FLOYD ON F1: Gimmicks to take new leap in 2022

This weekend it should be the penultimate round of the 2021 F1 championship at the new Saudi Arabian circuit, where the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will continue to enthrall fans.

I say “it should be”, as at the time of writing no confirmation of track completion and FIA approval had been received.

I sincerely hope by tomorrow it is all in place. I am beginning to believe there is a strong lack of logical thinking within the hallowed walls of F1 headquarters.

I think the reasoning for gimmicks to enhance the sport has finally pushed a few of the upper management over the edge.

Apart from the sprint “thingamajigs” – currently no one really knows what to call them – there are several other, equally fantastical innovations planned.

One was announced to the media at the beginning of last month, by none other than F1 managing director of motor sports and technical director for the Formula One Group, Ross Brawn.

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It is actually a two-in-one-change to the race weekend, when Thursday is ditched and Friday’s practice session is to be shoehorned into the afternoon only, the morning reserved for something very unique, and as far as I am concerned, somewhat bizarre.

In 2022 teams must, on Friday morning, present their cars for initial scrutinisation for the purpose of establishing a “reference specification”, which will be in force for the entire weekend.

At this point it will fall upon the teams to confirm any changes or updates to the car since the previous race, with any changes made to be declared to the FIA. But it appears F1 management has introduced what it refers to as an “open session”, so the media will also have access to all the updates which will enable them to inform the fans.

Brawn was reported as saying to the media: “What we’re doing on a Friday is a big session for you guys to have a look at the cars and talk to the personnel.”

He continued: “We’re pushing on with initiatives to get greater engagement and a greater insight into what’s happening.

So next year, on a Friday morning, the cars will be presented to you. It will create another nuance in the sport, because the technical side of the sport is quite fascinating to a lot of fans”.

With such an open declaration of updates it is sure to be of interest to rival teams as well. Pit technicians have become extremely adept at rapidly forming a human screen to prevent prying eyes in the pit lane, gathering information which perhaps provides a performance advantage – certainly not something you want to openly display to all and sundry.

The very idea is complete anaethema to the spirit of the sport, which is to work within the rules and regulations, in an attempt to achieve a quicker car. Throwing this open to anyone makes no sense.

Perhaps Mr Brawn should cast his mind back to his days in F1 as technical director of Benetton and Ferrari and then team principal of Honda, which he bought and renamed Brawn GP and won the constructors and drivers championships with in 2009.

I bet he would have been absolutely delighted, at the time, to divulge all his upgrades to his rivals and the world in general…

To see the F1 drivers’ world championship standings, click here.