As part of the regulations for the 2022 season, Formula 1 has adopted a new design for the larger wheels, after the idea had been around in the past. This change to 18 inches means that Pirelli have also had to adapt their tyres, and they will produce tires with a shorter sidewall.
This is where the teams will need to do more testing to get used to the new setup on the wheels.
In the first place, the vision of the pilots will be affected, since not only has the diameter of the rims increased, but also the whole. With Pirelli tires fitted, the cars will be 60mm taller than the previous generation, making visibility from the cockpit difficult.
In addition, the pilots’ vision will be further impaired by the deflector above the wheel.
Aerodynamicists will be challenged that the lower profile tire will behave differently, creating inconsistencies that they will try to control.
In the more recent past, they used a number of tricks to try and mitigate the effect known as “tyre blasting”, but with many of those features removed or severely limited, teams will have to find new ways to deal with height change. and rubber stiffness.
tire deformation
Pirelli has long been at the mercy of the sport to add to the spectacle with further degradation, causing teams to make different strategic decisions. However, as part of the new regulations, the drivers will have to be less cautious when it comes to taking care of the tyres, and they will be able to run without having to manage throughout the race.
Driving below the real potential of the car has become common in Grand Prix in recent years, with the sole purpose of not overheating the tires and having to make one more pit stop than planned.
All that was needed during a stint was for the driver to stick to a baseline time (delta time) and make sure not to damage the tires before going through the pitlane to put in another fresh set and reach the end of the race.
If the loss of time due to having to overtake after the stop due to traffic on the track, or encountering lapped cars, was taken into account, this conservative strategy was more attractive than the aggressive one.
For this 2022, Pirelli’s focus on the design of new tires and the conception of the cars could alter the perception of the strategies in the teams.
The tires, stiffer and with a shorter sidewall, will have a new construction, in an effort to solve the temperature problems that the teams were facing, which should translate into less management.
Objective: performance
The teams worked hard in the previous era of Formula 1 to alleviate some of these hiccups, and found areas that could be improved for better performance, such as strategy, tire blankets, rim design or of the brake lines, or the configuration of the suspension.
All of them face a major modification for the 2022 season, without forgetting that the aerodynamic balance of the cars will also change, with a much simpler design.
While the current regulations indicate that the blankets for the tires will be prohibited from 2024, the most important modification comes now, since the teams will not be able to continue with the usual 100 degrees, and it will be reduced to 70.
This could have an impact on how the drivers go out on track, or at the start of the race, as they will need to warm up the wheels rather than managing their temperature from the start.
However, the way of working with the tires may be different, but teams have raised suspension components and used more extreme solutions in recent years to help aerodynamics, in addition to the hydraulics, which have been removed.
Mercedes AMG F1 W10 front suspension detail
Instead, the teams will return to the classic suspension, which influences the behavior of the car, and gives the driver a different response and feeling.
On the other hand, the switch to BBS as the sole supplier of rims will mean that any advantage that has been gained in terms of controlling heat transfer between rim and tire will also be gone.
The large cooling openings seen in the Mercedes of previous years will no longer be possible.
Mercedes F1 AMG W09 rim
Also keep in mind that the size of the brake discs will be different, as we say goodbye to the standard 278mm front and rear used since 2017. Starting next season, the front discs will be between 325 and 330mm. , while on the back a diameter between 275 and 280 mm will be allowed .
These changes obviously lead to further modifications in nearby areas, with the wheels feeding back into the brake duct design. This could lead to some teams finding small advantages over their rivals, but while the ability to create complex layouts has been drastically reduced compared to the past.
The transfer of the heat generated during braking could continue to be essential to manage the temperatures in the tires, although it will not be as vital as in recent years.
As we can see from McLaren’s design for its modified car for the 2021 Abu Dhabi post-season testing, there is scope to increase the brake drum to match the wheel well, as they have done before.
However, teams could also find some advantages with a slightly smaller drum, and with a larger gap between it and the rim.
As anticipation builds for the 2022 season, we will talk about the different aerodynamic conceptions of the teams with the new regulations, but the drivers hope that their teams have done their homework well in terms of the sections that affect the behavior of the tires.
