Magazine: The new rules pitfalls F1 teams should watch for

Everyone has been talking about the opportunity the 2022 F1 regulations provide for teams to jump up the order. But this week we look at the pitfalls that could catch people out.

As Mercedes’ James Allison and Ferrari’s Laurent Mekies point out, the fresh regulations represent one of the biggest changes in F1 history and there are bound to be plenty of ways to get them wrong.

Alex Kalinauckas runs through some of the dangers, including the fact that the budget and development restrictions mean finding a way back to the front if you do go down the wrong path could be tricky.

Most of the big grand prix teams (there are a couple conspicuous by their absence from our list) have failed to negotiate a rule change at least once and Matt Kew takes a look at some of the worst.

Many aspiring single-seater aces have support from F1 teams but Gregoire Saucy doesn’t. He beat all the F1 juniors in last year’s Formula Regional European Championship and will attempt to do so again in 2022 in FIA F3. Haydn Cobb talks to Saucy about his recent rise and the Swiss driver’s hopes for the future.

After more than two years away, the Autosport Awards returned as a live event last Sunday. The overwhelming feeling was that it was great for many of motorsport’s leading figures to be back together again after such a challenging period.

We hear from the big winners you voted for, plus Zak O’Sullivan, who scooped the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, mere days after confirming deals with Williams and Carlin!

At the other end of the scale, the Citroen 2CV offers one of the cheapest ways of going motor racing. It might not be an obvious competition machine but we outline how to build a 2CV racer and why it can provide plenty of fun in our 11-page UK National section.

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