Mercedes: Nothing to match the scale of F1's regulation changes

Mercedes chief technical officer James Allison says the scope of Formula 1's 2022 regulation changes "dwarf" anything he's seen in his thirty years in the sport.

Formula 1's new regulation platform has been devised to allow cars to follow each other more closely which in turn should create more overtaking opportunities and boost the show.

To reach that objective, Formula 1's chiefs along with the FIA have opted for a bold vision of the future, based on a radical new design philosophy embodied by a simpler approach to aerodynamics centered around ground effects.

For some, like Red Bull's legendary chief designer Adrian Newey, the new regs are too restrictive and offer only little margin for innovation.

Regardless of how each team's designers will have applied their creative juices, Allison says the magnitude of the changes are unparalleled in the history of Grand Prix racing.

"We've been buried in them and the reality of making them real for so long that it's easy to forget sometimes what a massive set of regulation changes these 2022 rules represent," said Allison in a special video released on the Mercedes team's YouTube channel.

"I've been working in the sport for over 30 years, and they dwarf anything else I've ever seen.

"I suspect if I were to dig out Wikipedia and go through every season of the sport that there's ever been, there would be nothing to match the scale of the change that comes with 2022."

• Read also: Allison expects 'terribly painful year' for one or two teams

Allison underscored not only the sheer vastness of F1's regulation changes but also the amount of variation compared to the sport's previous rule book and which he says has forced Mercedes to "reinvent its car, tip to toe".

"The rules set is not only enormous - the regulations are about twice the size of what's preceded them - but they're almost entirely different from what came before them, and that has meant that we've had to reinvent the car, tip to toe," added the Mercedes engineer.

"Everywhere you look, it's completely new. Not just new as in new parts, but new as in a completely new philosophy, a completely different aerodynamic package, different brakes, different wheels, crucially different tyres…"

And on the engine front, Mercedes has also had to contend with the sport's three-year freeze on power unit development.

"Even the engine - one of the things that is less touched by the regulations than many - has to be prepared so that it can be frozen for three years," he said.

"All of the goodness that you can possibly pack into it has to be packed into it now, or forever hold your peace!"

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