F1 2022 pre-season Barcelona-Bahrain: tech analysis
Gallery and images about the new Ferrari – Mercedes – Red Bull [CAR UNVEIL]
F1 2022 – New technical analysis Ferrari – Mercedes – Red Bull
Haas F1 2022 revealed: real car revealed.
Haas have taken the covers off their new 2022 Formula 1 car, with the American-led team formally launching the VF-22 in the pit lane before the first day of pre-season testing.
While the new car has been previously seen through render images released weeks ago, as well as physically when the team held a shakedown on Monday, the launch serves as the first detailed look at the new 2022 car.
Mercedes 2022 livery images.
It won’t have escaped F1 fans’ attention that Mercedes’ W13 sees the team switch back to their traditional silver colours after two seasons of running a black livery – with Team Principal Toto Wolff explaining the decision behind the swap.
Mercedes have traditionally been known as the ‘Silver Arrows’, but moved to a black livery at the start of the delayed 2020 season, with Wolff commenting at the time that the move was designed to promote “respect and equality… [and] to show our commitment to greater diversity within our team and our sport”.
READ MORE: How Mercedes plan to regain F1 supremacy
But asked at the launch of the 2022-spec, silver-painted W13 about the revertion to the ‘classic’ Mercedes livery, Wolff replied: “The black livery was a clear [statement of] intent and a clear demonstration of our mission to become a more diverse and inclusive team. It has become part of our DNA, but the silver colour of the Silver Arrows is as much our DNA; it’s our history.”
Ferrari F1 2022. F1 75 the new F1 of Maranello.
After treating fans around the world to a special digital launch of their new 2022 F1 car, on Friday Ferrari took the F1-75 to their home circuit of Fiorano for its first track outing.
In foggy conditions, the Maranello-based squad completed a 15km demonstration run, with Charles Leclerc the first to drive the Scuderia’s 2022 challenger before handing it over to team mate Carlos Sainz.
READ: DOWNFORCE AND GROUND EFFECT EXPLAINED
Red Bull with RB18. F1 Reb bull to keep the title.
The new creature of Adrian Newey.
Red Bull’s RB18 was another car that caught eyes up and down the paddock as the drivers’ championship-winning team gave us a first real look at their 2022 car, Max Verstappen opening duties for the team – Sergio Perez set to take over on Thursday.
McLaren with a fresh livery, the MCL36.
McLaren has usually launched its new cars from the McLaren Technology Centre ahead of winter testing but is yet to confirm its intentions for the 2022 launch.
Alpha Tauri, the images of 2022 F1 car.
Yuki Tsunoda is ready to take the wheel of AlphaTauri’s AT03 and, after the squad revealed their 2022 challenger, the Japanese driver talked about how he’s reveling in the pressure of a second season in F1.
Tsunoda turned heads with his maiden F1 outing in Bahrain last year, taking points on debut, but faced a rocky run of races with four non-scores until Azerbaijan. He faced further point-less spells but capped off the season with a career-best P4 in Abu Dhabi – that experience setting him up for what could be a successful sophomore season alongside Pierre Gasly.
READ: DOWNFORCE AND GROUND EFFECT EXPLAINED
Aston Martin: the rebrand of Racing Point.
Aston Martin took to the track that 72 years ago hosted F1’s first ever World Championship event to complete a shakedown of the AMR22, built to 2022’s sweeping new technical rules after Formula 1 underwent arguably the biggest regulation overhaul in its history.
ANALYSIS: The intriguing design features on Aston Martin’s new AMR22
Check out the short video below, as the drivers guide the AMR22 – launched on Thursday at Aston Martin Lagonda’s Gaydon factory – around the track, as the team prepare for pre-season running to begin in earnest at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on February 23.
Williams, reborn for 2022?
It would be fair to say the 2021 campaign was a positively surprising one for Williams, the British team peeling themselves off the bottom of the pile and climbing above not one but two teams into eighth in the constructors’ championship. But they under no illusions about the job they still have ahead to recapture the glory days and become a World Championship-contending team once more.
But there’s a real sense of optimism once more among those dressed in navy blue this year, even if that was dampened slightly when the heavens opened at Silverstone on Tuesday as they prepared to send the FW44 out for its maiden spin, first in the hands of Nicholas Latifi, then his new team mate Alex Albon.
Alpine unveil blue and pink 2022 challenger, the A522.
Alpine have become the ninth Formula 1 team to launch their 2022 challenger – the A522 – with a live show from Paris.
Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo and Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi led the presentation with new Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer, who takes up the reigns of running the F1 operation having left rivals Aston Martin in January, making his first live appearance in Alpine colours.
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Alpine will run a striking new livery that is predominantly blue but features pink highlights in a nod to their new title sponsor BWT.
But on Monday night they also presented a ‘flipped’ livery with pink becoming the most prominent colour. This special design, which you can see in the gallery below, will be used in the first two races of the year – Bahrain and Saudi Arabia – before reverting.
Alfa Romeo run special livery for C42’s first public outing in Barcelona. Bottas-Zhou new line-up .
The Alfa Romeo C42 has made its first public outing after leaving the garage sporting a special testing livery on the first day of pre-season running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
An all-new driver pairing – Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu – will take the wheel of Alfa Romeo’s latest hardware over the season, but reserve driver Robert Kubica will turn the first laps on track in Barcelona during the opening morning.
LIVE COVERAGE: Day 1 of pre-season track running in Barcelona
Bottas will then step in for the afternoon, alternating duties with rookie Zhou for the next two days of running. The official livery for the C42 will however be unveiled after testing, on February 27, as the Hinwil-based squad have opted to run their new car in camouflage in Barcelona.
Alfa Romeo shook down their C42 at Fiorano last week, on the same day that Williams – who beat Alfa Romeo to P8 in 2021 – took their FW44 out on a damp Silverstone.
F1 2022 Aerodynamics differences between Teams
Comparison of Ferrari – Red Bull – Mercedes sidepod
At the Barcelona tests, for the first time, the new cars took to the track without hiding. All the teams have discovered the cards a little more by bringing the solutions to try on the track. In this place we want to make a comparison between Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes sidepod. The 3 top teams have in fact chosen to adopt very different solutions.
READ: DOWNFORCE AND GROUND EFFECT EXPLAINED
New Mercedes sidepods for Bahrain test
Lewis Hamilton has brought the W13 already renamed “without bellies” to the Sakhir track as it has a reduced sidepod area and is almost flat on the sides.
Waiting to understand what the real potential of this revolutionary car is (in the first outing the world times champion limited himself to testing brand new aerodynamic solutions without seven thrusts to the maximum the W13), the new innovative Mercedes, very far from the one seen in the first test in Barcelona, created the first real case in the Formula 1 paddock even before the World Championship started.
In fact, many have raised doubts about the regularity of the solutions adopted by the Brackley team (in particular on the bases on which the mirrors rest, which seem to be real wings that act as flow deviators prohibited by the F1 technical regulations) and already after the first laps of the first session of Sakhir’s pre-season tests came out of the statements attributed to the rivals of Red Bull that suggested an imminent legal battle on the new W13 to be brought in front of the FIA.
F1 2o22 – Ferrari F1-75 new bodywork
The Maranello team opted for wide sidepod, able to accommodate all the radiant masses. This solution also allows you to remove the dirty trail generated by the wheels trying to reproduce the effect of the bargeboards used until last season. The inlet vents are quite large and advanced as they must ensure the right supply of air to the radiators positioned in the bellies. The great work done by the Italian team has made it possible to lower the center of gravity of the car and to tighten the engine hood considerably (behind the airbox) to improve the flows to the rear. Seeing all the cars on the track today, none has a tapered bonnet like that of the red. The peculiarity of Ferrari, however, is certainly the channel obtained in the upper part of the belly. This excavation is able to generate a zone of local low pressure and accelerate the flow so that it arrives energized at the rear.
Everything was done in search of maximum aerodynamic efficiency which, according to rumors from Maranello, they estimate to be 7% lower than the solution with more traditional sidepod.
F1 2022 – Red Bull R18 interesting cooling system
Adrian Newey certainly did not disappoint expectations by inserting really interesting solutions int
o the new car.
To strike were above all the bellies and the entrance of the mouths for cooling. The latter are further behind than the competition and have a lower profile that clearly divides the flow destined for the radiant masses from that driven towards th e bottom of the car. The new born in the Red Bull house follows the Ferrari philosophy of wide sidepod to try to remove the turbulence generated by the front tires.
The similarities, however, end here, the RB18 in fact has a slide, instead of the “Ferrari excavation”, which guides the air flow to feed the rear in order to better interact the beam wing and the exit of the Venturi channels. It is interesting to note that the slide is very progressive, a detail that indicates how the radiators have been positioned practically horizontally.
The solution shown by Red Bull also seems to be “modular”, a feature that would allow the car to easily vary configuration depending on the track.
F1 2022 – Mercedes vs Red Bull
The 8-time world champion team opted for a totally different philosophy than the other two top teams. Mercedes in fact continues the line seen in recent years, with short and narrow bellies. The choice of the German team was to keep the radiant masses in the area of the power unit so that they could make the most of the potential of the bottom, which seemed to be very elaborate. The bonnet, on the other hand, seems to be more “standard” and less extreme than its competitors (Ferrari in the first place) but we will see if Mercedes will bring some news during the tests. Looking at the comparison from above between Mercedes and Red Bull, the differences are very evident. First of all, you can see how the Mercedes air intakes are much more advanced than the Red Bull ones but above all the difference on the bellies is clear. On red bull you can see the broad philosophy while Mercedes tries to free up as much space as possible for the bottom.
Venturi entry comparison: Who will have made the best choice?
The return of the ground effect has led to the return of the Venturi channels in F1: we see a comparison between the various teams. (We thank Twitter, and in particular @albertfabrega, for the many photos posted.) The input of the Venturi is essential to be able to channel as much air as possible under the bottom, thus increasing the downforce generated by the same. In addition to the front wing, used to better channel the flows, the initial comb areas are fundamental.
READ: DOWNFORCE AND GROUND EFFECT EXPLAINED
Among the 4 cars analyzed, Ferrari is the only one not to have bulkheads coming out of the canal itself. All the inner fins are hidden in the side view from the outer one. The other 3 teams show bulkheads coming out of the channel, useful to better direct the flows, but show different geometries. Alpine and Red Bull have a more square geometry that develops in opposite directions.
On red bull we see fins developing upwards, trying to capture as much air as possible. On the car French have adopted a similar but downward-facing geometry. Mercedes adopts a philosophy similar to the Alpine but adopts a more rounded profile.
