Don’t miss it: All dates for the car presentations by Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and Co. with Vettel and Schumacher for the 2022 Formula 1 season!
The new look of Formula 1: In spring, the teams traditionally present their new Formula 1 cars before they are prepared for the season during the winter tests!
In this continuously updated overview, we not only name the dates for the individual presentations and first details about the race cars, but also offer an overall view of all Formula 1 launches in 2022 and the respective car designations.
Mercedes: If the 2021 Constructors’ Championship champion team stays true to its previous conventions, the next Formula 1 Mercedes will be called W13. This is because it will be the 13th car since the return as a works team in the 2010 season. Incidentally, the “W” stands for “car” within Mercedes. And: The new car of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell is to be a real Silver Arrow again for the first time since 2019 and no longer compete in black. It is not yet known when Mercedes will unveil the car.
Red Bull: In 2021 Red Bull had sent the RB16B to the grid as a further development of the RB16 from the 2020 season. So in 2022 the RB17 could have followed, but they decided on the RB18. “RB” of course stands for “Red Bull”, the number behind it counts the seasons since the energy drink company entered Formula 1. Traditionally, Red Bull colours its Formula 1 cars dark blue with red and yellow elements. New in 2022 is the starting number 1 for world champion Max Verstappen. Sergio Perez, as his teammate, will remain with the number 11. It is not known when the new Red Bull will be presented.
Ferrari: According to team boss Mattia Binotto, the new Formula 1 Ferrari is to be presented “between 16 and 18 February 2022”, i.e. in mid-February. The exact date has not yet been set. It is also unclear what the car will be called: The predecessors were SF21, SF1000, SF90 and SF71H. What is certain is that Ferrari will once again drive in its traditional red colour, albeit with a changed sponsor portfolio: “Mission Winnow” from the tobacco company Philip Morris will disappear, the Spanish bank Santander will return.
McLaren: It is not yet known when the new Formula 1 McLaren will be seen for the first time. In 2021, the McLaren racing car driven by Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo was known as the MCL35M, with the “M” standing for the then new drive partner Mercedes. The M will be dropped in 2022 and the car will be called MCL36. The new car is expected to return to the familiar Papaya colour scheme with lots of orange.
Alpine: In the first year under the new team name, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon drove the A521 model. The car name was a mix of past and present. In 2022, Alpine could follow this up with an “A522”, but this has not yet been confirmed. The presentation date of the vehicle is just as open. Presumably, Alpine will once again appear in metallic blue, including the French national colours blue, white and red as well as black.
AlphaTauri: The team’s two Formula 1 models to date have been AT01 and AT02. If AlphaTauri remains true to this line, Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda will drive the AT03 in 2022. It is not yet known when and where the new car will be officially presented. Most recently, the racing team showed itself in the colours dark blue and white.
Aston Martin: The presentation of the new Formula 1 car of Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll will take place on 10 February in Gaydon/England. The car will be called AMR22, after the AMR21 was used in 2021. Until now, the team had often noted the year in the car name. “AMR”, incidentally, stands for “Aston Martin Racing”, which last competed in metallic dark green, with pink accents.
Williams: The search is on for the successor to the FW43B. Will the historic vehicle name be retained after the death of team founder Frank Williams? Then there could be an FW44 in 2022. After all, “FW” stands for “Frank Williams”, but he had already given up his shares in the company in 2020. When and where the new car by Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi will be shown for the first time is not yet known.
Alfa Romeo: The C41 will probably be followed by the C40. Sounds strange, but it could really happen. Because the number 40 was actually reserved for the 2021 project, which was then postponed to 2022. By the way, the “C” in the car’s name stands for Christiane, the wife of team founder Peter Sauber. And at Alfa Romeo, many things are new in 2022, not only the car: Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou will compete for the team in Formula 1 for the first time. Only title sponsor Alfa Romeo will remain with the racing team from Hinwil in Switzerland. There is no date for the presentation of the car yet.
Haas: Since entering Formula 1, the US racing team has always named its cars after the respective year. So the VF-21 of 2021 should be followed by the VF-22 for 2022. “VF” actually means “Very First”, which of course was only really true in the premiere year of 2016, but was retained thereafter. The new Haas car of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Masepin is eagerly awaited, after all Haas 2021 has only developed for 2022. Details of the presentation, however, are not yet known. The colour scheme of title sponsor Uralkali with lots of white, blue and red is likely to remain.
The dates of the Formula 1 presentations in 2022:
10 February: Aston Martin – Gaydon (Great Britain)
Mid-February: Ferrari – TBA
still open: Mercedes
still open: Red Bull
still open: McLaren
still open: Alpine
still open: AlphaTauri
still open: Williams
still open: Alfa Romeo
still open: Haas
