The scale of these changes meant that F1’s traditional development battle is no longer the one-horse race that it’s been in recent years. Teams are having to find incremental performance gains from a host of different avenues this year.
F1 had essentially become one dominated by aerodynamic endeavour, with brakes, tyres, suspension and setup well-honed and understood after years of the same regulatory framework.
Instead, they’re now presenting intriguing, diversionary development strands, both at and away from the race track, as the knowledge that teams had accrued over the course of the last decade or more has been completely eroded.
This has required the teams to not only redesign parts to comply with the new regulations but also search for ways to improve their performance based on the new parameters and how they interact with each other.
2022 brake disc dimension
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Tyres dimension comparison
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
One example is the brake assembly, which has been altered significantly not only in order to fall in line with the switch to 18” wheel rims, but also as a consequence of some of the tricks teams had used in the past being taken away from them.
Previously they’d found ways to balance the design of the assembly, with the primary function of cooling the brake components, with aerodynamic assistance and transferring heat to the tyre via the wheel rim.
The regulations have been devised in such a way that the ancillary functions now take much more of a backseat. But that’s not to say the teams aren’t devising ways to bridge the gap.
For example, both Red Bull teams and McLaren have taken to enclosing the now larger brake discs in order to better manage the dispersion of heat within the assembly and how this is transferred to the wheel rim and tyre.
Meanwhile, several teams have also returned to the more traditional front mounted position for their caliper. It had previously been moved to a more…
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