Mercedes chief technical officer, James Allison warns that some teams may get the 2022 rules overhaul disastrously wrong and consequently face a "terribly painful year".

The German team, which won a record eighth successive constructors' title last season, heads into 2022 as favourite once again, those betting sites with offers quoting odds of between 4/9 and 8/15.

"Everyone in our team, and everyone in every other team, will have done our level best to try to find a design and an approach that will be a happy match to this new regulation set," says the highly respected Briton, in a Mercedes video looking ahead to the new season and the impact of the rules overhaul.

"We'll all get to find out together at the start of this season, in the races that unfold from there, exactly how that shakes out," he continues.

"I would imagine, given that the cars are so new and so different, that one or two cars on the grid will have got it really badly wrong," he warns. "And they will have a terribly painful year.

"I would imagine that all of us to some degree will have will have left things on the table that we just didn't anticipate," he admits. "And we will look at other cars and think 'oh, why didn't we think of that?' Then we'll be scrambling around to try to get that idea onto our car as fast as possible, so that we can claw our way, from whatever position we land in that first race, forwards. Or, if we're lucky enough to be in front, to keep the attacking wolves behind us."

His comments come days after Ross Brawn, the man behind the rules overhaul, said that he didn't expect any of the teams to come up with a ground-breaking idea similar to his own double diffuser of 2009.

"It's going to be quite a rush," says Allison, "and definitely something that's going to keep us all from having too much sleep for the whole of the season."

That said, he admits the rule change, big as it is, provides an exciting challenge for him and his colleagues.

"When the regulations change in such large measure as these ones, then we approach that with all the fun and relish that that challenge deserves. Our job is to look for technical opportunity and regulations, and then use our combined wit and skill and all the effort that we make collectively, to try to find a configuration of car that will be better than anyone else's approach to it.

"When everything is as new as this, then everywhere you look in that regulation set, which is twice as thick as the old one, there's opportunity.

"There's opportunity. And of course, there's jeopardy, and we try to pick our way through the potential minefield and pick up all the little boxes of treasure that may be set in amongst the landmines, to end up with a car that we hope will see us pitching at the front of the grid."

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Defiant, 25/01/2022 20:17

"Although everything written here is correct, and I actually appreciate an honest answer, was this really a good question?
It's not exactly anything surprising is it? The rules are changing and some people will produce a better approach than others... oh really.... imagine my shock.
Even brand new F1 fans without the benefit of hindsight could work that out all on their own without much head scratching."

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by kenji, 25/01/2022 0:28

"Allison is refreshingly candid and open about where they may be headed...hopefully for them. I just hope that for once in a very long time that other teams can make a breakthrough and we get to see others racing for the obvious accolades."

Rating: Positive (3) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by Batman, 24/01/2022 19:43

"Wise prediction?"

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2022 regulations a "potential minefield" warns Allison

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page