This year a new set of technical rules that Formula 1 had been waiting for years will come into force, forcing teams to study and build single-seaters with different aerodynamic concepts, in addition to managing the introduction of new 18-inch tires.
That means every team will have a great opportunity to make a big step forward, with Ferrari in particular looking to return to the top after two years without winning a race.
The importance of this season’s new rules led Ferrari to suspend development of its 2021 car early last year despite its close battle with McLaren for third place in the constructors’ championship.
Ultimately, Ferrari beat McLaren by 47.5 points in the final standings while Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz combined for five podium finishes and two pole positions.
At the top of the standings, Mercedes and Red Bull were locked in a tight championship fight that went all the way to the final race of the season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
But Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies said that despite the need for Mercedes and Red Bull to focus on their 2021 cars due to the title fight, he doesn’t expect that to have a big impact on their prospects for this year.
“I’m sure they had to develop this year,” Mekies said. “However, in both cases we are talking about incredible organizations, and just look at their results.”
“So I wouldn’t underestimate for a single second their ability to produce a great car in 2022. Yes, they had to spend more than everyone else in 2021, but if you look at the results they’ve gotten in the last 10 years, both the one like the other, you would have to be very naive to think that it will be easy to close the gap”.
“Because ultimately even us, if you look at the numbers of the 2022 car and compare it to where we are now, we are X amount of tenths slower, so we have to get to that gap first and then the gap that we have. with them. So right now I wouldn’t be too worried.”
Ferrari has already promised that its car for this year will feature “a lot of innovation”, including a power unit that is “significantly different” to the one used until 2021.
The team has not contended for a championship since 2018, while its title drought dates back to 2008, when it last won the constructors’ crown with its two drivers at the time, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.
