Formula One 2022

[Lineker]

 

[Chris2K]

Whoever decided to have the Race of Champions take place on snow needs a talking to. You've got some of the best drivers in the world creeping around on ice instead of a race track, and unsurprisingly the Scandinavian rally drivers are cleaning up.

[The Lusophone]

Eh, changing the track and conditions is a nice change - previously it's been almost all on race tracks and the race track drivers have, as opposed to the rally drivers, cleaned up. Only fair that it might take place not on a race track for once.

[Lineker]

 

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Lewis Hamilton will stop taking a knee at the front of the grid after Formula One bosses revealed they are removing the gesture.

Hamilton – and a number of his fellow drivers – have knelt before every race for the past two seasons in a show of solidarity against racism. But F1 is set to pull the allocated slot from its pre-race schedule for the new season which starts in Bahrain next month.

The sport has instead vowed to build on the impact of the gesture – announcing on Tuesday that it will extend its funding commitment to the Formula One engineering scholarship programme for underrepresented groups until 2025 – and will carry on screening an anti-racism message before every race. F1’s “We Race As One” branding will also be visible at each round.

“The [knee] gesture was important for the ones that believed that was an important gesture, because we need to respect everyone,” F1’s chief executive Stefano Domenicali told Sky Sports. “But now is the time to move on and take some other action. The action is the focus on the diversity of our community, and this is the first step.”

Hamilton, the sport’s only black driver, has been outspoken on the importance of taking a knee in the fight for equality. It is understood that the 37-year-old – who all but confirmed he will return to the grid after recently ending his social media silence following last year’s controversial decider in Abu Dhabi – will still be allowed to kneel at another stage before the start of the race, possibly by his car.

Hamilton was a driving force in persuading Mercedes to paint his car black in a powerful anti-racism stance. But it is anticipated that the eight-time constructors’ champions will revert to its traditional silver colours in 2022.

Hamilton is set to be at the team’s car launch alongside his new teammate George Russell at Silverstone a week on Friday. Hamilton’s F1 future had been clouded in some uncertainty following Max Verstappen’s controversial championship win. But he tweeted on Saturday evening: “I’ve been gone, now I’m back.”

Domenicali said: “There was a total respect on his choice to be silent. I think his battery will be fully charged for the start of the season. That is important because Lewis is an incredible asset not only for our sport but for the world. Lewis has in front of him a possibility to be an eight-time world champion. So I’m pretty sure he is totally focused on these objectives.”

The Formula One engineering scholarships programme – launched following a $1m investment from non-executive chairman Chase Carey – has enabled 10 students to begin engineering degrees at universities in the UK and Italy.

Domenicali added: “We are committed to increasing diversity and opportunity within this incredible sport.”

 

[Chris2K]

Just watching the Red Bull launch, and my biggest take away thus far is that it looks much more like what it feels like an F1 car should look like. 

They're also known as Oracle Red Bull Racing now.

[Adam]

2 hours ago, Chris2K said:

Just watching the Red Bull launch, and my biggest take away thus far is that it looks much more like what it feels like an F1 car should look like. 

They're also known as Oracle Red Bull Racing now.

Apparently it is more than likely a Showcar as Red Bull don't want to reveal the RB18 fully yet, in their typical fashion. Kinda negates the point of these reveals mind.

[Lineker]

It's a stonker.

[METALMAN]

oooooh. Hopefully this year it will actually be decent on the track too

[Lineker]

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The FIA will delay revelations of its planned response to the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix controversy for a few more days, following discussions with Formula 1 teams on Monday.

Following the completion of its investigation into the handling of the safety car restart at last year’s world championship decider, which allowed Max Verstappen to snatch the title away from main rival Lewis Hamilton, newly-elected FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem unveiled its findings at a meeting of the F1 Commission in London.

But rather than taking the moment to propose the changes that the FIA will make, the governing body has elected to wait a little longer before confirming what it wants to do.

A statement from the FIA said that ben Sulayem wanted to incorporate feedback from the teams at the F1 Commission into the FIA’s action plan, to ensure that any changes it did make were as robust as possible.

“The FIA President led detailed discussions of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix,” said the statement.

“Feedback from the Commission on matters raised will be incorporated into the President’s analysis and he will publicly present news of structural changes and action plan in the coming days.”

The issue of drawing a line under the events of Abu Dhabi is a critical moment for ben Sulayem, as it is his first major action since he took over the FIA presidency from Jean Todt at the end of last year.

No further details about what the FIA found in its investigation, or plans to do, have been forthcoming, but it is anticipated that the governing body will make structural tweaks to the way race control is run in F1.

It wants to ensure that the F1 race director is given more support, amid a widespread feeling that Michael Masi was overburdened and put under too much pressure during last season.

The fate of Masi remains unclear however, with senior FIA official Peter Bayer admitting that there is a possibility he could be replaced for the 2022 season.

Masi’s future, as well as the plans for race control and the new structure for running F1 events, are all likely to form part of the proposal that the FIA will announce soon.

 

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The FIA has confirmed that only three Formula 1 sprint events will be held in 2022, after the original plan called for six.

In addition as a response to feedback from both drivers and fans, pole position will now be officially awarded to the fastest driver in Friday qualifying, instead of the sprint event winner.

In another change, points will now be given to the top eight finishers instead of just the top three, as was the case in 2021.

The name of the Saturday event has also officially been changed from sprint qualifying to just the sprint.

The three race weekends chosen to host sprints this season are the Emilia Romagna, Austrian and Brazilian GPs, which means that the events planned for Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands have been dropped.

Interlagos already hosted a sprint event in 2021, along with Silverstone and Monza.

The plan was agreed at the F1 Commission today after months of discussion with the teams over the level of compensation for accident damage, with some teams in effect pushing for an extension to the cost cap.

A reduction from six to three events emerged as a compromise from the debate.

When detailed weekend timings for each race 2022 weekend were published last week no sprints were included, pending today’s formal agreement - which saw no change to the financial numbers agreed for 2021.

The change in the points allocation is significant, and puts a much bigger premium on a good performance on Saturday.

Instead of the previous 3-2-1 allocation for the top three, points will be awarded on the basis of 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

The FIA noted in a statement: “Following a review of the three sprint events that took place in 2021 and a recognition by all that the format created positive benefits for the sport, three sprint events were proposed for 2022, acknowledging this as a sensible number in light of the pressures already on the teams for this season with the introduction of major changes to the regulations.

“The Commission unanimously approved the three sprint events for the coming season, incorporating a number of updates to the format based on the feedback of fans, media and teams.”

The statement added: “Cost Cap adjustments for sprint events will remain unchanged from 2021.”

 

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The FIA has announced it will change the Formula 1 points system for shortened races following the fallout from last year's Belgian Grand Prix washout.

F1 found itself in controversy when the Belgian GP was hit by heavy and persistent rain at Spa-Francorchamps last August, resulting in race start delays before it was officially begun with formation laps behind the safety car.

After further delays, the race was stopped by the stewards to target a period when the rain was forecast to ease off. But when that didn't arrive to provide sufficient safe conditions to restart the race, two full race laps were completed behind the safety car to ensure a classification could be issued.

As a result, Max Verstappen was declared the winner, with the top 10 awarded half points in the shortest grand prix in F1's recorded history.

Following backlash from fans, the FIA has changed the rules around shortened races, with no points awarded for a race unless a minimum of two laps have been completed by the race leader without a safety car or virtual safety car – meaning no points would have been awarded for last year's Belgian GP under the new rules.

The points rules have been broken down further, with the top five receiving points if more than two laps are completed by less than 25% of the schedule race distance is completed.

If the race leader has completed between 25%-50% of the scheduled race distance, the top nine receive points, while if the race leader has completed between 50%-75% of the scheduled race distance, the top 10 receive points.

Here's a full breakdown of the new points system per scheduled race distance completed:

No points will be awarded unless a minimum of two laps have been completed by the leader without a Safety Car and/or Virtual Safety Car intervention.

If the leader has completed more than two laps but less than 25% of the scheduled race distance, the top five finishers will be awarded points as follows:

1st – 6 points
2nd – 4 points
3rd – 3 points
4th – 2 points
5th – 1 point

If the leader has completed 25% but less than 50% of the scheduled race distance, points will be awarded as follows:

1st – 13 points
2nd – 10 points
3rd – 8 points
4th – 6 points
5th – 5 point
6th – 4 points
7th – 3 points
8th – 2 points
9th – 1 point

If the leader has completed 50% but less than 75% of the scheduled race distance, points will be awarded as follows:

1st – 19 points
2nd – 14 points
3rd – 12 points
4th – 9 points
5th – 8 point
6th – 6 points
7th – 5 points
8th – 3 points
9th – 2 points
10th – 1 point

The proposed updates to the F1 rules are set to be made official after approval by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

 

Williams has announced a new long-term sponsorship deal with iconic battery brand Duracell in a move that could impact its 2022 Formula 1 livery:

 

[Chris2K]

Not much of a Duracell theme, but still a lovely livery:

 

[Lineker]

 

[Chris2K]

I hope they find enough interesting stuff from the 2021 season to fill the episode run.

(On a less sarcastic note, Max wasn't taking part and Mercedes have always been stand-offish, so the main players might be missing).

Meanwhile, leaked from Maranello:

Thank the Lord, the Green is gone.

[Lineker]

 

[Slogger]

14 hours ago, Lineker said:

 

The FIA probably had to do it due to the insane amount of public pressure that rained down on them after Abu Dhabi.

Getting moved to another role inside the FIA with the race management team officially getting a "Overhail" is just about as good as you can handle it, Everyone's just going to call it a sacking regardless but I'll give them credit for finding a decent way to spin it.

Happy to hear that they're going to limit what teams can say to the Race Director from this year and even then aren't going to televise it, Because ultimately it caused this entire thing to begin it (As entertaining as it was)

Although I'd kind of want to see how it would go because if people thought that Masi giving Toto the business after the race was sassy, Do they even know how little shit that Eduardo Freitas would stand for as WEC Race Director?

 

While im here, McLaren = the shade of blue makes it worse. Aston = Gorgeous, Williams = Improvement, Ferrari = Better now that it doesn't have "squashed caterpillar green" anywhere near the car. - The rest = All kinda same as last year with a slight change

[Adam]

 

[METALMAN]

Poor Masi. It would have probably been more humane to have given him the boot several months ago rather than to keep him hanging like that.

[Lineker]

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The FIA has confirmed Formula 1 drivers qualifying inside the top 10 will no longer be required to start the race on their Q2 tyre from the 2022 season.

Team officials have discussed the removal of the rule for a number of years, which had been in place since 2014 and required all drivers who reached Q3 to start the race on their Q2 set of tyres.

The rule aimed to create an extra layer of jeopardy as it would encourage some teams to try and make it through to Q3 on a harder set of tyres to gain an advantage of running a longer first stint.

But the advantage of the leading teams has meant this has rarely led to much strategy variation or opportunities being given to the chasing pack. At some races, conditions even saw all drivers opt for the medium compound tyre to get through to the final stage of qualifying.

After the introduction of F1’s sprint race weekends last year that did away with the Q2 tyre rule, it has now been expanded to scrap the rule for all races, meaning all drivers will get a free choice of starting tyre.

In the latest edition of the 2022 sporting regulations published by the FIA on Friday, the article stating that “at the start of the race each car which qualified for Q3 must be fitted with the tyres with which the driver set his fastest time during Q2” had been struck through.

It will now create an extra layer of intrigue before each race as teams consider what tyre to start the race on with their cars inside the top 10.

In previous years, this free choice has only been afforded when Q2 has taken place in wet conditions with either intermediate or wet tyres.

Along with the removal of the Q2 tyre rule, the updated sporting regulations have also offered a first tweak to the safety car rules and how races will restart, as well as explaining how the FIA’s new ‘show and tell’ technical sessions will operate.

Further changes are possible in meetings between the Sporting Advisory Committee and the F1 Commission in the coming weeks ahead of the season opener in Bahrain on 20 March.

 

23 hours ago, Adam said:

 

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One-time world champion Mario Andretti has revealed his son Michael has applied to the FIA to enter a Formula 1 team from the 2024 season.

Andretti, the 1978 F1 world champion, took to Twitter on Friday evening to reveal his son Michael - who raced for McLaren in 1993 - had intentions to enter a team into F1, writing: "Michael has applied to the FIA to field a new F1 team starting in 2024.

“His entry, Andretti Global, has the resources and checks every box. He is awaiting the FIA's determination."

Last year the younger Andretti was in talks to buy the Alfa Romeo team and the Sauber company behind it, but he was left frustrated when main shareholder Finn Rausing ultimately opted not to sell.

With the new Concorde Agreement in place and the cost cap now introduced, all 10 existing F1 teams are currently in good financial health, and thus there are no longer any bargains to be had for potential purchasers, with "franchise" values rising.

Andretti now appears to have decided instead to pursue his own project and start from scratch.

Sources suggest that a headhunting organisation has already been talking to F1 personnel about an unnamed project that would start in 2024.

Andretti will potentially be able to benefit from the huge boost to interest in F1 in the USA provided by the Netflix Drive to Survive series, and by the addition of a second US race with the Miami Grand Prix joining the 2022 calendar.

A third US race in Las Vegas is also on the horizon, while on Friday F1 confirmed that the US GP will stay in Austin for a further five years.

Several teams have attracted US investors in the past two years, notably McLaren and Williams, while American tech giants have been coming into the sport, such as Cognizant at Aston Martin and Oracle at Red Bull.

One of Andretti’s own IndyCar sponsors, Gainbridge, is also a backer of the Miami GP.

Although his father indicates that Andretti has applied to F1's governing body the FIA, no formal entry process appears to be open at the moment, and it’s not clear what the procedure would be.

One big challenge that any 11th team would face is a $200m entry fee incorporated in the current Concorde Agreement, and which is a “dilution fund” designed to protect the value of the 10 current teams.

The FIA and F1 learned from the three teams that entered the series in 2010, with HRT, Lotus/Caterham, and Virgin/Manor/Marussia all ultimately failing.

Both parties have made it clear since then that they would only ever consider entry bids from serious players, with the last team to join the grid being Haas F1 in 2016.

In 2019, when prospective Spanish and Asian projects were announced, F1 managing director Ross Brawn suggested that any further new teams would have to wait until after the new rules were introduced. At that stage they were scheduled for in 2021.

“We have a surprising number of teams that have shown an interest,” he said.

“But what we have said to those teams is let's get these rules introduced, let's stabilise the situation. Let's get everything working properly before we seek more teams.

“I think with the 10 teams we have, 10 healthy teams in F1 is actually enough. And if we do get any extra teams they have to really add to the show. We must learn from history, so many small teams came and went, and didn't really add to F1.

“So I think we have to stabilise what we're introducing in 2021 and look at whether there is an opportunity for new team.”

Since then new Concorde was signed, with the $200m entry fee included.

Last year F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali downplayed the possibility of the field expanding, suggesting that he was happy with 10 teams.

“I can definitely tell you that after the introduction of the of the budget cap, we are receiving a lot of requests,” he told Autosport last year.

“But I do believe that it’s important to keep the value of the actual franchises or teams, because that really can make the difference in terms of their sustainability.

"I would prefer to keep a better sustainability with the teams that that actually here.”

 

[METALMAN]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I'm not sure how I feel about the Q2 tyre rule. Probably best to get rid of it? I mean it didn't really help the shit cars break through and the top cars were good enough to get through on mediums anyway... dunno

[Chris2K]

The entry fee of $200m remains absolutely insane, and a complete road block to stopping more teams enter. "Well we want to make sure the new teams are serious" seems to be the usual explanation, but how about allowing the chance for them to be serious by putting the $200m into working on their car. Oh, but that might make them competitive, and thereby we reach the real reason for it...

 

[Chris2K]

The Alpine will look like this for most of the season...

 

But will apparently be an Alpink for the first two races: