The F1 engineer-driver reunion that could cause a surprise in 2022 

The unpredictability of new rules adds relish as we build up to the new season. Thirteen years ago, the Brawn GP team created an aerodynamic masterpiece under revised regulations. Having finished ninth in the constructors’ championship in 2008 as Honda, the re-jigged outfit with off-the-shelf Mercedes power took Jenson Button to his only world title, while Ross Brawn’s crew completed their journey from misery to ecstasy, carrying off the constructors’ trophy too.

McLaren and Ferrari had dominated the previous two seasons, but both suffered. Separated by just a single point at the end of the year, adding their scores together didn’t even match the points accrued by another surprise outfit at that time: Red Bull.

Chief technical officer Adrian Newey had to dig deep once the FIA eventually determined the double diffuser aero trick pioneered by Brawn, Toyota and Williams was legal, but Newey’s inherent design of the RB5 was superb without it. Once updated to the latest theme, it allowed Sebastian Vettel to put real pressure on Button.

Will Mercedes and Red Bull experience a McLaren/Ferrari dip in 2022? It seems unlikely – and perhaps even less likely the backmarker teams of last year, Haas or Alfa Romeo, can match that Honda/Brawn turnaround.

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But there are other teams that could suddenly become major contenders for the championship and, although some teams have been afflicted by reliability struggles in testing that won't aid their cause, we won’t know for sure until qualifying commences in Bahrain next week whether the themes appearing during testing have any tangible meaning.

McLaren and Alpine both won a race last year and have high ambitions under the revised rules. There is a steely yet calm sense to McLaren; personnel such as team principal Andreas Seidl and technical boss James Key have been in place for over two years now and have been a key part of planning for this new era.

McLaren has been building ground nicely, but endured a difficult test in Bahrain

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Andrea Stella, who focuses on trackside performance, has lived through many ups and downs at both Ferrari and McLaren. The relationships in senior management seem strong and productive – delivering particularly well to Lando Norris and striving to do so for Daniel Ricciardo - whose positive COVID-19 diagnosis forced him out of the Bahrain test.

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I feel McLaren is well placed - although it urgently needs to resolve the persistent brake problems that hampered the first two days of its Bahrain test. But who knows if the designers have come up with the right ideas?

Alpine is a more moveable feast, as we saw over Christmas and New Year with executive director Marcin Budkowski and Alain Prost both taking an exit. A new power unit is being introduced, and there have been some concerns about reliability.

Krack has worked with Sebastian Vettel before; it makes me wonder if a refreshed relationship with his former engineer, plus a technical shift which will reintroduce controlled amounts of ground effect aerodynamics to F1 cars, will create additional positive vibes for Vettel

The reset of the Alpine brand by Renault’s CEO Luca de Meo and his decision to employ Laurent Rossi as the front man at the beginning of 2021 has clearly created a very different mindset, and I wonder if that disruption is going to give it the solid base needed. De Meo initiated a new focus for the Renault Group in January 2021 called ‘La nouvelle Vague’ (The new wave) and it’s feeling a bit like that for the team at the moment. Taking on Otmar Szafnauer may settle the scene, but it could take time...

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There have been significant leadership changes at Aston Martin too. Szafnauer has gone and his role is now effectively split between Martin Whitmarsh (who oversaw McLaren’s success and then tough patch in the late 2000s) and Mike Krack.

It was during Brawn’s successful 2009 season that Krack left his position as chief race engineer at the BMW Sauber F1 team, a year in which the organisation disintegrated after a strong 2007 and first victory in 2008. Changes to technical management, internal politics, a misstep on KERS, the financial crash, as well as missing out on the double diffuser, had a multiple hit on the team and BMW exited from F1.

Krack has since built his reputation at Porsche, working alongside Seidl, and then back at BMW overseeing other forms of motorsport. Now he is team principal in a group growing with intent and demand from owner Lawrence Stroll.

New Aston team principal Krack worked with Vettel back in 2007

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Last season was a real downer; having followed the Mercedes design path to create a winning car in 2020, Aston was hit by the subtle regulation changes which also hurt Mercedes in 2021. Deciding not to chase that loss for too long and switching to the new car design as quickly as possible could give Aston a useful boost, although testing hasn't gone entirely smoothly so far.

And Krack has worked with Sebastian Vettel before; in those BMW Sauber days when Vettel was taken on as reserve, and went on to become the youngest points scorer at that time (before Max Verstappen shattered the record in 2015). Vettel stood in for Robert Kubica at Indianapolis in 2007 and brought the car home eighth. It makes me wonder if a refreshed relationship with his former engineer who is now running day-to-day aspects of the team, plus a technical shift which will reintroduce controlled amounts of ground effect aerodynamics to F1 cars, will create additional positive vibes for Vettel.

It would be fitting - and entertaining - if Aston Martin leaps forward and Vettel becomes a regular frontrunner again during another period of major rule changes. If not, there’s also the anticipation of Dan Fallows joining as technical director in April, having been instrumental in Red Bull’s approach to these new aerodynamic regulations. There’s no doubt Stroll is taking a maximum attack approach towards Aston’s F1 challenge.

Could being reunited with Krack bring the best out of Vettel and elevate Aston Martin to fresh heights?

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