Eight times when F1 teams got new rules very wrong

In Formula 1 there’s always the hope that a regulatory reset provides chance for a team to vault up the order. But here are eight cases where the grand prix big hitters got it wrong, trading regular wins for dejection

Updated Feb 13, 2022, 5:17 PM

When a new era of Formula 1 rolls into view, it comes with the hope that a clean slate of the technical regulations will inspire a fierce, multi-team and driver battle for both championship titles that goes down to the wire. While it’s the reverse that’s more often the case, in that one team steals an early march to let its rivals play catch-up over the following years, at least the 2022 rules reset has been specifically established to generate a more competitive field.

Unlike in 2017 when Formula 1 set about to make the fastest-ever grand prix cars, this time around the intent since day dot has been to inspire machines that are close in lap time and to also totally reconfigure the way in which they generate downforce to boost the amount of overtaking.

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Author Matt Kew

Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.