2022 Regulations, Did it deliver on its promise?

When the F1 Management body proposed the new car layout, they promised closer racing and a broadly harder contest for wins with top midfield teams possibly having regular podium finishes. For many of us, we thought this was the end of having one team run away with the championship. This has not been the case by the evidence of the season. We still have a huge gap between the leading team and the next-best team. The status quo in the midfield remained more or less the same for teams within the same band of performance. The 2021 season with the old regulation was more exciting than the 2022 season; maybe not so for Redbull and Verstapenn supporters. From my perspective, the new regulation did not change much from the patterns of the preceding Hybrid era. It was same-mo same-mo with a new leading team with a similar performance advantage to the Mercedes glory days.

Many people that l have been talking to about this seem to agree that the 2022 regulation failed to deliver on its promise of a closer and harder fight for race wins. The midfield teams seem to be the most disenfranchised by the regulations. As this is where the closer and harder position fight seem to be happening. It has become even harder to fight for championship points in the midfield. And the gap between the sharp end of the grid and the midfield remains more or less the same as it was in the prior Hybrid era. It has become even more crucial to have quality drivers in the midfield cars to guarantee good points haul by the end of the season, as driving errors and car damage are doubly punished by the more competitive environment of the midfield.

The cost cap has had very little effect on the top teams, it seems. Even with the problems faced by Mercedes and Ferrari, they managed to out-develop their cars relative to the midfield teams, where progress was slower.

That said, all teams would have learnt a great deal from the 2022 season. Hopefully, we would see the positive effects of the 2022 regulations kick in during the coming 2023 season. One would hope that Mercedes and Ferrari get their act together and turn up with cars on a similar performance to Redbull. Then we would be best placed to see who is the real best driver (or drivers) of this new era. Luckily for Verstappen, he did not get any real challenge this season; not even from his teammate in the same car as we did with Hamilton and Rosberg for instance.

For Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr sake, it is good there is a change going on at the top at Ferrari. They were very questionable on a number of occasions. The very British rivalry brewing in Mercedes would also be very exciting to watch, as the coming-of-age young racer in Russell, takes on the mature seven-time F1 champion in Mercedes Cars on level performance with the Redbull. There is plenty to look forward to in 2023. Hopefully, the FIA would do an equal or better job than they did this 2020 season.

By the way, l got this from this publication https://medium.com/motor-racing/2022...r-1ebf0a0e2022

Nitro , nice to see you back .
I've missed your input .

I think the new formula worked , as it allowed many more close battles .

I think many of the teams will be working hardest on the budgetary issues more than anything , as it seemed to me that that was what hobbled the competition near the end of the year .
Wadding up the car hurts financially enough to lose a guy a drive , as Mick can testify .

It's a different world .

But , at the same time , it's just the same as it's always been , with some getting it wrong at first , and learning along the way , in full view of the public .
"You've got tame the porpoise before you can teach it to go fast ." is an old saying that was coined just this year .

It'll be closer next year , and every year until they change it again .

I still hope for a few changes , though .
Dump the tire warmers .
Dump the DRS .
Never remove any back markers under the safety car .

Good to see you're still watching at least some Nitro, I hope all is well.

Overall I think the new regs worked. We have seen closer following, more extended battles, bigger battles (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCcA6c0v93c&t=96s five cars battling in Austria!), and more tire limited drives based on pace rather than trashing the tires trying to attack. Being the first year of new regs, only a couple teams really got it right from the start. In reality though, Ferrari drivers and poor strategy trashed their standings, when in a well managed team they should have been closer in the hunt at the front. Merc got it wrong, but made good improvements through the year.

I don't think we can even compare to the Merc glory days. Merc won by a more substantial margin out of the gate, and it took years for any team to decrease that margin to that which RB took the WCC this year. But that was in a time with unrestricted budgets, without the wind tunnel and CFD restrictions, etc. The new format will allow the slower teams to gain ground quicker than it took place back then, and even though some of the lesser teams still aren't operating at full budget, it should be enough to help them forward. This in turn should have a domino affect.... quicker car, easier to attract sponsors as well as good drivers you can now afford due to the sponsors helping more.

I think we will still always see 2-3 teams at the very top. By nature even if all the cars and drivers were equal, those with the slight edge to start at the front are at a great advantage in terms of running their own races rather than adapting the race being run. Those very small margins add up to a big advantage, and even more so as the field tightens up.

As for driver comparisons, just like in the past we can only really compare them to whoever else is on that team driving that car. Unless all the cars come together really closely, it's hard to see where the real driver talent lives. And to some extent, even then the best drivers will work through problems, and the lesser drivers will be crushed by the pressure. Just look how badly Albon and Gasly did when promoted to RB, vs how well George did at Merc. But the trick is you can't really know for sure who is ready for the fastest cars until you put the driver in it. And at some point, the budget restrictions might keep us from seeing the really tight teammate battles at times. If you take the Lewis/Nico Spain 2016 incident as an example, they could afford for that to happen, as they had a huge budget and WCC advantage over other teams. Though that might be a freak example, I suspect that few real inter team battles will be allowed tight fighting when there are constraints with budget, and the car advantages hopefully smaller.

I'm hoping the gradual fuel changes and increased electrical energy changes don't mess with things too much for the next few years. I think we have a chance to see some real progression on tightening up the pack for a change.

I think the real intra team battles will be in qualifying. Among teams, the races will depend on first lap results absent other issues like mechanical failures.

Hmmm IMO no, its the SAME THING since DRS was introduced.
not saying I dont enjoy tho.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

Nitro , nice to see you back .
I've missed your input .

I think the new formula worked , as it allowed many more close battles .

I think many of the teams will be working hardest on the budgetary issues more than anything , as it seemed to me that that was what hobbled the competition near the end of the year .
Wadding up the car hurts financially enough to lose a guy a drive , as Mick can testify .

It's a different world .

But , at the same time , it's just the same as it's always been , with some getting it wrong at first , and learning along the way , in full view of the public .
"You've got tame the porpoise before you can teach it to go fast ." is an old saying that was coined just this year .

It'll be closer next year , and every year until they change it again .

I still hope for a few changes , though .
Dump the tire warmers .
Dump the DRS .
Never remove any back markers under the safety car .

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Hi Baggie, thanks. I have been travelling a lot for work of late. Hence my absence. The close battles you talk about are mostly in the midfield where the performance of the cars is a lot closer than in previous years due to the 2022 regulations. Not so much at the sharp end of the grid where Redbull dominated with considerable ease. And yes, the budget cap may mean lesser places for rookies, as teams with smaller budgets would be more interested in the capable hands of experienced drivers who are unlikely to damage to car often. As Mick Schuimacher gives way for Hulkenburg, l would not be surprised if this becomes the trend going forward.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nitrodaze

Hi Baggie, thanks. I have been travelling a lot for work of late. Hence my absence. The close battles you talk about are mostly in the midfield where the performance of the cars is a lot closer than in previous years due to the 2022 regulations. Not so much at the sharp end of the grid where Redbull dominated with considerable ease. And yes, the budget cap may mean lesser places for rookies, as teams with smaller budgets would be more interested in the capable hands of experienced drivers who are unlikely to damage to car often. As Mick Schuimacher gives way for Hulkenburg, l would not be surprised if this becomes the pattern going forward.

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Well , stick around this time .
One can post from almost anywhere , ya know .

Merry Crimbo , dude .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by airshifter

Good to see you're still watching at least some Nitro, I hope all is well.

Overall I think the new regs worked. We have seen closer following, more extended battles, bigger battles (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCcA6c0v93c&t=96s five cars battling in Austria!), and more tire limited drives based on pace rather than trashing the tires trying to attack. Being the first year of new regs, only a couple teams really got it right from the start. In reality though, Ferrari drivers and poor strategy trashed their standings, when in a well managed team they should have been closer in the hunt at the front. Merc got it wrong, but made good improvements through the year.

I don't think we can even compare to the Merc glory days. Merc won by a more substantial margin out of the gate, and it took years for any team to decrease that margin to that which RB took the WCC this year. But that was in a time with unrestricted budgets, without the wind tunnel and CFD restrictions, etc. The new format will allow the slower teams to gain ground quicker than it took place back then, and even though some of the lesser teams still aren't operating at full budget, it should be enough to help them forward. This in turn should have a domino affect.... quicker car, easier to attract sponsors as well as good drivers you can now afford due to the sponsors helping more.

I think we will still always see 2-3 teams at the very top. By nature even if all the cars and drivers were equal, those with the slight edge to start at the front are at a great advantage in terms of running their own races rather than adapting the race being run. Those very small margins add up to a big advantage, and even more so as the field tightens up.

As for driver comparisons, just like in the past we can only really compare them to whoever else is on that team driving that car. Unless all the cars come together really closely, it's hard to see where the real driver talent lives. And to some extent, even then the best drivers will work through problems, and the lesser drivers will be crushed by the pressure. Just look how badly Albon and Gasly did when promoted to RB, vs how well George did at Merc. But the trick is you can't really know for sure who is ready for the fastest cars until you put the driver in it. And at some point, the budget restrictions might keep us from seeing the really tight teammate battles at times. If you take the Lewis/Nico Spain 2016 incident as an example, they could afford for that to happen, as they had a huge budget and WCC advantage over other teams. Though that might be a freak example, I suspect that few real inter team battles will be allowed tight fighting when there are constraints with budget, and the car advantages hopefully smaller.

I'm hoping the gradual fuel changes and increased electrical energy changes don't mess with things too much for the next few years. I think we have a chance to see some real progression on tightening up the pack for a change.

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Hi Shifter, thanks. Considering the tight budget and development restrictions; such as wind tunnel time and limitation on design scope, the Redbull gap this season is proportional to the Mercedes glory days. Mercedes and Ferrari clawed back some time by the end of the season. But l fully expect Redbull to make another step forward next season as both Mercedes and Ferrari would be aiming to match or better Redbull's time of the 2022 season. The limited budget may well facilitate Redbull maintaining its lead for a number of seasons. Verstappen may well match Vettel's four driver's titles at least before they are caught by the opposition.

All the closer following were in the midfield with occasional tussles at the front. The point of the regulation was to make the sharp end busier and hard-fought. With the midfield teams regularly in the mix. We may see that in the 2023 season, but l have some doubts. The 2022 season, certainly failed to produce that. What we saw was similar to the preceding 3 years at least.

I agree that. if they give this regulation a good number of seasons to be properly understood by the teams, we may end up with just that scenario; where Redbull or Mercedes would find themselves fighting on similar performances for race wins with Haas or Williams. Then again, pigs will fly one day.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

Well , stick around this time .
One can post from almost anywhere , ya know .

Merry Crimbo , dude .

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Merry Xmas buddy! Watch your tummy this festive fest approaching :-)

Formula one is a highly technical sport where differences of milliseconds translate to millions of dollars for drivers and teams. Hence all aspects of it are observed from a purely scientific perspective. Hence, when there is an objective-inspired change in regulation, we should take a scientific view to access its effectiveness and measure its success in achieving its objective.

There has been open debate about this topic. For many, the racing is familiar because it is similar to what we are used to in the past; tough duelling in the midfield and one team beating the rest of the grid by 30 seconds or more and waltzing off to win the championship with ease. This 2023 season has started off with all the hallmarks of just that scenario. What can be perceived from the immediate outlook is that the 2022 regulation and its variant in 2023 is clearly highly effective in the midfield where the racing is more intense than at any time in F1 history; but, no discernable effect can be seen at the sharp end of the grid. The status quo remains, meaning a dominant team can still emerge to win titles with zero competition from the nearest rivals. The net result is the F1 competition is for all other positions bar the championship-winning positions.

While l am mindful that l am commenting too early in the season, the season opener always gives a good indication of how the season would turn out. It tells us who is dominant and the extent of the dominance and how close the nearest rival is to the dominant team. This gives us an indicative measure of the level of competition for the titles we should expect this season.

By jove, Redbull has turned up with a car that is even more dominant than the 2022 car. Verstappen finished the race 38.637 seconds ahead of Alonso in the Aston Martin and he wasn't even pushing to the limit. That car probably has a full minute gap of race pace to the Aston if pushed to the limit.

The question is, what are the criteria for stating that the 2022 regulation is effective in the sharp end of the grid?

I think the following should manifest:

1. All cars racing at the sharp end of the grid should be within 5 seconds from the leading car at all times during the race.
2. The race should finish with the top two or three cars within two seconds of each other. Think of Jedda 2022, Verstapenn versus Leclerc. Now that is racing.

Of course, this scenario may not manifest itself at all races due to many factors that may produce a maintainable gap for the leading car. But in the above scenario, these factors should not produce a regular occurrence that manifests a clear untouchable dominance of racing.

To be fair, this last point is what should be proven by the next four races at least to put this criticism at bay. We could say therefore that we should revisit this discussion in four race time, l think. Though, l am not holding my breath, l expect Redbull to be miles ahead in four races time.