Formula 1 teams are launching their new cars for the 2022 season, as a new era takes hold.
2022 sees F1 undergo a significant regulation change which has led to a completely new era of car design, meaning there is potential for the grid order to be shaken up and for backmarker teams to challenge further up the grid order. The new rules will require teams to have nailed the finer details of the transition in order to succeed.
The regulation change has been devised in order to increase the quality of racing in F1. The return of ground effect aerodynamics is designed to allow drivers to follow one another more closely and encourage more intense wheel-to-wheel racing, while a five-inch increase in the width of the Pirelli size is part of plan to allow drivers to push harder for longer.
In terms of universal visual changes, this year’s cars have small winglets covering the tops of the front tyres, the front and rear wings have been simplified, and intricate bargeboard designs have been outlawed.
Some teams, including Red Bull, have launched ‘showcar’ versions of their 2022 machinery so far, with the livery slapped onto a default vehicle designed to hide any ingenious aerodynamic developments teams may have designed over the winter.
The first pre-season test gets underway in Barcelona on 23 February, before the season begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sakhir International Circuit on the weekend of 18 March.
Mercedes W13
Head of Aerodynamics Mike Elliott insists only the steering wheel remains from last year’s car: “Only the steering wheel has carried over. We worked closely with the guys to get the tightness in the bodywork.
“The real work is under the skin. The biggest change is the aerodynamic rule changes. Changes in the flow features, producing the best car in the world. How you can get the performance we want. It takes a lot of group working.”
Red Bull RB18
Red Bull announced an enormous new sponsorship deal with American technology company Oracle at their launch event, in an agreement which is set to be worth $100m per season for five years. The Oracle logo is now emblazoned along the side of the RB18, which otherwise sports a very similar navy blue, red and yellow livery design.
The team will defend the drivers’ championship won by Max Verstappen in 2021, but gave very little away at their launch, merely showing off an F1 ‘showcar’ rather than the real challenger which will take to the track in testing.
“I’m really looking forward to driving out the pitlane and driving the first few laps,” Verstappen said. “For me the biggest thing is the view in the cockpit with these bigger tyres, it’s harder to hit an apex in the tight corners. That will make it a little bit more tricky.”
Ferrari F1-75
Under the stewardship of team principal Mattia Binotto, Ferrari have been focused development on their 2022 machine for a long time and some pundits believe they could enter the new campaign in a strong position.
The livery Ferrari are going with for 2022 is largely similar to the design from last time out, a predominantly red body being complimented by black colour blocks on the halo, rear wing and front wing. The logo of returning sponsor Santander, the Spanish bank which was associated with the team during Fernando Alonso’s spell as a driver, adorns both the front-wing endplates and the engine cover.
The sides of the engine cover also feature a series of cooling vents akin to the AMR22 revealed by Aston Martin last week.
McLaren MCL36
McLaren have made some alterations to their livery for the 2022 campaign based on the positive feedback the team received for the one-off Gulf-inspired livery they sported at Monaco last year.
The electric blue with accompanied last season’s papaya is out, and the lighter shade of blue from the Gulf design is in.
“For me the most important thing is that we keep this positive momentum up, that we keep making steps as a team,” said team principal Andreas Seidl. “We want to get back to fighting for race wins regularly and fighting for championships again in the future. But at the same time we know the reality that we still have some important building blocks like the wind tunnel and the infrastructure side to finish in the next two years.”
Alpine A522
Alpine will launch their F1 car for 2022 on 21 February.
Alpha Tauri AT03
The livery Alpha Tauri are going with for 2022 is largely similar to the design from last time out, with an upper white blue colour block topping a field of navy which drops towards the nose. The Italian flag is incorporated for the first time though on the tips of the front wing endplates, reflecting the Faenza-based squad’s heritage.
Driver Pierre Gasly scored a strong ninth-place in the drivers’ championship in 2021, and regularly challenged rivals in faster machinery in qualifying. Now the Frenchman is eager to see how the AT03 handles on track.
“This year sees a huge change to the car as, due to the new regulations, the look and design is completely different, so the team has had to start from a clean sheet of paper,” the 25-year-old said. “We won’t know the true performance of the AT03 until we get it out on track at pre-season testing in Barcelona but so far, I think it looks great and I am very excited to get this new season started.”
Aston Martin AMR22
The Aston Martin livery has undergone some significant alterations. The shade of racing green used for the majority of the body has been brightened slightly to increase visibility on track, while the dashes of pink have been removed after the team’s sponsorship agreement with Austrian water company BWT expired. In place of the pink is a high-vis lime green colour, which the team often runs in other racing categories.
The logo of Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco features prominently after they agreed a multi-year sponsorship deal with the team, with the rear wing seeing green fade into blue under the Aramco logo. On the technical side, one of the most interesting pieces of design on the AMR22 is the section of vents on the sidepods.
“It’s always a big effort [to build a new car],” four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel added. “It’s very difficult to know what to expect this year and impossible to point out where will be this season. We want to be better than last year, and for many reasons we should be. I hope the field will be closer together, that will give us more chances to race. We have to be a little bit more patient. The excitement is very high.”
Williams FW44
Williams have a new multi-year sponsorship deal with Duracell, and the battery manufacturer’s logo features prominently on the new FW44. Their new design features various shades of blue with a diamond pattern over the engine cover, with red accents meant to reflect the team’s “proud” British heritage.
British-Thai driver Alexander Albon is returning to the grid with Williams this season, after a year spent serving as Red Bull’s test and development driver.
“It feels like a year out and I’m itching to get going – it makes you hungry to get back in a seat,” the 25-year-old said. “The year out was actually a way to see things from a different perspective, in a way that is not purely focused on the driving side. This is a team that is really on a climb and hopefully we will be able to use what I know to help it on its way.”
Alfa Romeo C22
Alpha Romeo will launch their new F1 car for 2022 on 27 February.
Haas VF22
Haas became the first time to reveal their 2022 challenger when they released renders of their VF22.
The livery features the same Russian-flag design as 2021, reflecting the financial backing brought to the team by driver Nikita Mazepin and his oligarch father Dmitry’s fertiliser company and title sponsor Ural Kali. The team is hoping for a big improvement this season after a year without scoring any points in 2021.
Team principal Guenther Steiner said: “We all know what the team is capable of, we’ve proved that in the past, and with this new car – born out of a completely new set of regulations and with our new design team in place – I’m confident we can showcase once again that we can compete on weekends.”
