Lewis Hamilton fears raised by Mercedes over 2022 car 'landmines' - 'There's jeopardy'

Mercedes technical director James Allison has explained the challenges that lie ahead for Lewis Hamilton and co in the 2022 F1 season. All teams will need to adapt to a different set of regulations next year, with a new breed of F1 cars set to be introduced to the public when pre-season testing gets underway next month.

The new rules are designed to reduce the level of aerodynamic downforce on cars with the intention of reducing the effect of dirty air in attempt to have more competitive races.

Red Bull and Mercedes will be desperate to avoid rivals catching them up, with the widespread nature of the regulation changes potentially able to shake up the grid in 2022.

The regulations for the new campaign are set to significantly simplify the top-body aerodynamics.

That means less downforce from the firmly-regulated front and rear wings, which are tightly prescribed in order to eliminate the outwash aerodynamics that have made F1's turbulence problems worse over the past decade or so.

In order to enable better racing and remove the prospect of dirty air having an impact on overtaking, the aerodynamic phenomenon known as 'ground effect', will help to reduce the "catastrophic downforce loss".

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Each team is set to unveil their new car next month, with Mercedes' big reveal set for February 18.

While each team will be adjusting to the new regulations in different ways, Allison believes certain teams will be slightly off the mark.

"The ruleset is not only enormous - the regulations are about twice the size of what's preceded them - but they're all almost entirely different from what came before them," he said in a Mercedes preview