| The most important Formula 1 test in decades begins in Barcelona on Wednesday, as the sport takes a big leap into the unknown with its all-new, 2022-spec cars. The radical changes mean a return to ground effect in the cars’ design for the first time since 1983. The idea behind the switch in ethos is that the ‘dirty air’ that the leading car creates will be dispersed much higher, allowing the following car’s aerodynamics to be far less disturbed so they can run closer together. However, the last time we had ground effect in F1, the cars were required to be super-stiff and handled like they were on rails – corner speeds went through the roof and the racing kinda sucked. Hopefully, that won’t be the case, and the boffins have got their sums right! We’ve seen all the cars now and I’ve been really impressed with how they look. But it’s how they go that really counts. Follow the testing with us every step of the way, reporting live from trackside. By: Charles Bradley, Global Editor in Chief
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