01/10/2020
NEWS STORY
Almost from the moment they took control of the sport, Formula One's new powers that be made it clear that one of the biggest changes they wanted to make was to level the playing field.
Keen to bring in more teams and hopefully introduce a franchise system, in a bid to make the sport more attractive to newcomers, fans, sponsors and broadcasters, the new owners wanted to call an end to the days when one or two teams dominated and the rest essentially made up the field.
While the budget cap is intended to level the field in terms of spending and resources, the raft of new rules, some of the biggest the sport has witnessed, are also intended to give all the teams the chance to challenge for points, podiums and even wins.
However, Ross Brawn's recent call for the sport to reconsider reverse grids as a means of spicing up the show, has left some wondering if such a move is being considered due to fears that the 2022 regulation changes won't have the impact intended.
Speaking at Mugello, when asked about the idea of reverse grid, Sebastian Vettel replied: "I think it's completely wrong.
"Obviously, it's a testimony that if you are pushing in that direction, it is a testimony that you have failed to come up with regulations and tools that bring the field more together and make racing better on-track," he added.
"As a reminder, we had new front wing regulations which cost everybody a fortune," he continued, "but ultimately haven't changed much in terms of racing."
Asked if he remains confident that the 2022 regulations will have the desired effect, Andreas Seidl insisted that he remains confident.
"Well, I can only speak for ourselves, for McLaren. I don't see that there is any lack of confidence," he said. "We strongly believe that everything that comes into place from '22 onwards, the financial regulations with the budget cap, the technical regulations and the sporting regulations, will definitely improve the competition and in the end improve also the sport - the spectacle for the fans, which is great.
"Of course, we also need to be realistic," he admitted, "it will also take time until all this stuff is coming into place and until the budget cap is also, let's say, washing out and having its full effect. But in the end then it's simply down to us to make sure that we work hard and close this gap to the cars in front of us, but I'm very optimistic about the future."
"It's really difficult, because, as you know, we have no real ability to develop the car at this point in time," said Cyril Abiteboul, "and we were probably a little bit late also. But anyway, we know the effect on the aerodynamic of our car, but again, we have no ability really to run in a tunnel or into CFD the effect of following another car, which is really the crucial point of the technical regulation, the aerodynamic regulations, which is probably the biggest change that Formula 1 has ever experienced.
"When you have a change like this one there is always the possibility that someone finds a magic bullet, or someone finds a huge loophole or a small loophole with a big effect which could again stretch the field, at least for an initial period of time. I don't think anyone has the ability to really give a correct answer at this point in time."