The 2022 F1 World Cup kicked off with its first tranche of pre-season tests, those in Barcelona. It will continue between 12 and 14 March with those of Bahrain then, on the weekend of 20 March, it will start to get serious with the first Grand Prix of the year. We are at the right time to make a first prediction on what will be on the track, and also off, in the next year of the top category of motorsport. For this reason, the most suitable person can only be Mara Sangiorgio, a Sky Sport journalist and correspondent number one in the Formula One paddocks.
Mara, let’s start from the beginning: what struck you most about what you saw on the Montmelò track?
“The things that, ready to go, struck me in the Barcelona tests were two: the regularity of the cars and the RB18. In the first case, the teams were pleasantly surprised by how these new cars were progressing, despite the fact that they were new and born-from-scratch projects. From the start, however, everyone was able to put several kilometers on the farm and get to know their respective cars. As for Red Bull, however, we were very surprised by Adrian Newey’s product, a car that really left everyone speechless “.
Lewis Hamilton also stood still for a long time to view the Dutchman’s car …
“To be fair, Lewis did this with everyone, but obviously the cameras were stationed nearby when he stopped to discover his great rival’s car, the one with the number 1 on the nose. After that he went on to the Haas garage, trying to grasp the details of each car ”.
Generally speaking, what is the first impression of the machines of the new era?
“Up until the moment of the start of the Montmelò tests there was the fear that the cars might resemble each other, however almost all the teams have dared in different directions. Mercedes and Ferrari, for example, have chosen very distant paths at the project level, Red Bull as we have seen yet another. Milton Keynes was offered different bellies from all the others and changed the suspensions. There is a lot of work behind it ”.
The 2021 World Cup ended with the sensational duel between Max and Lewis. Do you think we will start from here again?
“I would like to say that we will start again ‘also’ from the two of them, given that everyone’s hope is that other contenders for the title can be included. In any case, needless to say, after what they experienced in 2021 we can only wait for their new duel on the track. I saw them very concentrated as soon as they got on the track. I expect Lewis Hamilton to be the worst and most determined ever after what happened in Abu Dhabi, while Max Verstappen is now the world champion, he has nothing more to prove and he will be very ready to confirm himself, if the RB18 allows him to ”.
What Lewis Hamilton have you seen in action and are you expecting in this 2022?
“I remember him well when he left the Yas Marina circuit at the end of the last GP. Head down, he didn’t want to make eye contact with anyone and, after what happened on the track, I can really understand him. However, as soon as I arrived in Barcelona, I saw a Lewis who has moved on, not just in words. Having disconnected from everything and everyone in the last few months has recharged him in the right way and, as he himself said, he no longer wants to hear about what it was. Of course, he released a not insignificant dig at the race judges who, to him say of him, ‘they must be independent and not get on the flights of a team’ but, for the rest, he is 100% again ”.
Who will not be there, however, is the now former race director Michael Masi …
“I honestly didn’t expect it. I start from the assumption that he is a human person and therefore fallible and that, above all, he was in the position of having to decide for himself with an unspeakable pressure on his shoulders. If this is not evaluated, the situation cannot be fully analyzed. You got a bit lost in the gray areas of the regulation and paid dearly for it. I thought that he was joined by other figures, while the decision was very different. Now instead of him we will have two people with an expert super-visor and the addition of the VAR. At the technological level we have taken a step forward, for everything else we will see what the season will tell us ”.
Ferrari opens this new vintage with a great desire to amaze, what transpires from the red-tinted box?
“Let’s start by saying that in Maranello they are sure of what they have done and are serene, as far as possible, because they know that in the event of a further misstep the situation would become really complicated, from Mattia Binotto down. President John Elkann, on the occasion of the presentation of the F1-75, did not use words to shift the pressure on team principals and drivers. Now he will be up to them. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz form a close-knit couple but, overall, the whole team is really cohesive. They have experienced a 2021 of transition in view of a 2022 in which they will have to start reaping what is sown. We’ll see if the track will give important confirmations, because the results will tell what relationship there will be between the two ”.
What can we expect from the 23 rounds of the season?
“The hope is that there will be more balance on the track, even if Formula One is also the domain of a car as we have seen. Perhaps we will only find out from the last test sessions in Bahrain the real value of the cars. It will be a very long season with many stages and a combined calendar that will not leave any moment of respite, with many braces and even triplets. The race weekend will be shortened and, at least in the European stages, it will only start on Friday between the media and the track, but it will be a really hard and incredible year. We hope that the show will not be outdone ”.
Photo: LPS Alessio De Marco
