Ross Brawn, Formula One's technical director, said that the good track racing during the British GP proved the virtues of the new cars and that drivers are appreciating the changes
The British GP last Sunday (3) may have been marked by the serious accident of Guanyu Zhou, but it also generated memorable battles on the track. The Ferraris and the Red Bulls battled it out at the beginning and even had all four cars side by side, and the fight at the end between Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, and Charles Leclerc for the podium was one of the best of the year. For Ross Brawn, Formula 1's technical director, the fabulous race at Silverstone was a result of the changes in the new regulations introduced in 2022.
"We were treated to some fabulous racing. What pleased me was the precision that the drivers could have with the cars. We saw numerous fascinating battles that spanned multiple corners, with multiple position changes. We saw that the drivers were able to make different lines with these new cars, and that allowed two, three or even four cars to go almost side by side," Brawn told Formula One's official website.
"The quality of overtaking was also high. The drivers really had to work to gain a position, it wasn't simply a case of using DRS to fly by. We've seen some incredible battles this year, including wheel-to-wheel battles with several position changes for the lead between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia," recalled the Briton.
After a sequence of races without great emotions, the Silverstone GP highlighted the changes of the new regulation. The cars were able to follow their rivals ahead without losing performance, which made overtaking possible in several points of the circuit. In the manager's opinion, this shows that the category is on the right path for the future.
"The drivers are enjoying these cars and have been very positive. They all appreciated the change and the new possibility to approach other cars. Many of them have said that while it doesn't always lead to direct overtaking, the chance to stay behind and push to force a mistake is significantly better. I don't think there was a single driver who didn't recognize or get excited about it," Ross said.
"The frequency with which cars follow each other for consecutive laps and challenge each other for consecutive laps is much better this year than in previous years. This shows that the direction that Formula One and the FIA have taken is absolutely the right direction to go in, and the sport can look forward with renewed confidence that this approach is the one we need for the future. It always needs to be a significant factor in the design and modification of cars," the Formula One technical director stressed.
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A final positive point of Brawn's vision was the issue of the quiques. After a few races with complaints from drivers, most notably the Azerbaijan GP, in which Lewis Hamilton left with a lot of back pain, the teams apparently did not suffer from porpoising in England.
"It's great to see the teams and the sport as a whole resolving the porpoising issue. At Silverstone, we saw that the teams dealt with the phenomenon better, and together with the FIA they will continue to work to eliminate it completely," concluded the Briton.
The only concern was the breakage of the Zhou Antenna in the crash at the start, something that the FIA has already promised to investigate. Formula One returns this Sunday (10), for the Austrian Grand Prix, with full coverage by GRANDE PRÊMIO.