New generation of F1 cars set to hit the track in Barcelona

Formula One will get a glimpse of what the season may look like when its new generation of cars hits the track in a test session in Barcelona on Wednesday.

It will be the first preseason session following one of the biggest regulation changes in the series, and the first time drivers and teams will get a real feel about what to expect in 2022.

F1 implemented major changes to improve racing and try to make the series more competitive, with new aerodynamic and tire requirements that will make the cars look and feel different from previous years. They will be sporting new rear and front wings, as well as bigger wheels, to allow drivers to race closer together and hopefully increase the number of overtakes.

The older cars used to lose downforce — and their ability to go through turns faster — the closer they got to the cars ahead. The changes were aimed at reducing that loss of downforce and give the trailing drivers more chances of overtaking.

“Every decision we have made has been towards not dumbing down the sport but making it more achievable for more of the teams and to get a closer competition going on for the future while still leaving it a meritocracy so the best teams still win,” F1 motorsport boss Ross Brawn said.

The last time F1 underwent drastic rule changes was in 2014, when the turbo-hybrid era started. In 2017, F1 had already introduced design changes that made cars wider and faster to try to make the series more exciting, though that didn't keep Mercedes and Red Bull from dominating.

“I honestly don’t think the regulations will change the general order of things dramatically,” Brawn said. “It will bring it a lot closer and I think we’ll see some of what were the mid-field teams challenging. I think we’ll have