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Driver's Eye: Nico on early 2022 car impressions

Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team Reserve and Development Driver Nico Hülkenberg believes the all-new 2022 F1 cars will be more challenging to drive than the previous generation.

The new machinery is a result of F1's biggest technical revolution in decades with the headline results including the return of ground effect, a simpler and sleeker aero package and bigger, more road-relevant tyres.

Writing on his official LinkedIn page in the first of the Hulk Reports, Nico shares his initial feedback from simulating the 2022 package.

While Nico believes the full suite of 2022 car changes are enough to fill a book, he says: "They are aimed to be a bit slower, more challenging to drive and have more of a focus on drivers making the difference, rather than having the car performance and aerodynamics dominate.

"But from my initial experience, the new cars are pretty damn fast and not necessarily slower than the last generation.

"The driving experience hasn’t changed that much either, at least in the simulator.

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"It will be interesting to see whether these cars can better follow the car in front. In the simulator, the cornering speeds are extremely high, so the risk of dirty air is still there.

"It's difficult to imagine that comfortably following another car at these speeds will be easy, but perhaps we'll be surprised!

"The real proof will be once pre-season testing starts, where drivers and teams will find out how these cars truly behave on track."

Adding that the car looks futuristic, Nico explains that the increased 18-inch tyre provided by Pirelli will not impact driver visibility.

"These larger [18-inch] tyres make no difference to the driver's visibility," he said. "The driver will just see more rim instead of the tyre wall, just as they did in the past."

Be sure to follow Nico Hülkenberg on LinkedIn for more of his insight into the world of Formula One.