Monaco set to “feel smaller” with 2022 F1 cars

The wholesale changes to F1’s technical rules for the 2022 season returned the championship to a ground-effect-led aerodynamic formula, which means the machines are more prone to understeer and that has led the sensation of driving becoming more cumbersome in slow corners.

The rule changes to make slightly wider and larger front wings means the very front of the cars go to the full maximum car width, which is unchanged from 2021.

The new cars are making their debut in Monaco this weekend, with the tight 3.3km track featuring little in the way of medium speed turns and no high-speed corners, where the ground effect cars perform better over their predecessors.

When asked by Autosport if coping with the additional understeer would be the biggest challenge to succeeding with the 2022-spec F1 cars at Monaco, Magnussen replied: “It could be, but they are also wider – it’s going to feel like the track has become smaller.

“Visibility is also worse. I haven’t seen a lot of apexes this year. I think it’s going to be more challenging.”

The issue of visibility, which stems from aero fairings above the front tyres added to the redesigned cars for this year, had been a concern across the grid before the campaign got underway.

The drivers are now split on how of a problem it remains, with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc saying “I don’t think visibility is that much of a problem with this year’s car, at least it is not for me”.

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly said the Jeddah track and its series of blind, high-speed approaches had soothed concerns over visibility after F1 raced there for its second event in 2022.

He said: “Saudi Arabia for me was quite a good first test before coming to Monaco, and Saudi wasn’t a problem at all.

“So, I would say that I am not too concerned about the visibility here.”

In addition to performing worse than before in low-speed…