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Verstappen: New F1 cars more predictable following other cars

Jad Mallak

Verstappen: New cars more predictable following other cars

Max Verstappen gave further proof that the 2022 Formula 1 cars, saying they are more predictable when following other cars.

The reigning F1 World Champion was speaking on the final day of testing in Bahrain, where he went fastest of all in his upgraded Red Bull RB18, sending an early warning to his rivals.

The Dutchman spoke of the new cars, and gave his impressions about their ability to operate when following other cars in close proximity, which was the main reason behind conceiving them with the ground effect philosophy.

“I do think it is better,” Verstappen admitted. “It’s at least better than last year, when if you got behind someone, you suddenly got understeer or a lot of oversteer. It was uncontrollable.

New cars lose downforce when chasing, but remain predictable

“When I’m behind a car now, I do notice that I’m losing downforce, but that happens front and rear. So that makes it more predictable and controllable for drivers.

“It also depends on the balance of the car of course,” he added. “If you had a lot of understeer or oversteer last year, it was difficult to drive that car as well.

“Driving any car on the limit is difficult, so I think it’s pretty much the same,” the Red Bull ace maintained.

But the elephant in the room remains the heavy weight of the new cars, as they are slowly heading towards the 800kg-mark, prompting four-time F1 Champion Sebastian Vettel to joke that driving a city tour bus would be better practice than the simulator.

“That depends a bit on the circuits we go to,” was Verstappen’s response when asked if the 2022 cars are fun to drive.

“These cars are a lot slower in the slow corners because they are a lot heavier,” he explained. “On a track with a lot of slow corners, it will be less fun for us to drive.

“But if we go to circuits with a lot of fast corners, it really is a fun car to drive,” Verstappen concluded.

Verstappen and Red Bull will be back at this weekend in Bahrain, for the 2022 F1 season opener, where many questions about the new cars and the teams’ pecking order will be answered.