McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says that the latest Formula 1 regulation tweaks brought in at the start of 2022 haven't proved to be as limiting as technical staff initially expected they would be.
The new aerodynamic changes reintroduced ground effect and sought to reduce the impact of turbulent air on chasing cars, in a bid to make it easier for them to catch and pass rivals on track.
At the same time, the introduction of a new cap on team budgets meant that squads would not be able to spend their way out of trouble as they had done in the past.
But while the changes have indeed made for closer on-track competition and reduced the gaps between the relative performances of teams and drivers, engineers and designers have still found plenty of ways to get creative.
"I have to admit - and I think most teams should admit the same - that before the new generation of cars touched the ground, we thought that the regulations were quite restrictive," Stella explained.
"But interestingly, as soon as you start the journey, you realise there's a lot of performance [to be found], especially on the floor [of the car].
"This ground effect can be exploited from a technical point of view beyond what I think anybody in Formula 1 would have anticipated," he added.
Red Bull came up with a seamless approach to using ground effect aerodynamics in last year's car, while rivals Mercedes suffered badly from the 'porpoising' side effect.
Mercedes also came up with a revolutionary slimline 'zero sidepod' design to the W13. While that's been retained for this season so far, it seems the team is planning on introducing a brand new approach at some point down the line.
It shows that far from F1 become a 'spec series' of identical cars, there's plenty of room for the engineers to find new ways to improve performance. with Stella praising "the level of sophistication of the geometries" on new cars.
"You may see them on some cars, especially possibly in the parts facing the ground, so not necessarily very visible, and the complexity of the flow field, and the vertical structures that you want to generate under the car.
"These went beyond what the regulations would have expected," he admitted. "From a technical point of view, that's a fascinating journey.
"From a spectacle point of view it means that whoever does a better job, like Red Bull is doing at the moment, can gain a consistent competitive advantage beyond what could have been anticipated.
"There's technical reasons why that is, and ultimately it means there's a premium for those who do a better job than the others."
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