.

[Crazed_Insanity]

If I were him, I'd just retire. If I'm gonna keep going after my prime like Kimi has done... I thought it was nice of him for Kimi to return 'home' to Sauber and help make the team a bit better. Probably helped the team attract some sponsorship money as well?

For Bottas, he should've went home where he started his career. Unless there are actually some face at Williams that he doesn't want to see again? :p

Anyway, for sure a short career in F-1, veteran drivers really should just move out of the way to make room for youngsters if it becomes clear that you're never going to come close to a championship fight...

[Alan P]

Ah, Toto doesn’t want a RB spy to get a taste of Mercedes engine and report back. Got it. I guess that makes sense.

However if I were Albon, not sure if I want to be the next George Russell and be stuck at Williams forever… and throw away all my RB ties… if I were Gasly, then maybe, but not sure what I’d do if I were Albon. I think I’d only leave if I know that 2nd seat won’t be available for a long long time…

So Williams are in a much better position now than they were when they first signed George, that's for sure, to the extent that Dorilton Capital, the teams owners have said they don't need a pay driver and will be looking to hire on talent, hence why Albon seems to be their preferred option. I suspect Latifi will stay/be kept on, I believe he has a contract and while he brings sponsorship, somewhere even around £5-£10m per season I believe, Williams would be crazy to turn that away. If Albon isn't released from his Red Bull ties then it may be De Vries alongside Latifi, likely with a sweetener from Mercedes in some way.

[Rare White Ape]

George Russell has officially been confirmed as a Merc driver for 2022.

[samoht]

And just like that, the dominos are falling into place, with only the lone Alfa seat remaining genuinely open after Williams confirm their line-up.


I hope Alex gets on the grid in 2022. I don't know how good he really is, but I think he deserves another chance to find out. The further away from Red Bull the better perhaps? But either Williams or Alfa would be a good match IMHO.


Really good to see Albon back in an F1 car next year. The Williams isn't great but it's good enough for a great driver to show their talent, as we've seen. Albon's underperformance at RB is a bit mysterious given he's been fairly strong up to that point, so really keen to answer that conundrum one way or the other. He has proven ability/experience to be an adequate F1 driver and retains the real possibility of becoming excellent, which is a decent punt for Williams IMO.

Keeping Latifi is fine, gives them continuity and extra funding, when he was gifted a place in Hungary he didn't throw it away and hasn't made too many mistakes, neither under nor outperforming the car.

[dodint]

Are Andretti and Gainbridge going to purchase Sauber?

[FaultyMario]

I don't know, I haven't read anything, but with the "American Push" I wouldn't rule it out.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Ever since Mario Andretti, American drivers and teams have always managed disappoint... so I would not keep my hopes up even if there is such a purchase.

We need somebody who really loves the sport with really deep pockets willing to make long term commitments. Toyota couldn't do it. Honda has the passion and barely are able to do it twice, but still thinking of pulling out on the verge of success...

So in a pandemic, during a time when ICEs have unknown future, I don't see anyone in the US capable of doing better than Honda/Toyota.

Haas has been a joke. Will Andretti's be able to pull it off? I'm not so sure that their pockets are that deep.

Ideal situation would be Mercedes decided to pullout and some US big shot buys that. By buying a small team or build one from scratch will just take a long time... and Americans don't usually have such patience. Another issue is an American driver in the sport. Who will that be? That is more critical in order to capture more American audiences.

[Alan P]

Ever since Mario Andretti, American drivers and teams have always managed disappoint... so I would not keep my hopes up even if there is such a purchase.

We need somebody who really loves the sport with really deep pockets willing to make long term commitments. Toyota couldn't do it. Honda has the passion and barely are able to do it twice, but still thinking of pulling out on the verge of success...

So in a pandemic, during a time when ICEs have unknown future, I don't see anyone in the US capable of doing better than Honda/Toyota.

Haas has been a joke. Will Andretti's be able to pull it off? I'm not so sure that their pockets are that deep.

Ideal situation would be Mercedes decided to pullout and some US big shot buys that. By buying a small team or build one from scratch will just take a long time... and Americans don't usually have such patience. Another issue is an American driver in the sport. Who will that be? That is more critical in order to capture more American audiences.
An American team will have to be American in name only. They will absolutely have to be based in Europe, probably in the UK too. If Danny Ricciardo moves on from McLaren after 2022, and he might, I reckon McLaren would go for Pato O'Ward if he wins the title in indycar. He's getting a test in Abu Dhabi at the end of the season and they're considering him I'm sure.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, I suppose Mclaren now is actually an American company in CEO only! ;)

Zak Brown will probably need to pull some strings to get an American driver there… but 1st things 1st. Get Mclaren back to winning form before doing anything else.

[FaultyMario]

Not in the scope of things 2022, but... AMuS is reporting that new engines are being delayed to 2026. That it is pretty much fact that the MGU-H is going to swim with the fishes.

And that discussions are being held between the FIA and 6 manufacturers. ;)

[FaultyMario]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E_ANinJXsAA7PGp.jpg

Scarbs reckons this is what it'd be like. Moah powah! from front wheel harvesting.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Oh! So it’s purely electric FWD and purely ICE RWD? Interesting.

It makes sense I suppose because it’s more efficient to recover energy from front wheels during braking…

Wait, is it driving the front wheels? Or just recovering from front?

[FaultyMario]

It's just a generator.

[Alan P]

Generating from the front only I believe. This season (and previous ones) the rear had been the generators for the battery under braking. Should make for simpler gearbox and rear brake setups.

The rumour is the MGU-H has been removed to reduce costs and possibly even at the request of VW group or one of their companies to reduce potential costs and they're considering an entry.

[FaultyMario]

it always struck me as being the last efficient part of the equation.

[Crazed_Insanity]

You meant least?

During braking, most of the weight does shift forward so it is actually more efficient to recover energy from front.

[FaultyMario]

yes, the harvesting energy from excess engine heat sounded as too little returns for too much investment.

[Kchrpm]

Are Andretti and Gainbridge going to purchase Sauber?

https://grandpx.news/sauber-turns-down-andretti-buyout-bid/


Michael Andretti has failed in a reported bid to buy the Alfa Romeo-branded Formula 1 team Sauber.

Andretti, the former F1 driver and now active Indycar and Formula E team owner, apparently approached the Swiss based team recently about a buyout.

“The proposal was made in the summer and received a ‘no’ from the owners,” Sky Italia reported from Monza.

[dodint]

Boooooo.

[FaultyMario]

From the reports I've read about the guy -his name escapes me RN-, he seems like a proper garagista.

He doesn't seem to be like the genii or, god forbid, CVC people.

[Rare White Ape]

Faulty who are you talking about?

And besides, isn’t Andretti already closely aligned with McLaren via Zak Brown?

[FaultyMario]

Guy who bought Sauber off Peter. Financier with a head of petrol.

[Freude am Fahren]

Pascal Picci? Wiki saiys he's from the firm that bought Sauber and he took over Peter's job.

Or Vasseur?

[FaultyMario]

I'm inclined towards Picci.

[FaultyMario]

Vettel confirmed in the second AMR seat.

[FaultyMario]

Do you have Tsunoda confirmed at Alpha Tauri, samohT?

[samoht]

Yeah, had updated with the Alpha Tauri confirmation.

Have now updated Aston Martin, confirming that only the second Alfa Romeo seat remains open, alongside Bottas.

[FaultyMario]

I meant it the other way, I thought there was a general sentiment that Tsunoda was undeserving of the 2nd Toro Rosso seat, which had only been stoked by DC's recent comments that the Japanese driver should pack up.

But, if he has been confirmed for 2022... well, that only leaves one "empty" seat.

[samoht]

Ah sorry, yes AT confirmed both their drivers are continuing for 2022 in the run-up to Monza, it was slightly lost with all the other driver market news I think.

The general sentiment appears to be shared by one Mr Tsunoda who said "I was surprised I’ll be staying next year ... because I just keep crashing!"
https://the-race.com/formula-1/tsunoda-surprised-by-new-f1-deal-because-i-keep-crashing/

[Blerpa]

Meanwhile Oscar Piastri - 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup champion, 2020 Formula 3 champion on debut and actual F2 leader - is nowhere to be considered in F1.
But Mazepin and a giant overrated has-been are there.

[FaultyMario]

a giant overrated has-been are there.

Interesting... I think that if Newey can fix the initial problems of the Red Bull during 2022, Max might still put up a fight. I mean, after that, in 2023, when Russell is properly settled in the Mercedes, Kansas is going bye-bye.

[Blerpa]

I was talking about Kubica.

[Crazed_Insanity]

I was wondering why they drafted Kubica. I thought the usual default would be the Hulk.

Maxispin and Latifi have rich daddies. So naturally they have priorities over other drivers. :p

[FaultyMario]

I was talking about Kubica.

Oh!

[Rare White Ape]

Piastri is with the wrong team tho. They have backing from Alpine. The empty Alfa seat next year might well go to Pourchaire.

[FaultyMario]

I think Fred Vasseur wants Zhou's money, but only for a year. They are saving that seat for Pourchaire.

[Blerpa]

Zhou and Piastri are both part of Renault Sport Academy: the chinese races for the young Uni-Virtuosi team, while Piastri races for the Prema team, one of the most victorious and illustrious team in F2, F3 and european openwheel series along with Art, Dams and Arden.
So... wrong team? I scoff at that.
Piastri is far more consistant compared to Zhou, not that the chinese is a bad driver either, mind.
It is only a question of money, though.

Pourchaire is doing worse in points than a not stellar Ticktum and just 4 points ahead of an unlucky Juri Vips, but he is part of Sauber Junior Team and races at ART... which is Vasseur and Nicolas Todt team. Enough said.

[MR2 Fan]

I hope F1 cars get a bit smaller in the coming years, they're getting pretty large, thinking that's causing issues with some of these tracks

[Rare White Ape]

Micky Schu and Sir Spinalot have confirmed their places in Haas next season.

I think we should change his nickname to The Czar of Pulling Out On People In Qualifying.

[Crazed_Insanity]

That Czar of Pulling Out On People has beaten his teammate in both practice sessions at his home race. Impressive.

Or what the heck is wrong with Micky?

[FaultyMario]

Go ahead, nerd out (https://www.racefans.net/2021/10/13/the-rubber-revolution-f1s-grand-plan-for-better-races-is-riding-on/) about big wheels.


“We supplied two different models for simulation purposes – a finite element model [FEM] and a thermal mechanical model of the tyre which is what teams use in their simulators, including driver-in-the-loop simulators.”

Pirelli’s FEM data is encrypted. “We are the owner of the model and only we know what’s inside, but we update it periodically depending on feedback we get from the teams. Sometimes you get feedback from teams that is quite different, so they adjust their simulations or we adjust our model depending on the situation.”


“To validate the [tire] profile, we asked – and [FIA, F1 and the teams] agreed – to start testing in September 2019.” This was done with ‘mule’ cars, adapted from 2018 cars to replicate ride height, downforce and car mass. “That way we had the possibility to freeze the profile, then to start focusing on construction and compounds in 2020.”


“It’s important for me to gauge what the starting point is and what differences I can help with, so that from a driver point of view we have more mechanical grip from the tyres, less degradation. It was a good test, and obviously it was the first step of the tyres, but it definitely wasn’t a bad place to start.”

[FaultyMario]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBl4tQoX0AIym9v.jpg

Le Chalet a the top of The Radillion is gone. To give way for more runoff. I guess that trading off between the corner and the landmarks it's good that they chose to keep the corner. I think it'll also make room for a new grandstand.

[Rare White Ape]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBwJJCgXIBEUjIt?format=jpg&name=4096x4096

[dodint]

Seems wrong to not have F1 in Germany.

[Crazed_Insanity]

That IS weird. I guess even German fans are tired of Mercedes winning all the time… but without a German driver?

[JoeW]

But hey we have the classic Miami track...sooo much better than Nurb GP...am I right?

[Crazed_Insanity]

I'm surprise to see 2 USGPs. Nice to see Suzuka back as well. German GP was never a favorite of mine. Maybe the German track is just too boring even for Germnas? ;)

[FaultyMario]

But hey we have the classic Miami track...sooo much better than Nurb GP...am I right?

Why didn't they swap it around with Imola? Does F1 hate its staff?

[Rare White Ape]

Random question:

Has F1 ever implemented a full clean-sheet rule change before, like they are for the 2022 season?

I’m asking because I’m pretty sure there have only been incremental rule changes. Some big (such as engine layout changes) and most small (aero and safety stuff). But never one that completely starts fresh.

So I’m wondering if the 2021 cars are the end result of continuous development over the last 71 years. Like an unbroken lineage. And it comes to an end when the cars roll onto the grid for the race at Abu Dhabi in a few weeks time.

[Blerpa]

Why didn't they swap it around with Imola? Does F1 hate its staff?

Fuck, Imola? Are you complaining about Imola?
I cannot fathom how that dreadful COTA track is still in F1.
Even Sochi and Hungaroring are better than that.

[FaultyMario]

The dates. They do Imola, go to Miami and then return to tour Europe. I think it'd been better to do the opening overseas rounds, go to Florida and then back across the Atlantic for the first mini Euro season, before Canada.

[MR2 Fan]

at least F1 will be nearby my place for once :D

[JoeW]

I just read an article about adding more races in the US in the future. The first place they want to go is Vegas. Another stupid city race in Vegas.

This is obvious they are chasing the money and not the quality of the venue. So many great tracks in the US and they pass them all up to make new circuits in the middle of cities.

[Kchrpm]

Is anyone shocked they are chasing the money? That's what they have been doing with their new host countries for years.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Money makes the wheel goes around!

[Tom Servo]

Fuck, Imola? Are you complaining about Imola?
I cannot fathom how that dreadful COTA track is still in F1.
Even Sochi and Hungaroring are better than that.

Oof. I've been to COTA a few times, it's a mess, but there's no way it's worse than the Hungaroring. Them's fightin' words.

[Rare White Ape]

Case study:

I own both COTA and Hungaroring in iRacing. I have raced twice on Hungaroring, and never even launched a session for COTA.

Therefore Hungaroring is better.

[dodint]

COTA is incredibly contrived. Like they had a list of things they wanted for the course and made sure all of it went in whether it made sense or not.

[Kchrpm]

I like COTA :( But I have accepted that I am wrong and dumb (and only every drive it in video games).

[dodint]

I wouldn't kick it out of bed for eating crackers but it lacks the natural flow that I look for in a good race track (VIR, Watkin, Road Atlanta, etc.)

Another way of putting that is that COTA is a Tilke design.

[Freude am Fahren]

COTA is incredibly contrived. Like they had a list of things they wanted for the course and made sure all of it went in whether it made sense or not.

I actually think they touted that in the design :lol:.

And to some point I agree, but I like COTA. The infield is a bit too finicky but overall I think it's pretty good viewing. And the drivers seem to like it.

Obviously building it in Texas hill country is problematic with the bumps too.

Definitely one of Tilke's better tracks though.

But Sochi? Come on now...

[Kchrpm]

I agree with Nate that it definitely feels built up rather than cut into or out of the local landscape, and loses some charm (and background beauty) because of it. But I enjoy the elements that are there so much, for whatever reason, that I like the whole track.

I do wish there was a medium/fast corner leading into a long straight, though.

[CudaMan]

It is missing that. But it's a pretty cool place. Best enjoyed with downforce (for the esses) and power (for the immense back straight). It's actually not a straightforward track to extract the most out of, there are quite a few challenges and it races pretty well. I don't rate it as high on my list as Road America but I definitely look forward to COTA every time I get the chance to be there.

[Rare White Ape]

Well at least it isn’t Jeddah.

I wish these Tilke tracks had grass on the verges. COTA’s vast swathes of concrete make it look terrible on TV.

Oddly enough Sepang (the first Tilke track) copped a lot of flak when it was first shown, including from me, but I’ve grown to like it. Only a little bit though; the turn 1&2 bit can eff off.

[dodint]

Well at least it isn’t Jeddah...
COTA’s vast swathes of concrete make it look terrible on TV.


If we're going to raise COTA by denigrating other tracks, I'll say at least it isn't Circuit Paul Ricard. Though it tries with the garish painted runoff. ;)

[FaultyMario]

I believe it's spelled Renòiff.

[Rare White Ape]

Oh Paul Ricard is a special kind of fucked. The old 90s MotoGP layout is ok. It turns right at the end of pit straight and takes in the good last half of the circuit. The current F1 layout is pants. Absolute pants.

[Rare White Ape]

Guanyu Zhou is Alfa Romeo's 2nd driver for 2022

[Crazed_Insanity]

Excellent! 1st ever Chinese driver in F1! Has the money and hopefully enough talent to become successful?

Feel bad for Antonio though, but oh well, that's the nature of F1. Zhou can be quickly washed out too if he doesn't out shines his more experienced teammate in a year or two...

[FaultyMario]

Italian Jesus will break the bread and share the wine in F-E for 2022.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Now that you mentioned it… :lol:

Glad to hear he will still be employed.

[FaultyMario]

Two minor changes for 2022.

Guanyu Zhou takes #24 as his racing number.

For the first time in a very long time, Ferrari's official name is just "Scuderia Ferrari". No blood money on the name to go with the livery this time.

[Freude am Fahren]

I thought they had been for a while between Marlboro back in the day and Marlboro MissionWinnow the last year or two.

[FaultyMario]

I think in the Vettel era they were always scuderia mission winnow Ferrari; scuderia Santander Ferrari for the Alonso years and scuderia Marlboro Ferrari before that.

[Rare White Ape]

Slight correction: It has been called Scuderia Ferrari [...] for the whole time, with the title sponsor filling the ... at the end.

[Rare White Ape]

Major works at Spa continue apace.

https://www.racefans.net/2021/12/23/new-spa-photos-show-gravel-replacing-asphalt-run-offs/?fbclid=IwAR3USn8foOUYI_cdvB3vGMrbj9euSMhBePChNsqP 9I83AYJQ4RMH5VG1E7g

[Kchrpm]

Oh yeah, the other race win they handed to Max.

[FaultyMario]

:lol:

[FaultyMario]

Statement of intent?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIBHuVQXoAUh9W0.jpg


New year. New Me-rcedes. ;)

[FaultyMario]

Looks to me like a 1:2 scale wind tunnel model that was doctored onto a picture of their garage.

[JoeW]

I hear they going full silver.

[Crazed_Insanity]

It’ll matter just that much more to beat Max in black rather than silver.

Can’t wait to see how next seasons gonna turn out.

[FaultyMario]

Szafnauer out of AMR, might be headed to Alpine.

[Rare White Ape]

Who is Szafnauer?

[Crazed_Insanity]

I was gonna ask the same thing..., but a quick google revealed that he's been leading Force India Racing Point Aston Martin for the past 12 years!?!?!?

I suspect he's probably just let go? The team shined as Racing Point for a while, but last year didn't really have much to show for? Why would Alpine think he could be of help? Snafuer is probably just let go to make room for Martin Whitmarsh?

[Alan P]

Talk is that the BWT Sponsorship may be following him to Alpine too.

[FaultyMario]

BBS to be announced as sole supplier of spec wheels.

[JoeW]

Yay? Or nay? Is that good or bad?

I saw this little meme type thing showing how cars have grown since 2008. They were in the 600kg range then (including driver). Now they are 790kg. That's a huge increase. Nearly 25%. Over 200lbs. When will it all end?

[FaultyMario]

I like them.

I tend to associate them the Schumacher Ferraris.

[FaultyMario]

BBC correspondent Andrew Benson writes:


One senior source told BBC Sport that Mercedes had dropped their appeal against the results of the race after agreeing a quid pro quo with the FIA.

This deal was said to be that Masi and FIA head of single-seater technical matters Nikolas Tombazis would no longer be in their positions for the 2022 season.

Mercedes deny that any such deal was reached, and insist that they dropped their appeal after receiving assurances only that the issue would be treated seriously and appropriate action would be taken by the FIA.

Take that with a grain of salt. Or a pound.

[Crazed_Insanity]

According to the ESPN article I read, FIA just started an investigation on Masi regarding the matter. Outcome is still being decided, right? Or is Masi out for sure? That article was claiming Lewis will then decide whether to stay in F1 pending outcome of that...

Anyway, hope this matter will be resolved soon. Investigation is definitely in order and hopefully something like that won't ever happen again.

[FaultyMario]

Szafnauer out of AMR, might be headed to Alpine.

Mike Wasowski out of El Plan, clears the road for Otmar's arrival.

Maybe we'll see Samurai Pizza Spaniard complaining on the radio again. Could be worth a watch.

[Alan P]

Mike Krack (no really) now in at Aston martin as Team Principal. Ex BMW motorsport apparently.

[MR2 Fan]

If I were him I'd probably go by Michael

[Rare White Ape]

Somehow I missed this (and apologies if it's been mentioned already) but Albon is driving for Williams this year. I only just found out.

So the grid will look like this:

Red Bull
Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez

Mercedes-AMG
Lewis Hamilton
George Russell

Ferrari
Charles LeClerc
Carlos Sainz

McLaren
Lando Norris
Daniel Ricciardo

Alpine
Fernando Alonso
Esteban Ocon

Alpha Tauri
Pierre Gasly
Yuki Tsunoda

Aston Martin
Sebastian Vettel
Lance Stroll

Williams
Nicholas Latifi
Alex Albon

Alfa Romeo
Valteri Bottas
Nikita Mazepin

HAAS
Mick Schumacher
Nikita Mazepin

[Rare White Ape]

And McLaren will unveil their car on 11th of Feb, while Ferrari will be 17th Feb.

[Crazed_Insanity]

WTF?!?! Nikita MaximumSpin will be spinning around in 2 racing seats? Dang, so good to have a rich daddy! :p

[samoht]

Somehow I missed this (and apologies if it's been mentioned already) but Albon is driving for Williams this year. I only just found out.


I've been keeping the first post of the thread updated with the driver lineups as they were confirmed, including the return of AA - but to be fair, I know that's less obvious than posting a new message at the end of the thread.

I'm super-happy that Alex is back, his junior career and the way he's talked of by his peers are better than his Red Bull drives showed, and given how others have struggled in the second RB seat, I'm glad to see him get another go. I don't feel his ability has been proved or disproved yet, really keen to see how he gets on.

[Crazed_Insanity]

I think I saw an youtube video explaining how all of Max's teammates had been screwed because Max prefers driving an "unstable" car. Most modern jet fighters are designed to be dynamically unstable so that they can be incredibly maneuverable. However, such instability is also tamed by computer control systems so that pilots don't have to constantly compensate for things so that the plane won't lose control!

Anyway, it seems Max prefers unstable cars and the team's engineers were guided down that path because of Max's preference. Yeah, it lead to a championship winning car for Max, but it's just not a great car for most other drivers.

2022 should be a good 'reset' for RB. It'll be interesting to see how Perez really compares with Max in a car that hopefully they both helped developed? Or probably had a lot of contributions from Albon... Anyway, hope he does well in Williams just as Gasly is seemingly doing rather well in AT.

[FaultyMario]

Newsflash:

There may not be sprint races in 2022.

What do you know?, between this and the probable build up of frustration over at Alpine, I might be back for some schadenfreude.

[FaultyMario]

Cars will have first runs on Feb 23rd-25th at Circuit de Catalunya. But proceedings will not be televised, nor will it have live timing updates, nor will it allow spectators on track.

And it will not be considered a test because Bahrain paid good money to have the pre-season test there on March 10th-12th.


The sport ended 2021 with ridicule and looks like 2022 is picking up where that season left off.

[FaultyMario]

Michael did a super job in many ways, we definitely don’t want to lose him. We told him that, but also that there is a possibility that there could be a new race director. I can only make suggestions to the World Council and they will definitely include Michael.

:popcorn:

[dodint]

Masi being terminated is the only way I'm coming back to the series as a viewer.

[JoeW]

I'm rooting for Masi then ;)

[dodint]

I imagine you would.

[FaultyMario]

Masi being terminated is the only way I'm coming back to the series as a viewer.

That's 1 of 2 items on my rider.

[JoeW]

I would also assume your participation if RBR has a shit car and is obviously slower than Ham. That would probably pique your happiness as well :)

I actually assume this to be true. Merc will have it sorted right away in PU and Chassis areas. With the resources they have it should be a rout.

[Rare White Ape]

I’m actually against the idea of deposing Masi. Not because of contrarianism but the more nuanced opinion that he’s a human being with a job and he did what everyone wanted: to finish the championship under a green flag no matter what.

It’s just not right.

[FaultyMario]

I’m actually against the idea of deposing Masi. Not because of contrarianism but the more nuanced opinion that he’s a human being with a job and he did what everyone wanted: to finish the championship under a green flag no matter what.

It’s just not right.

i did not want that. i am a grown ass man, i know races sometimes end in cautions.

[FaultyMario]

I would also assume your participation if RBR has a shit car and is obviously slower than Ham. That would probably pique your happiness as well :)

I actually assume this to be true. Merc will have it sorted right away in PU and Chassis areas. With the resources they have it should be a rout.

No, but thanks for playing.

i do want a team to field a shit car, but it's not red bull. i don't give a fuck about red bull. i despise horner, i think he is a shitty little whiner that brings nothing to the sport, but red bull the team is pretty meh.

it's Alpine, i want Alpine to be lapped by Hass, i want the sky f1 team to do a play by play of Alonso's frustrations, week in, week out. I'm fucking tired of Alonso, i do not enjoy his midfield experience nor his cheating nor his bubblegum Buddhism. nor anything about him.

Fred is a dishonest cheat who threw away his best years because he is a fucking dishonest cheat.

[FaultyMario]

Oh, and i would hope for Williams and Nicky to have a good year. Nicky is a good driver who was shadowed by the incessant overhyping of Russell. And the Williams name, along with the names of all garagistas for that matter, deserves better results.

but hoping, while nice, is not necessary for my enjoyment of F1.

[Tom Servo]

I’m actually against the idea of deposing Masi. Not because of contrarianism but the more nuanced opinion that he’s a human being with a job and he did what everyone wanted: to finish the championship under a green flag no matter what.

It’s just not right.

I'd agree if it felt like it was just the one time, but it seemed like he just sucked at communicating things out effectively. The race before it saw all that confusion between Max and Lewis when Max was giving up the position, which again seemed like nobody was on the same page.

[dodint]

The military has a leadership concept of "lost confidence." That is what we have here in Masi. He knew or should have known what he did was wrong. If he gets away with it once there is zero reason to think he won't do it again. He blew it in the biggest way. There is no coming back from that. Give him a job sharpening pencils if you want, but he has demonstrated he is not capable of making important decisions under pressure.

It also says a lot that someone would lobby to keep him because his fuckup helped elevate their favorite driver. I think Masi's incompetence was driver agnostic, he favors the show and will compromise competition to do so. That can't happen.

[FaultyMario]

What the jarhead said.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, for a low level worker, we probably shouldn’t fire the guy for a single mistake, but for senior management, you need to demote or replace the guy for sure.

It’s also became increasingly clear that Ham will retire if FIA does nothing. I can’t imagine FIA being that arrogant and just won’t admit that they made a mistake and that this black driver’s feeling just don’t matter…

[FaultyMario]

Yeah, no, i think that's racist. And unnecessary.

Which is redundant, because racism is fucking unnecessary.

There's no need to talk about the color of Hamilton's skin when discussing his job.

This off season has cleared my mind on a lot of things about the people in F1.

And one person I am much clearer about is Hamilton. GOAT? I don't know, really, i have no clue. The guy makes too many mistakes, he is not a "clean" driver in the "Seb Vettel is going to drive off into the sunset" sense. But, Hamilton's mistakes are a part of why he is such an exciting driver, because 8 out of 10 times he'll climb out of the hole he dug for himself. And in crunch time? that's the guy you want... he's even better than Prost at performing in high pressure situations.

So, calling him black driver or green driver or whatever is just disrespectful. That person is a source of hours of joy and amusement to us watching on the telly. He is just a sportsman, and a damn fine one

[Crazed_Insanity]

I think you’re overly sensitive about the color of his skin. Mercedes f1 car has a black skin now because of blm. Should we ignore the current color of Mercedes’ f1 car too? :p

F1 will suffer a huge loss if ham retires because of FIA’s cavalier attitude about their lame ass calls. I’m a Max fanboy and even I recognized that lame ass call.

In a way, I can’t believe they’re still investigating. What’s there to investigate?

[Tom Servo]

Not to discount Hamilton's accomplishments, but will F1 suffer a huge loss if he retires? At least for me, when you get one dominant driver like Schumacher or Hamilton, it gets boring and I pay less attention.

[Crazed_Insanity]

For sure there’ll be a ‘momentum’ loss. Ham for sure has a huge fan base, not to mention all the technical/financial folks tied to him… besides Ham, Mercedes for sure also won’t be very happy if the ‘investigation’ resulted in Masi keeping his job. It’ll probably end up like the CART/IRL split. Ham and some fans here on this forum have all made it pretty clear that they would leave if FIA doesn’t rectify the problem. I wonder how much longer does FIA need to drag this shit on…

[FaultyMario]

I don't think Mercedes withdrawing their appeal before the ICAS depended on the termination of employment for a specific person but rather on what lawyers call "measures of non-repetition", which may include termination but should not be limited to that.

[Crazed_Insanity]

For him to keep his job, he’s gonna have to get on his knees and repent of his sins and beg Ham for forgiveness…

He’s probably better off just go find another job. Surly it won’t be too hard to find another higher paying job… Why insist on holding on to the race director job? Mercedes is just being nice to not specified their demand in detail, but surely they all know what had to be done. I’m just wondering what other hidden forces are at work to make this ‘investigation’ drag on for this long.

[Tom Servo]

He’s probably better off just go find another job. Surly it won’t be too hard to find another higher paying job… Why insist on holding on to the race director job?

I would 1000% take a job judging F1 races even if I got a significant pay cut. If I knew that job was a possibility, I'd be there in a fucking second.

[JoeW]

The main reason they dropped the appeal was that even if they won and the FIA voided the results, Max still wins the championship. So no point in pursuing.

Hamilton is probably wrestling with the decision to come back because of the huge unknown with the rule changes. He will either dominate or struggle depending on whether Mercedes nails the initial build or not. After all the drama it’s probably a tough decision. You can come back with all the anger and motivation in the world and be forced to drive a shit car all season. That would truly suck balls.

[Crazed_Insanity]

I dunno man, I can totally understand ham… at least to me, it felt like Masi knelt on Ham’s neck during that last race. Yeah, it didn’t kill Ham, but I would not want to be subjected to that shit again even if Mercedes’ nailed it in 2022.

FIA needs to get the message.

[FaultyMario]

Because a) the FIA is an international organization based in Paris that b) had just elected most of the senior staff and the Formula 1 one workers are scattered around the world, then c) when they got back to work 2 weeks ago d) they probably needed to set up the investigative commission, its targets and work plan.

But that's just my guess.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, don’t care about what’s really going on and how long it’ll take them, but FIA just cannot brush this off as if it’s nothing.

[FaultyMario]

what?

[Freude am Fahren]

Am I the only one that thinks there 0% chance he retires, and this is all just nonsense?

[Alan P]

Some rumours circling that the reason Red Bull haven’t announced their launch date yet is their car failed the FIA frontal impact test.

[FaultyMario]

same rumors say their simulator model has reached 2021 levels of performance.

same rumors say design team is confident they can address frontal crash test failure.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Am I the only one that thinks there 0% chance he retires, and this is all just nonsense?

Race director altered the rules last minute and caused you to lose the championship and you feeling dejected enough to want to quit is nonsense?

The guy certainly has made enough money and has not much more to prove. If I were him and if FIA brushed that incident off as nothing/nonsense, I’d certainly quit the sport.

[Kchrpm]

I think "this is all nonsense" is referencing the people who say he's actually trying to decide, despite the fact he has said nothing about it.

[JoeW]

Mercedes fail frontal crash test as well.

[Alan P]

Mercedes fail frontal crash test as well.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/mercedes-reportedly-fail-2022-crash-test/ suggests side impact test but they apparently had a more conventional option ready to go so aren't worried.

[FaultyMario]

Mercedes have come out and informed that their chassis was homologated on Jan 13.

[Freude am Fahren]

I think "this is all nonsense" is referencing the people who say he's actually trying to decide, despite the fact he has said nothing about it.

Exactly.

[FaultyMario]

Someone is definitely getting the boot.

Van der Merwe apparently refuses to get vaxxed. So, if you're a really fast and dependable ambulance driver, maybe you can land a sweet new gig.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Of all the people in F1, it’s a medical worker who refuse to get jabbed?

I wonder if we have any drivers who’s antivaxxer? Hope we won’t have the same problems the tennis world was having…

[Rare White Ape]

Someone is definitely getting the boot.

Van der Merwe apparently refuses to get vaxxed. So, if you're a really fast and dependable ambulance driver, maybe you can land a sweet new gig.

Oh wow. I googled and it turns out he missed the last few races of 2021 as well. Unbelievable.

[FaultyMario]

New name on the grid:

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team

I guess that rumors are true and we will have Alpine BWT.

I'm going to enjoy seeing Fred looking like a grumpy marshmallow so very much.

[JoeW]

Seeing the new rear wing I am curious how the DRS is going to work. The old wings were fairly obvious and straight forward. The new one looks really curvy and I don't see an obvious opening.

[Blerpa]

Teams official names, car names and revealing dates (all in February 2022):

Uralkali Haas F1 Team - VF-22 (?) - 4th
Red Bull Racing - RB18 - 9th
Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team - AMR22 - 10th
McLaren F1 Team - MCL36 - 11th
Scuderia AlphaTauri - AT03 - 14th
Scuderia Ferrari - F1-75 - 17th
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One - W13 E Performance - 18th
Alpine F1 Team - A522 - 21st
Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN - C42 - 27th
Williams Racing - ???

[FaultyMario]

Is it not Scuderia Ferrari Santander?

And I would guess (hope?) that both McL and Williams have a new title sponsor.

[JoeW]

This is probably not the best year to start running the Number 1 plate considering how it played out at the last race. No fault to him...not his fault how it played out...but it just seems like bad karma waiting to happen. He had mentioned running the 1 plate awhile ago so he can't really backtrack, and to do so might admit the process was unfair. So he's kinda stuck with it but I feel like it is inviting karmic doom....

[Blerpa]

Is it not Scuderia Ferrari Santander?

And I would guess (hope?) that both McL and Williams have a new title sponsor.

Official names taken from the Formula one official site.

[CudaMan]

I guess that rumors are true and we will have Alpine BWT.

I'm going to enjoy seeing Fred looking like a grumpy marshmallow so very much.

Does Fernando dislike Otmar or something?

[FaultyMario]

Is Otmar still headed there?

They've made a bunch of reorganizing moves since Mike Wasowski left, and i haven't heard anything about Szafnauer.

But i mainly refer to Alonso's past frustrations with a GP2 engine, it is not looking like Enstone has turned the page on performance, so i expect to hear a lot of criticism from him.

[Blerpa]

Alpine latest news: Pat Fry has been promoted to chief technical officer, Matt Harman, previously engineering director, will take Fry previous role.
Otmar still in the talks... meh. Him, Boullier and Vasseur are the F1 trifecta of pompous incompetence.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alpine-restructures-technical-department-ahead-of-2022-f1-season/7857265/

[JoeW]

Haas looks good. Still don’t see how the DRS works on these new wings.

[Blerpa]

https://i.imgur.com/3CYqz4Y.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/44vq6qq.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TesoV00.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/rjSysLg.jpg

[FaultyMario]

Interesting.

Pundits were expecting more Jorden 191 style 'mustache' front wings to help clear the feedline to the center tunnels.

[FaultyMario]

On the Haas, mmm...

https://i.imgur.com/3CYqz4Y.jpg

https://static.motor.es/fotos-noticias/2020/12/ferrari-sf21-asi-llama-f1-2021-sainz-leclerc-202073833-1608336350_1.jpg

It retains most of the cooling characteristics of its predecessor (last year's SF21), but there appears to be some changes to the front suspension geometry*, we'll see how far this demo is from the real thing in one month and one week.

*I first thought it was a bit of a perspective trick, but those front control arms look way too parallel to the ground to be the real ones.

** Big Wheels indeed!

[Crazed_Insanity]

Haas looks good. Still don’t see how the DRS works on these new wings.

I suspect it still works similarly... see the rear view of Haas' wing? I think the painted white portion of the rear wing probably moves as usual?

The fact that from the top/front the entire wing looks white made it look like it's integrated one piece, but perhaps not?

[Rare White Ape]

Haas looks good. Still don’t see how the DRS works on these new wings.

Start watching from 6 minutes.

https://youtu.be/6HC3fIVkK0A

[Crazed_Insanity]

Cool. Thanks RWA! I guess I guessed correctly! :D

[JoeW]

Actually that still doesn't explain anything regarding the HAAS car reveal pics. There is no device in the photos that would actuate a DRS system. Which is why I mentioned it. It shows the wing supports but no DRS actuator. Unless these are still just mockups of liveries and not actual "reveals".

I suppose we'll still have to wait until the actual cars are trotted out onto the track....

[Crazed_Insanity]

True, the actuators/linkages are indeed missing in those pics. Yeah, I suspect that's just a mockup showing us that they've finalized the exterior aero-shape and sticker locations... Most likely not an actual running car.

At least according to RWA's video, DRS may not be necessary anymore and FIA could just eliminate it. We'll see.

[Rare White Ape]

These reveal cars are almost never shown with the full race spec aerodynamics package. The car in the pics would quite possibly become a display car for promotional events in Russia, built using one of the used crash test cockpits.

But, I’ve linked a video showing how DRS will work once they are running on a circuit so I don’t know what else to say.

[JoeW]

You've said all you can. I merely stated the car revealed did not have anything resembling DRS actuators. Which we now have all come to realize is merely a livery and basic mule reveal...not an actual car reveal. So my question has been fully answered.

[FaultyMario]

The car in the pics would quite possibly become a display car for promotional events in Russia, built using one of the used crash test cockpits.

They've since clarified the car does not exist, it's a render.

[JoeW]

Bastards.

[Crazed_Insanity]

What?!?! That’s a PS7 GT13 render? That is sick!

[Rare White Ape]

Looks cool but I’m not sure the aerodynamics will hold up very well.

https://images.brickset.com/news/70587_42141_Box6_v29.jpg

[dodint]

"Lego are just low-res models."

Is that DRS flap operational?

[FaultyMario]

There's a low-res render of the 2022 car on that Lego box.

Apparently the new underside tunnels connection to the diffuser require some big changes to the rear suspension.

And thus there's nothing to gain from raked cars, i repeat, cars will be low to the ground at all points.

So like i said last year, the 2021 floor cuts, intended to break Mercedes dominance, put them on the back foot for the first half of last season but have probably given them an advantage in learning how to manage floor pressure dynamics.

[Rare White Ape]

Is that DRS flap operational?

It probably is but no information is offered yet. It’s available March 1st so we won’t have to wait too long to know for sure.

And well spotted Mario, that is indeed a render of a 2022 McLaren, the first official image of what their new car will probably look like, and is therefore relevant to this thread.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Lego did a great job on the front wing, but rear wing missed the mark IMHO.

Resolution is definitely way too low! :p

[FaultyMario]

And well spotted Mario

I wish I could also spot my lack of apostrophes when posting from the phone.

[FaultyMario]

ben Soulayem has appointed Mexico's former president Felipe Calderón (https://www.naturalgasintel.com/pemexs-revolving-door-at-director-general-expected-to-keep-turning/) as chair of FIA's sustainable mobility commission.

You. have. got. to. be. fucking. kidding. me.

Here's my card, g'night and g'luck.

[JoeW]

RBR shows an actual car. Not digital BS. But still no DRS :)

I dig the new cars. Not a fan on wheel covers but whatever.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Where can I see the real car?

[FaultyMario]

i don't know, maybe: https://www.redbullracing.com ?

[Tom Servo]

https://i.redd.it/0lc3ro151ug81.jpg

https://i.redd.it/actxann41ug81.jpg

https://i.redd.it/v2z77l641ug81.jpg

[JoeW]

F1 site has it. All the main RBR guys are standing around it.

[FaultyMario]

Nothing of note. The interesting bits are shadowed in mystery.

[FaultyMario]

Bettered by Haas.


Redbullracing gave away next to nothing of their real RB18 - the car presented today bore very close similarities to F1's show car, whereas the machine Haas revealed last week differed in a few noticeable ways (e.g. front wing, sidepods, airbox).

[Crazed_Insanity]

Thanks Swervo! Also, Saw it on youtube. Looks better than before that's for sure. Don't know the exact inner details of it, but I like the overall cleaner look. Hopefully the cars will really able to race properly in cleaner air too.

RB is really super lucky. Just inherited a ready made team when Jaguar decided to dump it. Now inherited an engine that Honda decided to dump.

Soon we shall see if they are truly worthy of that #1 on their car... as a full on manufacturer?!?!? Unbelievable from a manufacturer of caffeinated sugar water...

[FaultyMario]

The RB18 will be unstoppable this year.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLK_LttXsAIsPgq.jpg

The thing has no brakes, it can't be stopped.

[JoeW]

And with no DRS it should be significantly slower on the straights.

[JoeW]

A guy I race with regularly online is best friends with the hosts of this video...Tim and Adam.

My friend said "Just wanted to introduce my old pals hosting the Red Bull 22 F1 release today. I moved to the US with Tim and Adam, and ended being stranded here….

They moved on, traveling the world hosting extremes sports events. I got stuck in extreme cold MN."


https://youtu.be/UgxplLuex0w

[FaultyMario]

USD 500,000,000 for carrying Oracle stickers.

https://apnews.com/article/sports-technology-business-auto-racing-max-verstappen-800371ff9393347d9dd73618cd6fb6f7

[FaultyMario]

Masi to the dustbin.

Eduardo Freitas making noise as the new RD. Ex-WEC.

[dodint]

If true that opens the door for me to come back as a spectator. It's not a fully just result but it at least sets a precedent that it can't happen again.

[XHawkeye]

#F1 #RedBullRacing #F12020 (https://twitter.com/TopGearFormula1/status/1491447909153325062/video/1) <---- Open for video

[FaultyMario]

Aston Martin has unveiled a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse as their title contender.

Ultra pleasure (https://twitter.com/Hales_F1/status/1491774474533879815?t=BJEMF3Hgu96cc8Uq_Hu5Vw&s=19)!

[FaultyMario]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLPeVELVkAMxTvL.jpg

The quadruple world champion has made a statement of intent.

[FaultyMario]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLPcW77XwAIa-o4.jpg

Also, differing from the Silverstone model, the AMR22's front wing is made up of 4 elements (instead of 3), the lowest of them not connected to the nose cone, but rather hung from the medium 2.

[FaultyMario]

RBR shows an actual car. Not digital BS. But still no DRS :)

Heh!

DRS actuates on the top wing element, it pulls it upward, opening up the letterbox.

[Rare White Ape]

I like the livery. Looks good on the new morphology.

[Freude am Fahren]

Glad to see the Lime yellow is there instead of pink.

[FaultyMario]

waiting for blerps to comment on Giorgio Piola's opinion that Williams and Aston are already fucked.

[FaultyMario]

I'm going to enjoy seeing Fred looking like a grumpy marshmallow so very much.

:lol: :lol:
(https://decalspotters.com/2022/02/11/bwt-moves-to-alpine-f1-in-long-term-title-partnership/)

[Crazed_Insanity]

I just noticed that Perez and Tom Cruise kinda look alike when I was watching an ad of Top Gun last night...

Perez also believes that he could beat Max and hope to do so in the next few years. If he does, maybe Tom Cruise could make a movie about his amazing achievement. Tom Cruise has also actually driven a RB too! I'd like to see them actually film the movie in real F1 cars just as Top Gun was filmed in actual fighter jets!

Anyway, so looking forward to this season. Wonder if there'll be much tighter racing... or will one team exploit some loophole and have another Brawn GP type dominance...

[FaultyMario]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLVu5JMX0AM13tz.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLVu3sLXwAQl0ET.jpg

[CudaMan]

The cars are even bigger this year aren't they?

What's Vettel's statement of intent there? That long hair is faster? :lol:

[Crazed_Insanity]

I think the 2022 cars will be shorter but heavier?

https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/oorgn6/motorsportcom_2021_vs_2022_regulations_comparison/

Anyway, so far I think McLaren's car look the best, I'm ignoring all the color scheme designs...

[FaultyMario]

What's Vettel's statement of intent there? That long hair is faster? :lol:

Championship-winning mane.

[samoht]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLWBv-ZWYAAgnFT?format=jpg&name=medium

Really interesting to see how different they are, especially the Aston with its long vented sidepods. At least it disproves the notion that the new regs reduce F1 to a spec series. They can't all be right, surely? So presumably some teams are going to be quite a bit off the pace of others.

[JoeW]

McLaren wins the livery reveal competition so far. That thing is sweet...one of the nicer looks I've seen in awhile.

[FaultyMario]

And thus there's nothing to gain from raked cars, i repeat, cars will be low to the ground at all points.


From the AMR shakedown run.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLU3rxPX0AAaAuG.jpg

[FaultyMario]

Not to scale comparison shot

That Haas must be yuge!

[JoeW]

I hope one of the mid/low tier teams nails the regs and starts out killing it.

[FaultyMario]

If only we had some independents instead of the B-teams.

[JoeW]

Humorously enough RBR is about as close to independent as it gets nowadays. Alpine is all in house but RBR is running a PU developed by a company that is technically gone from the scene.

[FaultyMario]

Yeah, no.

[FaultyMario]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r7uERFOj4Q

Marty?

[Crazed_Insanity]

Based on the look good test, Mclaren is ahead. But I had to wonder if AM discovered something with them vents. We’ll see if others will copy them…

[FaultyMario]

Is the Alfa Romeo contract watertight? Cause I think Valtteri has found his calling (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLZTHDaXIAc00vJ.jpg).

[Rare White Ape]

A reminder of F1 launch dates...

Done:
Haas
4 February

Red Bull
9 February

Aston Martin
10 February

McLaren
11 February

This week:
AlphaTauri
14 February

Williams
15 February

Ferrari
17 February

Mercedes
18 February

Later:
Alpine
22 February

Alfa Romeo
27 February

[Rare White Ape]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLjXaWAXwAEOI99?format=jpg&name=large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLjXaV-WQAEBa6s?format=jpg&name=large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLjXaWZXsAEkrSH?format=jpg&name=large

[JoeW]

Noice.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Interesting, looks like RB and AT are the only cars with super long nose, directly connect to the forward most front wing!

Wonder what Mercedes and Ferrari will introduce anything different…

[JoeW]

We’re last year’s reveals digital also? Seems like the previous reveals were real cars?

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, I don't recall previous reveals were computer generated as well. However, wouldn't be surprised though... that they want to reveal to the sponsors that they're ready, but don't want to reveal too much to their rivals... CGI is a good way to do that.

However, last year, all designs probably converged already and there were not a whole lot of changes that could be done. With this year's new rule intro, maybe they do have more to hide from their rivals just so that they won't lose that initial competitive edge?

[XHawkeye]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLjbBDsXEAgaxgF.jpg:large

BREAKING! First fully detailed technical analysis of the new for 2022 @AlphaTauriF1 AT03 (https://twitter.com/GrandPrixDiary/status/1493184237721239555/photo/1)

[FaultyMario]

Needs white spinners.

[Rare White Ape]

You wanna know something cool?

I’m really liking the new style direction that these regs have delivered us.

Hot damn! They look like the things we’d draw as kids again.

Except for the Red Bull.

Anyway, carry on :)

[Rare White Ape]

Seems that Williams has simply applied their livery to the F1 2022 concept car.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLo82KJX0AIyNnY?format=jpg&name=large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLo82KHXsAwt8Ob?format=jpg&name=large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLo82KYXwAc-y-B?format=jpg&name=large

[Crazed_Insanity]

Looks like Williams car also has a long nose like RB's...

The other problem that's carrying over from 2021 is probably lack of sponsors... :(

[FaultyMario]

Based on the launch models alone, I would be absolutely sure RB and Williams would have the exact same baseline for performance.

[Crazed_Insanity]

But they’ll have different engines so maybe Williams will be a bit faster. ;)

[JoeW]

I love a good old fashion rules shake up.

[FaultyMario]

So they could have mandated a shorter wheelbase, what, five years ago?

[Rare White Ape]

Looks like Williams car also has a long nose like RB's...

Yeah don’t over analyse this one. It’s a 3D model of the F1 concept car with a Williams skin.

[JoeW]

Actual pics of real car…

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.first-look-new-williams-fw44-hits-the-track-in-silverstone-shakedown.wHh0F73sIi21zBz5xi7A1.html

[FaultyMario]

Actual pics of real car…

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.first-look-new-williams-fw44-hits-the-track-in-silverstone-shakedown.wHh0F73sIi21zBz5xi7A1.html

OMG, they're gun get their asses whooped.

[FaultyMario]

so what are the expectations?

- Ferrari PU to improve.
- Haas, Alfa and Williams to make good on their extra CFD time. Alfa think their new car is faster that the 2021.
- Haas with their "Maranello office" should have "better integration" of the new PU with the new chassis, which should "have many commonalities" with the Ferrari.
- The new Pirellis are apparently much better than the old ones.
- Cars should have two main planes, the upper surface of the floor and the sidepods, with the splitter under the tub being a critical design element, because that's where most air flows are being distributed to the rest of the surfaces. That's why i think the Williams is flawed.
- I don't think a bulbous air intake will work. I believe a pyramid, like Mercedes', is the optimal solution, and why AMR went for the louvers.
- Diffuser and beam wings are do or die elements, that's why teams won't show them until Bahrain's FP1.

[Crazed_Insanity]

CGI rendering and the actual car looks pretty similar. I don't quite understand the new rules enough to spot any apparent flaws, but I thought the Williams car looks pretty good!

I guess we'll find out how these cars will go when the green flag drops!

For now, I have no expectations. However, I'd love to see some of these low budget teams to be able to pull away like Brawn GP did... This is a rare opportunity to pull something like that off.

[FaultyMario]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLosaNYXMAAl6_M.jpg

Bottas' Alfa. Also ribbed, for ultra pleasure.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLolISjX0AAo5qM.jpg

Push-rod suspensions, front and rear.

Pushrods are the hot thing this year, they give more clearance for suspension arms, a more neat package around the center elements (gear case in the rear, dampers and ducts at the front) at the slightly increased cost of a higher CoG.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLZEXgMXIAgHdwF.jpg

They will come specially handy in the rear, as teams try to channel downforce to the rear wing and the beam winglets. As the new curvy wing is supported by one central structure, teams have used the space there to put a couple of aero surfaces to try to isolate the hot blow from the radiators and PU from the rest of the mass of air.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLZP-7qWUAAXq4n.jpg

[FaultyMario]

New Ferrari f1-75 had been leaked.

Hate that they did that.

George Russell changed helmet colors form predominantly red out of respect for Schumacher.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Looks like Ferrari and AM thought of similar ideas if the leaked photo is real...

I guess the purpose of those vents are to exhaust more air and perhaps 'comb' the air a bit smoother way ahead of the rear wing so that it'll produce more downforce?

I'm beginning to wonder maybe AM's copying the Mercedes design again this year? ;)

Kinda surprised to not see Andrian Newey come up with something unique... or perhaps he just has it well hidden before the 1st race.

[FaultyMario]

In the case of the Williams, which is rumored to also have louvers on top of its sidepods, pundits believe they're going for the "canon exit", where they have the big inlet above the cockpit, use it to cool the internals, and then shoot the excess heat out the back, like Red Bull used to do in the blown exhaust days.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLZSo4DWUAQYf7V.jpg

The top of the sidepods louvers also put out hot air that they use to create 'downwash' above the floor tunnels.

That part is complicated, but FWIU they are, in my very basic understanding of aerodynamics, using the heat to seal off the important surfaces so that they make the most of the ambient air that they collect.