“I think the gaps were very low,” FIA’s Nikolas Tombazis thinks the field spread in 2022 was much better compared to other regulation change years
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Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes dominated F1 in 2022, but FIA's Nikolas Tombazis thinks this wasn't unexpected.
Red Bull dominated the season as a whole, but for almost all races except one (Lando Norris in Imola), it was drivers from RB, Ferrari or Mercedes that were on the podium steps. There was a clear gulf in performance between these three teams and the teams below, far larger than the one between the other two and the constructors’ champions. It’s fair to say that the FIA’s steps to increase competition did not have much effect in 2022.
2022 also marked regulation changes for closer racing, apart from the other measures that were already in place to create closer fights between the teams – like the cost cap and the aerodynamic restrictions, put in place to ensure that teams with better resources (such as the top three teams this year) don’t run away with the championship and to increase competition.
However, Nikolas Tombazis, head of single-seater technical matters at the FIA, thinks that it is totally normal for the top teams to start in front at the beginning of a new era. His views echo the retiring Ross Brawn’s own views. After all, right now, they still have far better resources than other teams, and it will take some time for the effects of the cost cap to truly set in.
As per Autosport, Tombazis said: “It wasn’t unexpected. The effect of the cost cap, it will take some years for it to sink in because there’s still an initial advantage for people. I think initially, it was bound to still be the better-off or well-off teams that adapted better to the rules. But I do think now people have seen what the solutions are, and are likely to be adapting for next year. I think it was the outcome of it being the first year of the regulations.”
Also Read: FIA technical director Nikolas Tombazis takes a deep dive into Formula 1’s 2022 changes and future
FIA ‘s Nikolas Tombazis: Performance gap not worrying right now
While there was a clear gap in performance between the top three and the rest of the teams, Nikolas Tombazis thinks it could have been even worse. The former Ferrari chief designer said: “In terms of being the first year of regulations, I think the gaps were very low. I think if it was the fifth year like that, it would be a bit more worrying, but it was the first.”
A case in point is 2014 when Mercedes were incredibly dominant over the opposition, and in terms of pure performance, this gap was far bigger than the one between Red Bull and Ferrari (at the start of the season) this year: “If you look back at the first year of regulations, 2014 or 2009 or whatever, or 1998 I guess, these first years usually had some fairly big gaps. I think this year it’s been much less than that.”
Only time will tell if the performance gap between teams does improve in 2023, but in terms of the top, there should be increased competition between them this time around. However, this is dependent on Ferrari sorting out their issues (especially with race execution), and Mercedes catching up in car development. Alpine (or McLaren) could also take a step forward, but it likely won’t be enough to consistently challenge any of the top three teams.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)