Haas technical director Simona Resta admits the US outfit struggled to contain the massive weight increase induced by F1's all-new regulations while designing its VF-22.
Since the start of Formula 1's hybrid era in 2014, the FIA has steadily increased the minimum weight of Formula 1's cars. It now stands at 795kg excluding fuel.
But teams typically design their cars to be underweight and then add ballast to comply with the minimum weight requirement.
However, this year's changes - especially the introduction of 18-inch wheels – have led to significant challenges for each team's design department.
Resta and his team of engineers battled on several critical fronts when they conceived Haas' 2022 contender, but they particularly struggled when it came to dealing with F1's increased minimum weight threshold.
"Well, defining a strategy about recovering aerodynamic performance with such a big change has been a really critical aspect," said the Ferrari-affiliated Italian engineer.
"In the beginning the drop was massive, and our job was to try and recover, that for sure is an aspect.
"Another aspect which we tried to mitigate [was] putting together a car to test the new tyres, learning how they interact with the new regulations, they are quite different.
"And last but not least I think the weight has been a real struggle, I suppose for everyone, because the amount of things that changed on the car – tyres, rims, brakes, safety requirements, bodywork etcetera – has induced a massive amount of weight increase on the cars which we really fought hard to try to contain, so that has been a really important point for all the project."
©Haas
Resta hopes that Formula 1's new regulations will fulfill their ultimate purpose and bring Grand Prix racing's field closer together. But the Haas engineer doesn't expect that to happen overnight.
"As we’ve seen in the last few big regulation changes, there’s been always instances with the spread opening the gap a little bit, which has happened every time, so I suppose there will be this possibility again to re-open the spread, if you look back at the gaps in the midfield," he said.
"Nevertheless, the new regulations are tighter from a certain point of view, so that will counter balance that possibility.
"I really hope that finally, balancing all the facts, the grid will be tighter. Maybe not in day one, maybe not on day two but in a way progressively during the season, the first quarter, mid-season etcetera.
"I really hope and I really can see that step by step, the grid will be closer and closer. We’ll see if I’m wrong or if I’m right."
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