Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey has reiterated his frustration with Formula 1’s brand new car design for 2022.
The new regulations were meant to be introduced this season but were pushed back by a year due to the financial impact of Covid-19.
At the heart of the overhaul is an effort to promote closer racing with cars less impacted by turbulent air, while limits on development are also aimed at keeping the grid more competitive.
But Newey, who has designed F1 championship-winning cars for three different teams in his career, is underwhelmed by the end product.
“I just think it’s so unfortunate and a missed opportunity,” he told Dutch magazine Formule 1. “If you come up with a completely new regulation, make sure it’s okay but these rules just aren’t.”
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This isn’t the first time Newey has criticised the new cars either after he described them more like ‘GP1’ last year, referencing how teams in F2 and F3 (formerly GP2 and GP3) use identical machinery.
And that pessimism will no doubt worry Red Bull, who haven’t had the same aerodynamic prowess since Newey diversified by attention into other projects in sailing and with Aston Martin.
Although, the Briton insists F1 remains of great interest to him.
“Yes, although I have to admit I still have to find something to make these rules exciting for myself,” he added. “I just don’t think this is a good new regulation.”