This year’s Formula 1 is set to return in the late hours of Friday, March 18th (Australian time). The 2022 season kicks off in Bahrain and will be the first opportunity for fans of the sport to see the new cars race side-by-side.
Thanks to some of the biggest regulation changes in years, this season’s F1 cars will not only be a test of who has the best technology, but also who has best understood the changes and responded accordingly to place their team at the front of the grid.
To get you excited for the new season, Formula 1 and the FIA has released a new opening title sequence featuring the new cars, new drivers but that same, familiar music track that excites the senses for the racing ahead.
McLaren has shared an on-board video from Australian Daniel Ricciardo’s 2022 car around the Bahrain GP, providing a great insight into what the driver can see from the cockpit.
What’s new this year?
If you don’t follow F1 closely, get ready because this year is the start of a new era for Formula 1. Every 5 or 6 years the spot goes through a reset, with new regulations that hopes to reshuffle the field and ensure the sport remains on the bleeding edge of technology.
One of the main objectives in the changes this year is adjustments to the aerodynamics that should allow cars to follow closer, which should also enable more passing. In previous seasons, drivers and teams complained about the inability of cars to pass, as the car in front used the air in a way that disturbed it as it exited the rear of the vehicle.
If you were slightly faster, you’d gain time on your opponent until you reached their rear wing, but often be unable to pass due to this issue.
In 2022, the cars moved to much larger, 18″ wheels, up from 13″ and these larger rims now feature wheel covers that also assist with aerodynamics, as will new wake control devices, new pieces of the bodywork that wrap up and over the top of the wheel.
The front wings have had end plates before, but gone is the team’s ability to dramatically alter these, replaced by ends that seamlessly bend upwards, further shaping the airflow as it travels over the car’s body. The front and rear wings are now deliberately shaped to produce less downforce, so the days of the cars being on rails may have come to an end, requiring much more fitness from the driver to achieve the best lap time.
While the engines are still 1.6L hybrids producing an insane amount of power, the fuel used to power them now moves to a more environmentally friendly E10 mix.
How to watch the F1 2022 season in Australia?
If you’re in Australia and a fan of Formula 1, then you really need to get Foxtel. This year, every race of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship will be broadcast in 4K which is excellent. For those with a new Foxtel iQ5 set-top box, you’ll be able to get this streaming over the internet, while others on satellite and iQ4s will also enjoy 4K quality.
If you happen to use their streaming service, Foxtel NOW, then it looks like you’ll be watching in HD unfortunately.
If you’re a subscriber to Kayo, they will also offer the 2022 Formula 1 championship along with a significant back catalogue.
The action kicks off tonight at 10:30pm with F1: Bahrain Practice 1, followed by Practice 2 at 1:45 am Saturday morning.
When is the Melbourne GP?
While the Formula 1 season used to kick off the season, unfortunately, the calendar was reset as a result of the changes during the Covid-19 global pandemic. This means the Heineken Australian Grand Prix Australia will now be held in Melbourne on April 08th – 10th, 2022.
