Even as the hotly contested 2021 Formula 1 season drew to a close in December, speculation was already rife about the new regulations that are in place for the 2022 season, and how that might shape the next few years of F1 racing. The last time regulations changed was in 2014, and it led to an eight-year dominance by Mercedes.

Will the new regulations--ostensibly framed to make the sport more competitive, exciting, and spectator-friendly--usher a new era of dominance by a single team, or are we in for several years of neck-and-neck battles? What exactly are these new regulations, anyway?

The regulations were supposed to be enforced for the 2021 season but were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The regulations were designed with one main guiding principle--to allow closer racing, and increase the number of overtakes. This makes for an edge-of-the-seat viewing experience, whether you're sitting at home or in the grandstand.

Focus on downforce

An engineer closely involved in designing the new regulations told the official Formula 1 website that the 2021 cars had one unfortunate side-effect -- "catastrophic downforce loss" that results in poorer grip and forces the driver to focus more on keeping the car on track and less on speeding ahead.

F1.com, quoting research, said, "current F1 machines lose 35 percent of their downforce when running three car lengths behind a leading car (approximately 20 metres) while closing up to one car length (around 10 metres) results in a 47 percent loss". Imagine driving a car at 300-plus kmph and feeling like you are about to take off!

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The 2022 regulations have been developed by F1's motorsports team in collaboration with global motorsport regulator FIA and put a heavy onus on the ‘ground effect’, which allows cars to "stick" to the ground, allowing drivers to focus on the actual racing.

Over-the-wheel winglets and wheel covers

The 2022 car will, for the first time, feature over-the-wheel winglets and wheel covers. The wheel covers will send airflow through the wheels, increasing the downforce. The winglet, meanwhile, will now be able to deflect the air from around the wheels and send it away from the rear wing, giving the car a bubble in which to drive, all the while generating consistent downforce.

Alpine's Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Wednesday.

Low-profile tyres

The cars will also feature 18-inch "low profile" tyres for the first time, with F1's official tyre manufacturer Pirelli claiming that these have been designed with the goal of reducing overheating when the tyres slide, a factor that could help with closer racing. The lower profile of the tyres also reduces the buffeting effect of aerodynamic wake from cars in front, giving the drivers greater stability.

Five years in the making

As per F1.com, the motorsports team began working on the 2022 regulations five years ago with a special focus on aerodynamics, ground effect and downforce. The 2022 cars will achieve this through "underfloor tunnels" that will channel the air to create a mixture of downforce and acceleration.

The rear wing

The 2022 rear wing has tips that are designed to collect the airflow and send it in to the car's diffuser, creating a "mushroom-shaped" aerodynamic wake, which is narrower and less disruptive to the car behind.

It will also be interesting to see how the new rear wing design affects the drag reduction system (DRS)--which allows drivers to open the flaps on the rear wing, giving them an extra 12-15 kmph of pace.

Same power unit

The power unit remains unchanged, with cars continuing to be powered by 1.6-litre turbo-hybrid engines. The big change, however, is that the cars will now run on more sustainable fuel, which contains 10 percent ethanol (up from 5.75 percent in 2021). F1.com says Formula 1 is still working towards "introducing fully sustainable fuel in the near future". F1.com adds, "The ethanol must be a second-generation biofuel made in a sustainable way, meaning it will have a near-zero carbon footprint."

Safer racing

The 2022 car's chassis has been designed in such a way that it will absorb 48 percent more energy from front impacts and 15 percent additional energy from rear impacts. Further, in the event of a crash, the power unit is designed to break away from the chassis in a safe manner, without exposing the fuel tank. Cars are also heavier now, with the minimum car weight having risen by around 5 percent, from 752 kg to 790 kg.

According to F1.com, the internal motorsports team ran approximately 7,500 simulations to account for every racing scenario possible.

The new Formula 1 season will officially begin with the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir on March 20.

(Edited by : Abhishek Jha)

First Published:Feb 23, 2022 5:17 PM IST