Obviously, the first day of winter tests does not allow any conclusions to be drawn on the real values of competitiveness between the various cars. There are too many unknowns about the type of work done on the track by the teams and the fuel loads on board the cars. It is clear that the goal of all the teams on the first day could only be to verify the behavior of the single-seaters in correlation with the data collected in the simulator and in the wind tunnel. so it will be for all these days in Barcelona, where the teams will have to work to verify the foundations of their projects, aiming to look for speed performances in the next test session in Baharain. However, the work on the track has been remarkable and based on what we have gathered, some general considerations are already possible.
Already from the official presentations of the cars it was understood that the fear of seeing cars all the same, because so dictated by the technical regulations, was rather unfounded. The technical philosophies adopted by the team designers to give new and different shapes to the side bellies, which in turn are the children of the new arrangement of the power unit radiators, are very different. The crude rule that wanted that with the same power unit, the shape of the bellies of a single-seater should be good or bad the same is no longer valid. If we consider, for example, the Mercedes engines, we find that between Mercedes itself and Aston Martin (once accused not too wrongly of being a photocopy of the Stuttgart car) the relationships of previous years have abruptly broken off. However, having finally been able to look closely at the single-seaters engaged on the track revealed that those who expected to see the disappearance of elaborate aerodynamic appendages of incomprehensible utility to the general public will be disappointed once more. The level of sophistication of the various components with aerodynamic function such as bottom, bellies and aerodynamic profiles under the rear wing (which constitute the so-called beam wing) is very high.
This leads to two considerations. The first is that the abolition of sidepods has not at all discouraged the aerodynamicists involved in Formula 1 from trying to reproduce the same “domestication” effect of the aerodynamic flows around the car body that, until last season, was done with components today. abolished. After all, if we remember that these cars should have debuted last season, then Covid imposed a postponement of one year, it means that there was no lack of time to deepen and sharpen the various aerodynamic concepts well. In this sense, as we said, the objective of “aesthetic simplification” seems already quite compromised. Aesthetic considerations aside, it is fair to ask if now we can really be sure that the turbulence generated by the aerodynamic appendages of the cars seen up to last year are really to be considered only a memory. If this were not the case, the goal of making cars less disturbing and disturbing by the turbulence of others, and therefore able to facilitate overtaking on the track, could once again remain on the Formula 1 dream book. Del confirms it even a little. late in maintaining the DRS system also on this year’s cars, which on paper could and should have overtaken each other without major problems, already betrayed the fact that the “easy overtaking” had already appeared as a possible chimera after the first tests in the tunnel and the CFD.
Much has been said about the various aerodynamic “strands” that have characterized the shapes of the new single-seaters, especially with regard to their side bellies and the slits more or less present on them. The latter have a clear aerodynamic function as well as cooling. Already on this day of testing, however, we saw a great deal of work by the technicians on these slits that appeared on cars initially lacking (such as Mercedes for example) or were closed and partialized on cars like Aston Martin which made much more use of them. massive from the very first presentation. Barcelona in February is certainly not the hottest place in the world and the work around this particular betrays the fact that their function is very far from that of pure cooling, but it has a very important aerodynamic function to make people work in the best possible way. rear wing and stabilize the generated load. After all, we are dealing with cars that have a totally opposite set-up to that of last year. The beaten trim, also known as “rake”, is now a thing of the past. Staying in the aeronautical terminology we could say that we went from the beaten to the pull-up as now the cars have a nose that points upwards and a rear well glued to the ground from the new flat bottom created precisely to generate the dear and old ground effect. The introduction of eighteen-inch tires and consequently of completely revised suspension compared to the past, seems to have given birth to cars with more complex mechanical grip to be found than in the past, at least at the same speed. With the reduction of speed, in fact, the ground effect is eliminated and the cars find themselves turning a little more “on the eggs” in the slow mixed sections. The search for new balances has therefore just begun.
Another consideration is the new eighteen-inch tires that have finally debuted on the new 2022 cars. As expected, their stiffer shoulder than their thirteen-inch “ancestors” made itself felt in the drivers’ driving. Passing on curbs has become a less easy experience for pilots due to the inevitable jolt that was generated more markedly than last year. No worried faces were seen among the Pirelli staff, evidently the roofs met the expectations of their designers. However, it must be considered that the load level generated by these single-seaters is destined to increase much more than in previous seasons, precisely by virtue of the fact that the development of the new aerodynamic garments has just begun. This will do that the stress on the tires will increase significantly and it will be interesting to see if, as happened in the past, Pirelli will have to run for cover by modifying the structure of its tires. Beyond the inevitable accusations or controversies about alleged favoritism towards this or that team that would arise, the effect on the aerodynamic balances of the cars would be considerable. the shuffling of the cards that we would have would probably be much more sensitive than in the past.
Reliability has no longer been a worry in Formula 1 for years, not even in pre-season tests that now classically record truck driver mileage. However, with this year’s revolution in aerodynamics and suspension it was plausible to expect some mechanical problems or sub-optimal cooling of the power units. Instead, the only problems of a certain level were registered by Alfa Romeo and Haas. Particularly interesting is the fact that both Red Bull and Alpha Tauri have grinded a considerable number of laps closing the day with 147 and 121 laps respectively in their roadmap. Interesting because we must not forget that these two teams have lost the official Honda support from this season. It is true that the Japanese manufacturer will certainly be supporting Red Bull Powertrain in its new adventure as an engineer, but the result is still noteworthy and bodes well for those who want to see the rematch between Hamilton and Verstappen.
Finally, a consideration that is not technical at all but “of color”. These tests had been announced as a kind of Carbonaro meeting of the teams and nothing more. Lap times should not have been disclosed, photographers should not have been admitted and it was even rumored that the cars would have been running on the track in “camouflage” liveries rather than final liveries. None of this has occurred and thankfully! The single-seaters, apart from Alfa Romeo and for little comprehensible reasons, turned without hiding from the eyes of journalists and photographers who were still accredited and regularly present. The only limitation that was maintained with respect to what was announced was that relating to the public who was not admitted to these tests, unlike in the past, leaving this privilege to the next session in Bahrain. a real shame that the many Spanish enthusiasts and not that they would have queued to see the new single-seaters on the track were the losers. A rigidity that can be easily but sadly explained only by the economic agreements with the organizers of the Baharain.
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