With less room for team designers to come up with innovative solutions, there was a good chance the 2022 cars would be much the same. However, this obviously has not been the case.
At the start of the year, there was a wide variety of sidepod concepts on the grid, with Ferrari’s inwash , Red Bull’s downwash and Mercedes’ more radical almost sidepod-less solution all at very different ends from each other. .
As the season has progressed, and teams have better understood which ideas are most effective, there has been a general convergence between all skins.
This has been caused by the fact that the performance of the 2022 cars does not depend solely on the management of airflow in the critical area of the floor of the single-seaters.
Instead, the teams have concluded that chassis shape is an equally valuable tool in boosting the performance of the floor and diffuser.
And that means that as teams get to work on their 2023 cars, there will be a much greater focus on trying to be even more aggressive with body shapes.
Alpine sporting director, Alan Permane , acknowledged that teams have been pretty much stuck on what can or cannot be changed this year, due to the fact that the most important elements, such as radiators and exhausts, cannot be modified. short term.
But if teams change the placement of those components in 2023, that could open the door to some much flashier chassis solutions for next season.
“We’re still finding a lot of gains on the ground, on top of the chassis and things like that,” Permane explained of the current cars’ performance points.
“I suspect that what we’re learning this year will inevitably lead to some cars that are more extreme next year. Because we’re limited now by packing radiators, exhausts and so on, but all of that can be changed for the year. coming.
McLaren technical director James Key said trying to find the perfect chassis had made teams realize they were so severely limited in what they could do elsewhere on their cars.
“It’s been a real learning exercise, because we have fewer tools to deal with. So the chassis itself has become more important. It’s one of the few areas where you have quite a bit of freedom.”
Mercedes ‘ more radical solution has also drawn a lot of attention, with various opinions claiming that this design has had a direct impact on its porpoising problems.
However, the German team insists that its sidepod design is not the trigger for its rebound problems, although Key claims that airflow around the chassis is a critical part of the performance of today’s Formula 1 cars.
“What is done in the sidepod area will complement what is done under the car and in other areas,” Key said.
“There are still different ideas. Look at Ferrari , they have a very different design and they still have a very fast car. So I think the level of maturity in many aspects with this regulation is still lacking.
“There is a lot to learn and there is no clear idea on how the floor or pontoons are designed. There are still differences, and I am not sure that will change next year either.
“Yes, everything revolves around the ground, but everything that goes around it or is connected to it in any way, like the suspension, etc., is there to complement it.”
What will be fascinating to see is exactly what each team comes up with for their 2023 design. Will having more freedom lead to much more aggressive changes, or will they all end up converging on similar ideas? It will be discovered in the future.
Do you want to read our news before anyone else and for free? Follow us here on our Telegram channel and you won’t miss a thing. All the information, at your fingertips!
