Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali is confident that the new aerodynamic regulations which were introduced this season will continue to “reduce the gap” in the field, despite Max Verstappen having won the 2022 World Championship considerably more comfortably than last season.
The new aerodynamic regulations were introduced with the idea that the cars would be capable of running closer together, something which has been proven to be possible.
Whilst this can be seen as a huge positive, the new regulations have caused some issues.
Lap-times are considerably slower in 2022 due to the sheer size of the cars, as well as the fact they are significantly heavier than their predecessors and are less susceptible to downforce.
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The size of the cars is arguably the biggest issue, as this has resulted in overtaking still being considerably challenging, given the fact that the cars have gotten larger whereas the circuits have remained the same.
Whilst the difference between 2022 and 2021 lap-times has been a couple of seconds on the whole, some circuits have seen a gap of up to and occasionally over five seconds.
This was noticeable at the Singapore Grand Prix, as the conditions and the slower lap-times saw the race finish as a result of the two-hour time limit rather than the set number of laps
Domenicali isn’t concerned, though, that the top three teams remain as the comfortable frontrunners, with the Italian being confident that the “gaps can be closed”.
“It’s clear that a championship with such large gaps between first and second will not end in the same way as last year,” Domenicali told Italian reporters, as per Motorsport.com.
“But despite this, we are already sold out for the remaining grands prix. I think from a technical point of view it’s important to understand how quickly certain performance gaps can be closed, and that’s one of the points the regulations were designed around.
“We also need to determine how much of the cars’ performance has been influenced by the regulations or by reliability and management [issues].
“We need a thorough analysis to understand what caused such a gap between the frontrunners and the others. Because if we look at the ranking as a whole, we see that behind the leader there are closer fights than in the past.
“I want to interpret this in a positive way. I think that in the next few years the regulations will further reduce the gap that currently exists between the leader and the others.”
Domenicali also touched upon the current 2021 budget cap scandal, which comes as a result of Red Bull having been announced to have breached the £114 million cap, following a ‘minor’ break.
It has caused anger throughout the paddock, with McLaren Racing CEO having accused Red Bull of “cheating”.
The American has even sent a letter to the FIA demanding that a heavy punishment is awarded, something that has been demanded as well from other teams and drivers.
Domenicali is sure that the FIA is “working hard” to decide on the Austrians punishment, with the Italian identifying that it has to be ensured that “everything is going well”.
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“We have to make sure that whoever is overseeing compliance with the Financial Regulations is making sure that everything is going well,” Domenicali stated.
“I know the FIA is working hard, this is an important step because we have to make sure that all the teams have spent the same amount of money on developing their cars.
“Everything has to be checked and verified. That will be the central theme over the next few months and that’s where the credibility of this regulation will also come from.”