The new regulations for 2022 will change the way downforce is created, and so the teams are focusing on finding the best way to maximize the use of the airflow under the car.
Aston Martin technical director Andrew Green says optimal performance will depend on teams’ ability to create a set-up that allows them to run the car as close to the tarmac as possible, to help with the ground effect phenomenon.
On the other hand, this will also force the teams to put the suspension settings as stiff as possible to ensure that the cars do not bounce, something that will give the drivers a very similar feeling to driving a kart.
“There are some challenges in the car from an aerodynamic perspective,” Green said at the unveiling of Aston Martin ‘s new ARM22.
“The fact that it’s a ground effect car means that its proximity to the tarmac will be crucial. The lower you can set it, the more performance you’ll get, but doing that will also end up with a relatively stiff car.
“So to maintain that low-to-the-ground philosophy, the drivers will have to drive a car that will be similar to a kart.
While the regulatory change for 2022 has reduced downforce levels, Aston Martin ‘s technical director believes it won’t be long before teams get it fully back on track.
“It’s a huge aerodynamic loss if we compare it to the highly developed cars we had in 2021,” he explained.
“With these single-seaters we are taking a few steps back in terms of development and, furthermore, most of the teams have only been able to work on these cars for less than a year.
“With the generation of single-seaters that we have just left behind, we had the opportunity to work for several years with the same [aerodynamic] development concept.”
“Hopefully [in 2022] we take a step back, but I honestly think it won’t be long before the downforce levels we had in 2021 are exceeded.
The new cars are a very big change from last year, in fact, according to Aston Martin , only 10% of the components of the 2021 car have been preserved.
Simon Cayzer , director of production control at the British team, said: “The AMR21 inherited many parts from the 2020 car, but the AMR22 is completely revolutionary.”
“Probably only around 10% of the 2021 car remains. That’s a very small amount and on top of that the regulatory changes present us with a number of challenges.” concluded.
