The new era of F1 rules for ground effect cars was intended to spice up racing and make the grid much closer.
However, despite an exciting start with little to separate Ferrari and Red Bull early on, Verstappen’s team progress in reducing the weight of their RB18 helped them pull away and dominate the second half of the season.
Verstappen was able to clinch the title at the Japanese Grand Prix, four races before the end of the campaign.
Although Red Bull clearly indicated a far less exciting scenario than in recent years, when the title battles all but ended, fan interest still seemed quite high.
Brown, in particular, believes the huge attention F1 still garnered indicated the 2022 regulations were a success in delivering good racing – even if the battle for victory was sometimes a foregone conclusion.
“It certainly looks like the race was better,” he said. “I think everyone was worried that the cars would look the same. They certainly don’t. There are a lot of different concepts.
“I think the new regulations still need to be refined, but I think we got it pretty well. And the racing has been very exciting this year.
“Given Max’s dominance it doesn’t feel like the season has been boring, although the results on paper you would think it would be boring. But I think all the races have been very exciting .
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown attends the press conference
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
One of the negative statistics of the season was the fact that the podium places were pretty much blocked off by the top three teams Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari.
It had been hoped that a combination of new rules restricting aerodynamic development and the cost cap would have leveled the playing field enough for more teams to be in the mix up front.
In the end, McLaren were the only team outside the top three to clinch a podium place in 2022, when Lando Norris finished third in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Brown said it’s encouraging for his team to have at least broken the deadlock once, but he knows they need to do more.
“[We had] a lot of learning. Lots of ups and downs,” he said. “Not as competitive as we were last year, but I think we’re a better racing team this year. We are operationally stronger.
“Our pit stops are better. We have our investments that are nearing completion. So I think we learned a lot. New regulations, and excited for next year.
