How the new F1 cars look from the Barcelona trackside

Lando Norris has an accolade that no one can take away – he was first out of the pits to complete the first official testing lap in the 2022 generation of Formula 1 cars. At 9am precisely at the Barcelona track, the McLaren driver led Mercedes’ George Russell out onto the 2.9-mile track under blue, clear skies.

That will of course count for absolutely nothing. And it remains notable because this test – and to be clear, it absolutely is one, despite being labelled a ‘shakedown’ by F1 – is the first time the new machines can be properly studied on-track by outside observers. The restrictions on running for shakedowns and filming days don’t apply – it’s just the public that has been shut out. With no rolling TV coverage as was previously the case until the second test in Bahrain next month, this event was billed as the chance for teams to iron out early, and potentially embarrassing, niggles away from extra prying eyes – beyond those of the assembled and privileged media.

As Autosport wanders down the access road running parallel to the track’s long main straight a short while after the morning session had begun, we ponder how without the fans the vibe feels identical to the early races of the COVID-19 pandemic era in the summer of 2020. Then, F1 figures observed how bizarre it felt to have racing taking place in a static and sanitised environment – missing the fizzing human energy fans bring. “It feels just like a test”, was the common refrain. Except, with no fans present at Barcelona this week, we note how wrong that assessment in fact was.

Public pre-season testing is never a busy affair compared to grand prix weekends. It’s always a smattering of supporters – and at Barcelona this increases in the later afternoon as people who have worked earlier in the day nip out to Montmelo from the city centre. While those few naturally don’t see a sporting spectacle, they can marvel at F1 machinery being tested to the maximum – at reasonable prices compared to the races.

But this year they are denied that at Barcelona. And the logic behind it – that F1 might face a situation as it did in 2014, when few cars completed more than a handful of laps in the opening four hours of running at Jerez – appears to off. All morning we spend trackside not one car breaks down and just a few are confined to their garages for long periods. There aren’t even any of the crashes some feared would accompany the move back to ground effect and the unpredictable handling snaps this can bring.

It's a long walk to Turn 1 – hence all the pondering. But we’re here now and pleased to be back so close to cars on track. The 2021 season finale feels like a long time ago, but we’ve made it our first job of this test to report exactly how F1’s new era visually stacks up against the last. But our first key takeaway is brought from our ears, not our eyes.

As Charles Leclerc shoots by in the Ferrari SF-75, we realise that the car sounds different. With bigger and additional bodywork for 2022 compared to the ultra-high-downforce cars of the previous era, there’s just more carbonfibre hitting the air. This creates a satisfying ‘swasshhhhing’ sound that wasn’t there before. Thanks to the quieter V8 engine sound (not that this is 2014 all over again!) you can hear the air noise crescendoing before the braking zone.

Leclerc was pushing hard from the off in aesthetically-pleasing new Ferrari F1-75

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Speaking of which, as Russell follows Leclerc through a few moments later, we spot that this is starting at the same spot compared to where the cars were braking for last year’s Spanish Grand Prix – just as the long pitlane exit lines finally stop, 50m before the corner. It had been thought that the switch to the new cars would create bigger braking zones, which in turn would aid overtaking – a key aim of the regulations.

The similar braking zone length would suggest that overtaking here in the upcoming Barcelona race won’t be improved – but then the braking phase is just a part of the package F1 has created. If the changes to airflow mean the cars can follow closer all the way around the lap and therefore start the main straight closer before picking up a tow, we suppose an unchanged braking zone might not matter. All will be revealed come May...

Verstappen is just pounding around while we survey Turn 3 – completing lap after lap and looking very unruffled. But here we hear a second unexpected audio clue for our outing. It’s that the Red Bull’s engine is running at a significantly quieter level to the rest

We’re treated to spot of preview ‘racing’ at Turn 1, as at one stage mid-morning, Nicholas Latifi (Williams), Nikita Mazepin in the Haas and Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen come through as a pack. The new aero profiles are aggressive when viewed together and we spot Verstappen nipping by the Haas as they exit the Turn 2 left before chasing on after Latifi. It’s briefly thrilling, but it should be also noted that Mazepin had shipped over 10-seconds to Verstappen by the time they next came through, suggesting the Russian was on a cooldown lap anyway.

After noting that the cars are sweeping through the track’s opening complex as nimbly as they did in 2020 – pivoting rapidly from right to left to keep the speed higher overall – we set off further around the opening sector.

Barcelona’s Turn 3 is regularly cited as one of the key reasons why the teams want to test here. It is a very long, flowing right-hander, which tests aerodynamic efficiency like few other places. But where in years gone by some cars and drivers were barely hanging on as the left front was put under severe strain, now it appears to be little challenge at all. The drivers turn in to start the corner with a searingly violent sweep – the corner starts fast and just gets faster. Every car is flat out throughout and then upshifts immediately on the exit. It’s less exciting as a visual experience, but it is impressive.

After spotting Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri sparking from its left rear as he exits Turn 3, we suspect the drivers will be under greater pressure here with full tanks at the start of the Spanish race, or if the wind ever builds up to the point of penetrating the trees that line the outside of the course at this point.

AlphaTauri at Turn 3 - not as great a challenge as before

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Verstappen is just pounding around while we survey Turn 3 – completing lap after lap and looking very unruffled. But here we hear a second unexpected audio clue for our outing. It’s that the Red Bull’s engine is running at a significantly quieter level to the rest. Even compared to Tsunoda its low, which suggests the engine mode isn’t turned to the maximum. There’s no way we can know for sure, of course, but for comparison the Williams and McLarens sound louder than Russell’s works Mercedes, while the Ferrari is positively screaming.

We continue ambling as the final hour approaches. The sun is now beating down and it’s sweltering away from the shade. Turn 4 is next up, after the cars complete the short straight to the long right-hander.

Here, we’re treated to a visual demonstration of just how different the new rules have made F1 cars. As we noted at Turns 1 and 2 earlier, plus the Turn 3 turn-in – ground effect cars will be faster in the higher speed stuff compared to what came before. Then in the slower corners, they will be correspondingly slower.

Turn 4 demonstrates this handily. The cars are much more of a handful here – and, overall, they look much closer to the Formula 2 machinery the F1 feeder series has run since 2017 (it’s the wider noses that do most of the work, but the updated F1 cars are just reaching more lower speeds here now).

The Alpine looks the most difficult to drive during our stay behind the Turn 4 entry point, still on the outside of the track. Fernando Alonso is hustling the A522 though both parts of that make up the double turn-in corner. One lap he slides wide luridly, then on another he’s having to correct the car both times he turns the wheel.

Once we wander further around, we see that this means the Alpine is hesitant going through the first part in a way its rivals is not. The AlphaTauri is now planted, but Tsunoda is still having to calm a wiggle on the exit - oversteer picking up as the power comes down. The Mercedes and Red Bull cars are very stable and consistent. And like we did on some many occasions in 2020 and 2021, we marvel at just how quickly these machines can rotate their front ends on turn-in.

With the lunchbreak approaching, we move slightly downhill to conclude our initial wanderings, which means we’re now on the inside of the track for the deceptively tricky Turn 5 left-hander.

Verstappen was inconsistent in the Turn 5 left-hander, frequently locking up

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Stood by what appears to be a Codemasters employee recording the sounds produced by the new cars, we watch how Verstappen is struggling here. On several occasions he locks up his left-front and slides slightly wide. When he gets it right the RB18 is stunningly fast, without the hesitant throttle pick of some rivals, not including the Mercedes and Ferrari cars. It’s just that Verstappen is one of the most inconsistent through this corner, which continues downhill through the Turn 6 kink.

But Verstappen isn’t alone in locking up here – as the times get faster with the final minutes of the opening session remaining, Latifi, Alonso and Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin are torturing tyres at this particular spot.

Now for some space/time wrangling, as we present our observations from the Turns 7/8 complex that takes the track back up hill towards Campsa. We actually arrived here first thanks to the way the track’s outside access road begins infield by the pit exit – before deviating through a tunnel to reach the left-hand approach to the Turn 1 right.

F1 2022 is therefore radically different to what came before, but also reassuringly similar. And that’s quite remarkable considering the wholesale rule changes that have been implemented

What catches our eye most is Leclerc’s aggression lap after lap – he’s pushing on, despite it being early in the morning. The Ferrari therefore runs out wider from Turn 7 to hit the kerbs hard through Turn 8, but overall he and the rest are leaning very heavily and not looking as nimble as we’d expected.

Our time spent in the sun leaves us with a few thoughts on the liveries the field is running this year.

Red Bull’s traditional colours look menacing and aggressive when flashing by at speed, but what’s intriguing is how well the arrangement hides the bodywork secrets. Still pictures will of course reveal all, but compared to Mercedes’ returned silver colour scheme, this naturally looks more open and honest. In fact, we’re struck how simplistic the W13 currently appears compared to the Red Bull.

Alfa’s testing livery is only out very briefly and on few occasions, but we’re surprised by how bulky the C42 looks. McLaren and Williams are the teams that use the most fluorescent flow-vis paint during the morning – with the former initially coating the top of its rear floor green before removing that and spraying the MCL36’s rear wing. Williams loads up large parts of the rear of the FW44, but by the end there’s so much on the front wing it looks almost muddy to the naked eye.

Williams wasn't exactly sparing with the flow-vis paint

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

The Aston’s colours are as stunning in real life and at pace as they were when the AMR22 was launched, but it does have a tendency to blend more into the greenery surrounding the track. Not so with the Ferrari, which is still, to our mind, the pick of the bunch in the beauty stakes.

On the new aero parts that don’t concern ground effect, we’re struck by how some cars really make the returning wheel covers pop. This is particularly nicely striking on the Alpine, McLaren and Red Bull – which will likely confuse observers all year long with red circled wheel covers looking deceptively like an ever-present set of softs.

The bigger rear wings and engine cover bumps strike the eye slightly later than we’re expecting – these are still F1 cars after all – but even on individual cars these standout differently. The intricacy of Haas’s VF-22 is revealed most notably here with its small, detached shark-fin like engine cover device, while the rear of the Alfa stands out as very bulky – despite the camouflage livery it is bedecked in for this event only.

F1 2022 is therefore radically different to what came before, but also reassuringly similar. And that’s quite remarkable considering the wholesale rule changes that have been implemented. But car beauty and variation are secondary factors for the aims behind these rules. The results on better racing will be seen tantalisingly soon.

Intricacy of the new Haas VF-22 is already apparent, although beauty prizes mean little at the moment

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images