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Lewis Hamilton reckons this is the “most exciting” Formula 1 pre-season he can remember because of the amount of curiosity around the new technical rules.
The new generation of cars are running for the first time in anger this week in Spain, where their real forms have been conclusively revealed after a launch season shrouded in mystery as teams went to varying lengths to hide parts of their designs.
Hamilton was spotted surveying rival teams, including Max Verstappen’s finally-revealed Red Bull, on the first morning of pre-season testing at Barcelona.
Asked by The Race if there was more intrigue than in previous years because of the extent of the changes, seven-time world champion Hamilton said: “I think every year is exciting but in previous years it was an evolution of the previous year’s cars.
“In this one, it’s completely brand new.
“Of course, I’ve seen designs of our car over several months but now to see everyone’s car out there you’re kind of just trying to get a close eye, see what’s different, if there is anything why certain teams have chosen a certain route in terms of sidepod design, front wing and rear floor.
“It’s the most exciting one. And you have no idea where you stand.”
Although there were fears the new regulations would have an excessive prescription, the 10 teams have all adopted different solutions and there is a lot of visual distinction across the grid.
In addition to the different designs themselves, several figures have pointed out that the revised bodywork shapes on the 2022 cars make the cars look better – as does the fact they now sit lower at the rear, with high-rake designs a thing of the past.
“It is exciting,” said McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo.
“The more years you do, the less excited you are to test and the more excited you are to go racing. It’s definitely the most excited I’ve been in a while to go winter testing.
“The curiosity to see what direction teams have gone, and just visually the cars look really cool. The whole stance of them as well – we saw for a long time high rear ride heights and this sort of stuff.
“It all just seems a different way for this year and even seeing the philosophies around that is cool.
“Even stuff like renders compared to the real thing! It’s quite exciting to see the cars on track for the first time.”
While the new cars have engaged the drivers more than in previous years they have also provided teams with a feast of information.
There is no consensus yet on the correct design philosophy on the key areas – as the front wing, sidepods or floor, as identified by Hamilton – so several teams have pointed out that they would be incorporating rival interpretations into their development strategy.
“Of course with such a big regulation change there’s a huge interest within the team,” said McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl.
“Especially on the aerodynamic side, what everyone else has done in terms of interpretation of the regulations to see if there is any inspiration we should take onboard.”
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said it was “fascinating” to see how teams had managed to interpret “pretty prescriptive regulations” differently.
“Of course there will be convergence over a period of times, but you’ve certainly got some varied themes between the teams,” he said.
“And it’s going to be fascinating to see how that development plays out.
“They’ll probably look very different by the time we get to Abu Dhabi.”
