The cars will be tested for six days in Barcelona (February 23-25) and Bahrain (March 10-12) before the first race on March 20 in Bahrain.
Hare
The Haas Formula 1 team was the first to give an impression of the brand new car, on February 4. The VF-22 will be driven again this season by Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Haas hopes for a better season than last year. At that time, the car was not further developed at all, because the focus was already fully on 2022. The team did not finish in points all season. „It was a long season, but I am confident that in 2022 we will be back in the mix sitting with the VF-22,” said team principal Günther Steiner.
Sign up for the Formula 1 newsletter and don’t miss out on all the news about Max Verstappen next season.
Thanks to sponsor Uralkali, which was brought in through Mazepin, Haas will also drive in white, blue and red in 2022. Due to the new technical regulations, the cars will look different this year. For example, the front and rear wings have been significantly modified, the wheels are a lot bigger and in addition, E10 fuel is used for the first time.
With this car Max Verstappen is on the hunt for a new world title
Ⓒ Red Bull content pool
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing was the second team to show the new car to the world on Wednesday 9 February: the RB18. Team boss Christian Horner acknowledged that the car will soon look a lot different from the show model during the presentation, when Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez actually take to the track.
Team boss Christian Horner, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez at the unveiling of the new F1 car.
Ⓒ Red Bull content pool.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in the car and seeing how everything feels,” said Verstappen. “Much is still unknown about the car. It’s not that as a driver you step in, in a car that is only an upgrade compared to last year. That’s the biggest change. I’ve had plenty of time to recharge the battery and will make sure I’m physically ready.”
The presentation of the new Aston Martin
Ⓒ Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Contrary to the images at Haas and the ‘show model’ of Red Bull, Aston Martin unveiled the new car on Thursday 10 February as it should roughly look like. The green AMR22 – this year with yellow accents – will once again be driven by Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll this season. Aston Martin finished seventh in the Constructors’ World Championship last year with 77 points.
Vettel and Stroll
Ⓒ Aston Martin
“Hopefully we will do better than last year, when we have not developed the car further for at least three quarters of the season,” said Vettel. “We knew it was going to be tough then. It remains to be seen how fast we are with the new cars. At the moment everyone, in all teams, is still hopeful.”
Owner Lawrence Stroll’s England team, who speaks of a five-year plan, recently said goodbye to team boss Otmar Szafnauer. Mike Krack has been named as his successor. Krack has previously worked in the premier class on behalf of Sauber and BMW Sauber. Since 2014, he has been at the helm of BMW’s motorsport division.
McLaren
McLaren presented its car for the new season on Friday. Briton Lando Norris, who recently extended, and Australian Daniel Ricciardo will get behind the wheel of the McLaren MCL36 next season. That is the same duo as last season for the British stable, in which it achieved fourth place with 275 points thanks to, among other things, one victory by Ricciardo in Monza. The car seems to contain a little less blue on the sides, where there is now more room for black tones. That is somewhat offset on the rear wing.
“Our Formula 1 team continues to make great progress year after year,” said CEO Zak Brown. “This new era with new rules gives us a lot of perspective for the future. I can’t wait to see Lando and Daniel behind the wheel of the MCL36 and let them race. Lando has made great progress in 2021 with four podium finishes and Daniel’s win at Monza has reminded us of what it’s like to win.”
McLaren drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris.
Ⓒ ANP/HH
Norris himself says: “I grew up at McLaren and I am very happy that I have extended my contract here. I look forward to discovering together what we can achieve.” Ricciardo mainly hopes to discover the consequences of the rule changes. “The new cars will feel very different from before. I hope that the differences are smaller and that there will be more opportunities to participate in the front.”
McLaren not only presented its new car for Formula 1. The cars for 2022 were also shown for the IndyCar and Extreme E.
February 14: AlphaTauri
AlphaTauri takes the canvas off the new car, the AT03, on February 14. Also this year, Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda are the drivers of the sister team of Red Bull Racing. AlphaTauri finished sixth in the constructors’ standings last year. Gasly was on the podium once, in Azerbaijan (third).
February 15: Williams
The Williams Formula 1 team will present the new car on February 15. Team boss Jost Capito has one new driver at his disposal. Alex Albon replaces George Russell who left for Mercedes and joins Nicholas Latifi in the renowned top team. Albon previously drove alongside Max Verstappen for a year and a half for Red Bull Racing, for which he acted as test and reserve driver last year.
February 17: Ferrari
Ferrari will unveil the car for the new Formula 1 season to the general public on Thursday, February 17: the F1-75.
Ferrari finished third behind Mercedes and Red Bull in 2021 with 323.5 points. Spaniard Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc from Monaco are again behind the wheel of the red cars this year.
February 18: Mercedes
On February 18, it will be Mercedes’ turn to present their car, the W13, for the new season. Despite the fact that the German-British stable with Lewis Hamilton just failed to become world champion, the team did win the constructors’ title for the eighth time in a row last season.
There was a lot of talk about the situation around Lewis Hamilton, who kept quiet for a long time, but is now active on social media again. Mercedes has also already announced that the seven-time world champion will be present during the presentation of W13. George Russell is his new teammate.
February 21: Alpine
Two days before the first day of testing in Barcelona, Alpine unveils the A522. Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon are the drivers of the French team, just like last year. There are some changes in the organization. Executive Director Marcin Budkowski has left, as has advisor and non-executive chairman Alain Prost. The four-time world champion strongly criticized CEO Laurent Rossi.
February 27: Alfa Romeo
The official launch of the C42, Alfa Romeo’s new car, will not take place until after winter testing in Barcelona. At the Circuit de Catalunya, the racing stable will therefore compete with another livery to ride. Alfa Romeo uses two new drivers. Valtteri Bottas has come over from Mercedes and Guanyu Zhou has been promoted from Formula 2. Kimi Raikkönen has retired and there was no room for Antonio Giovinazzi.