Alonso explains why F1 cars after 2022 are intractable ‘puzzles’ for drivers

The current framework of Formula 1 technical regulations, which started in 2022, completely changed not only the design philosophy of the cars, but also the way they should be driven.

Drawing on the ground effect design philosophy from the 1970s-80s, the cars of the last three seasons generate most of their lift from the air channels that run through their floor.

This has brought about many and important effects on their design, and mainly on the general philosophy of the suspension and the height of the floor from the ground. And it has also had corresponding effects on driving and tire management.

This is why we often see even the top F1 drivers lose their competitiveness from one moment to the next, or suddenly become much faster – like Fernando Alonso at the Azerbaijan GP.

“Baku it is a very good one example”, said the Spaniard. “I was 15th in the Q1, after Lando’s problem. If it wasn’t for that I would have been banned from Q1 and I would start from 16th place.

Seven minutes later, I put on another set of tires, and wrote 5th time in Q2. I improved by 1.1 seconds. I drove the same way. Brakes at the same points. I did the same preparation for that lap as well, but I was able to improve by 1.1 seconds.

And some of us did the opposite: they were very quick to Q1 and very slow at Q2, and sometimes we don’t find explanations why we are fast and why we are slow”added the Aston Martin F1 driver.

The 43-year-old added that the cars of the last three years can especially confuse the driver, when he drives them to their absolute limit: “These cars are not easy to drive, but I think the problem is that it is not easy to get 100% of their performance.

So if you drive at 90% you are sometimes faster because you don’t put the platform (of the car) at an inappropriate angle or height from the ground. You don’t push to the limit, where everything starts to fall apart. So sometimes driving at 90% is pretty fast.

If you go into the details, with the countless sensors we have in the car we can detect the small differences when the car is slow.

That’s why sometimes in the races, since we all drive at 90%, we have to pay attention to the tires, the fuel economy, all that. This is also why we don’t see so many problems or so many safety vehicles or accidents.

Cars are more ‘happy’ when you drive at this speed. This goes against the driver’s instincts a bit, which tells him to put on a fresh set of tyres, get into qualifying and drive at 110% if he can. But with these cars, that’s something you sometimes have to manage.”concluded Fernando Alonso.

And his words partly explain why the safety car has not appeared once in the last 9 GPs (from the Spanish GP in June, until today). Even in Singapore, this year for the first time in the history of the race, Bird Melander, driver of the safety car, was not called into action.