Formula 1: 3 rule changes to introduce with the 2022 car

Rule change #2: Give teams free choice of tire compounds

Under current regulations, Pirelli make three of their five dry compounds available to teams each weekend, but they are responsible for choosing which three. Everyone gets the same array of eight sets of Pirelli’s softest choice, two of the hardest, and three of the compound in between.

The FIA also allots three sets of wet weather tires and four sets of intermediate tires to each driver, regardless of weather conditions or forecasting. I suppose to a certain degree it levels things out a bit, but this policy takes a complex potential strategic decision out of the hands of the teams.

Imagine if each team had to choose sets of tires to use for the weekend from all seven available compounds, using their prior knowledge of and experience on each track, in concert with any weather forecasting systems they are able to utilize or develop. This would take some of the outcome for race weekends out of the hands of Pirelli and return it to the competing teams.

Team principals could take the conservative approach of bringing a couple sets of each dry compound and a fistful of wet and intermediate sets into each weekend, or those with more confidence in their engineers and/or drivers could opt for a smaller selection.

It would allow for a myriad of tire strategy options instead of two or three for each race, and it should be accompanied by the elimination of the rule which states that teams must start the race on their fastest set from Q2.

Replace it with one that makes them use their brains and computers instead. The Formula 1 rulebook and choice of venues makes it clear that freedom, in its various forms, isn’t a priority for the FIA, but granting some to teams here would make for more strategy-dependent races.