Formula 1’s new-for-2022 cars have produced more predictable races, believes Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.
The challengers this year have been built under a new set of technical regulations, which aim to allow for closer on-track racing as well as better competition.
However, Red Bull appears on course to take both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship, holding sizeable leads in both standings.
The Milton-Keynes based squad has taken 12 of the 16 grand prix wins so far this year, while Ferrari has come out on top in the other four.
Mercedes, who was dominant in the turbo hybrid era that began in 2014, is yet to reach the top step of the podium in 2022.
Although Shovlin recognises that following a rival car through corners is easier than previous years, he says that the new rules have so far failed to produce tighter competition.
“The following is a little bit easier,” he said. “There’s some circuits where, historically, you had very little overtaking, like Budapest.
“And the race there was a bit more interesting. You’ve also got the effect that, when you bring in new rules, and when they’re completely new, like this set, it does sort of reset the competitive order.
“We haven’t quite got the close racing now: it looks like Red Bull have emerged as a clear front- runner.
“So, the races are a bit more predictable than they were, perhaps at the back end of last year.
“But it’s a small step in the right direction and an awful lot of change to get there. And maybe the big one that we’d hoped for, that I don’t think we’ve seen, is the field closing up.
“You know, it’s still a broadly similar order of teams front to back.”
The cars are set to undertake further changes next year in response to the porpoising effect that has been present this season.
For sure he would not be complaining if they were still ahead. Can’t remember them complaining about all the Mercedes 1 – 2 finishes in 2020
Shovlin has got be taking the piss. After seven years of coma-inducing monotony of locked-out front rows of the grid, leading to hugely uncompetitive walkovers, with the two Mercedes cars romping to repeated one-two finishes, frequently by laps rather than seconds, twelve of them in 2015 alone, the same number that Red Bull managed in total over four years of winning double titles. Five times in seven years they finished first and runner-up in the drivers’ championship, while Red Bull had not one second place behind Vettel in the final standings. Now, following just over half a season in which Verstappen has taken most of the wins, yet Ferrari has dominated qualifying, with one of their cars at least, and have appeared to be quicker in several races they haven’t won, we have one of Mercedes main people claiming that the racing is too predictable. The guy is a joke. Shovlin is shovelling shit.
Get a grip mate. All he did was state fact the races are more predictable than last year (remember last year?) because Red Bull have got a dominant car now. Unless Verstapen brakes down he’s very likely to win, you can’t deny that is predictable
Red Bull don’t have a dominant car, Leclerc has had half of the pole positions so far on his own, so the car certainly isn’t way faster than its closest opponent. And just over half a season is hardly long enough to complain about dominance anyhow; certainly not from some miserable goon whose own team just enjoyed seven consecutive years of car dominance on a far greater scale than any team in history. Shovlin is in no position to be expressing negative views about predictability.