Ross Brawn has said the possibility is there that teams may be able to re-use their chassis from one season to the next under the sport's new regulations, something which hasn't occurred in Formula 1 for decades. F1 will introduce hugely different technical regulations for 2022, with cars being made to the ethos of a ground effect philosophy rather than the aero-dependent philosophy of the 2021 cars. Cars will be simpler, in a bid to lower costs and improve accessibility, more robust, and with the intention of far more re-usability between seasons. While the 2021 F1 cars re-used the 2020 chassis, this was mandatory under decisions made when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, rather than being a competitive choice made by the teams. Chassis carryover as a competitive choice has become very rare in the last two decades, with Ferrari's choices to use their successful 2002 car in the early races of 2003 and the F2004 in the early stages of 2005 being the most notable recent examples.
"Save them from themselves!"
But Brawn, Managing Director for F1, believes that chassis carryover may become more common once the new regulation cycle settles down in the coming years, and could be a very welcome respite for teams. "I think the teams will learn from this," Brawn told F1's Tech Talks when asked about the possibility of replicating the likes of the Lotus 72 era, which raced between 1970 and 1975 through constant evolutions. "I think, as Formula 1, we should look at whether we want to freeze fixed parts of the car. I don't think that's something we should do initially, because they've all got to find their feet with the new regulations. "Someone may well come out with some innovations, and they'll copy it, so let the new formula settle down for a year or two. "I think there's a real case for having two or three-year cycles for some of the major components and save them from themselves, because they've all discovered that actually focusing on the bits that really make a difference, the aerodynamics, some of the suspension changes... "They can work with the existing framework and, with the resources they have, particularly with the cost cap, which is limiting the resources, that they are best applied in other areas and not keep changing the monocoque every year."
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