F1 technical director Pat Symonds confirms the revolutionary nature of the 2022 cars marking the new regulatory era

F1 technical director Pat Symonds confirms the revolutionary nature of the 2022 cars marking the new regulatory era

F1 Technical Director Pat Symonds

The start of the 2022 season saw the introduction of new cars, which were drastically different than their predecessors in all aspects. They have enabled closer racing and more safety, amongst plenty of other things, which have already made the racing better.

F1 technical director, Pat Symonds, who lead the team responsible for the new design, is “very happy” as per motorsport.com. He said, “I think that when you design a car, you are never 100% happy with it. By the time it’s finished you just think ‘I could have done a better job here or there’. And I think with the 2022 car, that was the case. I’m very, very happy with what we’ve done. But there are things that could be better.”

And since Pat believes there can be better things, it seems the technical director already has bigger things in mind.  “I think for 2026 there will be a lot of changes to the concept of the car. So we’re not talking about key tweaks yet, we’re talking about basic principles,” he added.

FS Video

Pat Symonds’ view of the cars of this season

Max Verstappen vs Charles Leclerc saw closer racing

The 2022 cars have allowed drivers to stay close to each other as the aerodynamics of the new cars has significantly changed the dirty air. The change has been seen in the opening rounds as we’ve seen plenty of close battles on the grid, including plenty at the front between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

Pat Symonds, however, believes that there needs more sample data to confirm the “positive” signs. Pat said, “We have analyzed some data and we will do an internal report after a few more races. I always say that you should not do things with a small sample. The objective was never to overtake, there are many other things that influence it. It was always about following each other more closely.”

New cars have shown promising signs. Pat Symonds acknowledged that while there were doubts over the regulations, the team has certainly pulled off a great job. 

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