Last week, the Formula 1 drivers got behind the wheel of the new cars for the first time in pre-season testing in Barcelona where they had a number of things to get used to after the big regulatory change.
So far, the sensations have been mostly positive, however, many of the drivers pointed out two negative aspects: on the one hand, the increased weight of the cars and, on the other, the more limited visibility from the cockpit. This is caused by tires that are now considerably larger and by small bags placed on the front wheels.
Daniel Ricciardo was one who spoke about the reduced visibility in the Barcelona tests. The Australian pilot claimed that the onboard cameras are also distorting what they see from inside the cockpit: “You may think that’s a pilot’s view, but that’s not really a pilot’s perspective.”
“From our point of view, we don’t see much. This year even less, but you always get used to it and you have reference points and so on. It will be easier and more comfortable as time goes by, but it has not been a positive thing compared to the previous years. days when you were really up front and in a much higher position in the car.
However, Ricciardo doesn’t think that better visibility will have big consequences in the duels that the drivers will have on the tarmac: “Inside the car there are always things you don’t see, so you also use a lot of intuition when you’re racing alongside another driver. That is also the art of a good duel.”
“I think there are still a lot of things that we have to adapt to, especially in the first part of the 2022 season. But after a few races we will not notice it anymore,” concluded the McLaren driver.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton joked during the Barcelona tests that he will use a cushion to get a bit taller. For his part, Sergio Pérez acknowledged that they don’t have much to do about it: “We definitely have to get used to calculating distances better and competing wheel to wheel. That will be a great challenge for this year.”
Finally, the current world champion with Red Bull, Max Verstappen, explained that reduced visibility could be a more important problem on street circuits: “The tires are a bit bigger and the visibility is different. On a circuit like Barcelona , it’s a minor problem. However, on the street circuits it will be a big challenge”, concluded the Dutchman.
