BEHIND THE SCENES
New rules offer no quick fix
History suggests we’ll have to wait beyond 2022 for better racing
New F1 rules change virtually everything but the powertrain
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Change is an ever-present force in motorsport, but I can’t recall a year that promises quite as much of it as 2022 does. Just look at the number of categories introducing dramatically overhauled rules packages, including Formula 1, WRC, WRX, Nascar, the BTCC and Australian Supercars. Add in the WEC and DTM in the second season with new cars and Indycar and Formula E beginning the final year for theirs and every top-level category is undergoing significant change.
The reasons for this unusual confluence are varied and in part because several changes were delayed due to Covid-19. But there was always going to be fundamental shifts, reflecting those in the world of road cars.
The electrification of the car industry has been a driving force for some changes (WRX is going electric, the BTCC and WRC are going hybrid), as is the need to cut costs (key to the new F1, Nascar and Supercars rules). And underpinning them all is a push to create better racing, both by reducing the gap between the front and back of the grid and by making cars that can race more closely.