From the 2022 Formula 1 season, all 20 drivers will have a completely free choice of tyres when starting a race – The old Q2 rule will be scrapped this year
It’s the end of a (small) era in Formula 1: From 2022, the ten fastest drivers from the second qualifying segment will no longer have to start the race on the tyres with which they set their fastest time in Q2. The corresponding rule has been removed from the regulations for 2022.
On Friday, the FIA published a new version of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations in which the corresponding paragraph was removed. Years ago, the FIA had already announced its intention to delete the rule, which had previously been part of the regulations since 2014.
Over the years, the rule had repeatedly caused displeasure among drivers and teams because it was often better for teams in the midfield to miss Q3 and have a free choice of tyres on Sunday than to qualify in ninth or tenth place and have to start on used tyres.
In addition, the rule too rarely created the hoped-for differences in strategy at the front, because the top drivers usually opted for the same tyre compounds in Q2. In addition, the rule was linked to the qualifying result and not to the actual starting position.
For example, if a driver qualified in the top 10 but received a grid penalty, he still had to start on the Q2 tyres, while drivers who subsequently slipped into the top 10 still had a free choice of tyres. After the rule was not applied to sprints in 2021, it has now been completely abolished.
From the 2022 season onwards, all 20 drivers will have a free choice of tyres at the start of the race, regardless of their qualifying result. This provides another tactical component, because the other teams will only find out immediately before the start of the race which tyres their competitors have chosen.