All hands full: what do rally and F1 drivers do after the end of the season?

The 2021 World Rally Championship is over and after the Formula 1 season there is only controversy and heated discussions, which are likely to drag on for a long time. You may wonder, but Max Verstappen has no time to rest. F1 drivers as rally drivers have no time to relax. They are already preparing for the new season! However, programs are not filled with the same rush, but rather difficult.

F1 drivers- the task with 18-inch Pirelli tires.

The next time someone asks, “How much do drivers earn?,” just let someone see the schedule of a professional racer. Just a few days after the very noisy Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 ended, but preparations are in full swing. Mercedes F1 Team had younger Formula E champion Nyck de Vries try out the latest 18-inch tires in modified mule car at the Yas Marina Circuit before 2022. De Vries set a fastest lap time of 1: 23.194. While George Russell – current Mercedes driver for 2022 – is only 18th with a time of 1: 28.062. The youngest ever Formula 1 world champion, Max Verstappen, clocked 1: 28.013 and finished 17th. erstappen, by the way, set the fastest lap at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, by comparison: 1: 26.103.

F1 Abu Dhabi testing results:

You may be wondering why Williams drivers are resting while George Russell has got into the Mercedes. Although Williams will work even harder, the F1 team does not have a mule car. As planned, Pirelli 18-inch tires were supposed to make cars faster, but the teams expected new tires to slow F1 cars down by at least 2-3 seconds. Wednesday is the last day of testing in Abu Dhabi before Christmas and the New Year. The next step is the Formula 1 winter tests in February and March.

Provisional 2022 F1 test dates

WRC rally drivers – geared to the new era.

While F1 drivers try to understand what 18-inch Pirelli tires are and how to handle them, rally drivers have the more difficult task. Since 2022, the FIA World Rally Championship enters the new hybrid era. Rally1 cars are more specific and complete with many electric details. Not everyone can cope with such an aggregate. Toyota Gazoo rally driver Elfyn Evans and Hyundai WRT driver Thierry Neuville had an accident on the first day of testing and could not become friends with the new Rally1 car. Everyone of current rally drivers will have to pass the strength test, almost like taking an exam at your university – it’s not easy.

WRC 2021 champion Sebastien Ogier, who spent two days in the French Alps, has big plans despite the 2022 part-time schedule. He will also be competing in Rally Monte-Carlo. The biggest rally event, will take place from 20 to 23 January. The Frenchman did not hurry and looked around hard to complete the picture of the new car and how it will works in Monaco.

This new technology is, of course, a bit of a challenge for the teams and it’s going to be a challenge for the drivers – it’s different

Sebastien Ogier, eight time WRC campion

What are the drivers’ impressions?

Do you know what unites F1 drivers and rally drivers? Both say the same thing: “It’s different.” Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen is sure that the car behaves very … differently. Of course, there are clear definitions. Sebastien Ogier also says same about his experiences from the Rally 1 car. What does it all mean? For good reason, the brave ones started training right after the end of the racing season. F1 biofuel and new Pirelli tyres in Formula 1 2022, new hybrid Rally1 cars with sensors and other gadgets. Apparently, the transition to greener technology is not only a step forward, but also a long hard work by the drivers of the global racing series. Therefore, these guys do not have time to relax, on the contrary, because in each new case it is always the most difficult to start.