2016 Formula 1 World Champion Nico Rosberg has praised the FIA for the new aerodynamic regulations which were introduced last season, with the German hailing the most recent campaign as “so exciting”.
Whilst drivers have stated that the 2022 cars were less enjoyable to drive than their predecessors, 2022 actually saw a much higher number of overtakes than there were in 2021.
The new cars are heavier, bigger, and produce slower lap-times; however, it has resulted in closer racing, especially amongst the midfield.
Last year still saw Max Verstappen cruise to an easy second Drivers’ Championship, though, with the most dominant season in the history of the sport.
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The imperious Dutchman broke the records for most wins and most points claimed in a year, highlighting his superiority.
Despite his domination, Rosberg still hails 2022 as “so awesome”, with the former Mercedes driver thanking Ross Brawn for leading the introduction of the new regulations.
“For me, the year of F1 was so awesome. It was such a great season,” Rosberg said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“Even though one guy dominated so much, it didn’t really make it boring. It was just so interesting all the time, so exciting, so many things changing – it was great.
“I think the rule changes really worked very well, to make overtaking easier – we can confirm that. They’ve done a great job with that, led by Ross Brawn, so thank you Ross and team for the effort on that.
“The amount of overtakes [in 2022] compared to [2021], [there were] so many more, and that’s really just proof of how the new rules are working.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner was also a fan of the new regulations, understandably, with the Austrians having aced the design of the RB18.
Horner pinpointed the ability for drivers to “follow more closely” as a key reason why 2022 saw so much overtaking, with there having been “25-percent more passes” than in 2021.
“From a personal point of view, it’s been an amazing season for our team,” Horner told media, including PlanetF1.com.
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“And I think for Formula 1, I think the racing has been better.
“I think that there’s been 25% more passes this year than previous years, I think the regulations are delivering in enabling the drivers to follow more closely.
“I think that as a team we got these regulations right, which considering we were the last team to transition onto them, after what happened last year [2021], I think our team has done an amazing job in coming out with such a competitive car and bouncing back after a double DNF in Bahrain. We never lost sight of what our target was.”