F1 2022 car and livery launches: team reveal dates and times

Next launch: Alpine – February 21

Formula 1’s new era has well and truly begun. Most teams have launched their 2022 cars, and we’re only now waiting for our first glimpse of Alpine’s new-generation car on Monday until testing begins in earnest two days later.

Mercedes is the latest team to unveil its challenger, aiming to extend its run of eight consecutive constructors’ championships. It follows Ferrari, Williams, AlphaTauri, Aston Martin, McLaren and Haas who have all shown some version of this year’s car – either at the launch or during an on-track shakedown. Red Bull has remained more secretive for now, unveiling its new 2022 livery on a show car while running the real thing in a behind-closed-doors shakedown.

New technical regulations should bring even more intense competition after an incredible 2021 season, and the cars are looking strikingly different to last year. Every team will be hoping that their design department has discovered a brilliant interpretation of the rules that will will catapult them to the front of the grid, although they are clearly hiding any sensitive parts until testing begins later this month.

Will any team have found a silver bullet in the regs and can we expect closer racing? Here are all of the latest dates and times for all of the 2022 car launches ahead of the new Formula 1 season.

Click below to jump to a specific team

Team	Car	When and where
Mercedes	W13 E-Performance	February 18, Silverstone
Red Bull	RB18	Launched*
Ferrari	F1-75	Launched
McLaren	MCL36	Launched
Alpine	A522	February 21, TBC
AlphaTauri	AT03	Launched
Aston Martin	AMR22	Launched
Williams	FW44	Launched*
Alfa Romeo	C42	February 27, TBC
Haas	VF-22	Launched

*Livery reveal

Mercedes

2022 Mercedes W13

For the entirety of the turbo hybrid era, no team has been able to topple Mercedes from atop its perch as the best team in Formula 1. Constructors’ champions in 2021 for the eighth consecutive year, Mercedes is aiming to deliver yet another pace-setting car in the W13 E-Performance.

What was shown at the Silverstone launch looks to be a genuine version of the 2022 car, although any of the elements could change before racing starts, and even before next week’s winter test in Barcelona.

Launching a day after Ferrari’s F1-75, the Mercedes proved to be another striking interpretation of this year’s new set of regulations, featuring a sculpted, curved floor that merges into sizeable strakes ahead of the sidepods. Mercedes returns to its silver livery this year, after two years of its black colour scheme.

We last saw a Mercedes on track during the tumultuous closing moments of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and it was straight into a storm for the new car, with a Silverstone shakedown scheduled on the same day, at the height of Storm Eunice.

Mercedes has had the least amount of development time on the grid by virtue of the sliding scale that impacts the top teams and benefits those aiming to catch the pack. The world champions will have just 75% of its usual wind tunnel and CFD time at its disposal this season. The sliding scale moves up in 5% increments meaning rivals Red Bull will have had an extra 5% development time.

Will the shake up in regulations be able to dethrone Mercedes?

 

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Red Bull

Red Bull RB18

Red Bull claimed that it was unveiling the RB18, the car it hopes will help Max Verstappen defend his drivers’ crown and take the constructors’ from Mercedes.

However, in reality, the team had simply repainted F1’s show car, displayed last year to offer an indication of what the 2022 cars would look like. It means that nothing is known about the direction the design team has taken, and testing will be the first chance to see what the new car looks like.

We do know that the No1 will return to the Formula 1 grid for the first time since 2014 with the Verstappen invoking his right as world champion to run the number last used by Sebastian Vettel during his final year at Red Bull.

The new champion and his team will be hoping that this isn’t their last success together, as they look to build on the team’s first title since 2013 in the incredibly dramatic finale at Abu Dhabi.

Verstappen and Sergio Perez need another Adrian Newey special this season with the regulations switching emphasis back towards ground effect, but can the Milton Keynes team produce a car that finally topples Brackley’s hold on the sport?

2022 Red Bull RB18 livery

The only real news at Red Bull’s launch event was the signing of its new lead sponsor, Oracle, in a five-year deal worth a reputed $500m. its name appears in white on the sidepods, displacing last year’s red ‘Red Bull’ text.

Elsewhere, as expected, there’s no great livery revolution for a team for whom branding is everything. The chunky No1 is unmissable on the nose and the graphics appear cleaner than last year, with a solid yellow block on the nose, which previously had a black tip, and the charging bulls on the side sitting more naturally on the curved engine cover. Although, how well this works on the actual car is yet to be seen.

 

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Ferrari

2022 Ferrari F1-75

Ferrari’s 2022 car is a striking design, drawing comparisons to the stylish cars that it ran in the early 1990s. The long, low, tapering nose; narrow horizontal sidepod inlets; and a darker shade of red, help it stand out from its rivals.

The question is whether it can do the same on track.

The F1-75 is named in honour of the 75th anniversary of the first production car that left the factory, and has been three years in the making: the culmination of a change in direction for the team, following its private settlement in 2019 that pegged back its performance in the subsequent 2020 season.

As well as the new chassis, Ferrari has been working intensely on the power unit, with a new V6 due to be introduced in one final bid to bridge the gap to the top teams before an engine development freeze is introduced this year.

Whether it’s a car capable of allowing Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to fight for wins remains to be seen but if it isn’t, there could be casualties in the Ferrari leadership as a result.

 

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McLaren

McLaren MCL36

McLaren has shown off its new MCL36 at its HQ in Woking ahead of testing, along with a series of digital images, including the one above. The new car offers a good indication of the one it will race, but is missing several key features, with absent strakes ahead of the underbody air inlets, and a front wing that’s much smaller than expected.

The rear of the car was not shown at the launch, keeping the diffuser under wraps for now, but there are plenty of other design details which have been analysed by Kyle Forster in our McLaren MCL36 aerodynamic analysis.

2022 Aston Martin AMR22

Aston Martin’s car reveal was the first opportunity to see a 2022 Formula 1 car, with the launch event featuring a genuine new-spec design, even though some areas look likely to be developed further before testing.

In 2021, Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll struggled to be competitive in the carried-over Mercedes copy and were hit hardest by the regulation changes in the floor area.

2022 Williams FW44

Slowly but surely, Williams has found improvements to lift itself out of the F1 doldrums but there’s still some way to go in getting the great name back to the front.

It’ll be without star driver George Russell in 2022 following his promotion to Mercedes, but the returning Alex Albon will be hoping to pick up where his compatriot left off.

Taking to the track for the first time 😍

The FW44 is up and running for 2022! 💪 pic.twitter.com/h4ajQkOs3I

— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) February 15, 2022

He was on hand with team-mate Nicholas Latifi and team boss Jost Capito to unveil the new Williams F1 livery, featuring a new bluer colour scheme, which was applied to last year’s Formula 1 show car.

As a result, there are no design details to analyse and even the drivers struggled to comment. “”It’s blue… It looks like a fast racing car,” said Albon.

2022 Williams FW44 livery

Williams has gone all-in on its blue colour scheme for 2022, following the half-white, half-blue livery of last year.

The team says that the design retains shades of blue from race-winners in Williams’ celebrated past, while the diamond shapes over the engine cover are said to embody the team’s “exciting new era”.

There are highlights in electric blue and red, which is described as a nod to Williams’ “proud British” heritage.

New sponsor Duracell adds is logo to the rear of the nose section, and owner Dorilton Capital has its branding on the sidepods, but the car looks bare compared to many rivals with plenty of space, notably on the engine cover, for a title sponsor.

 

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Alfa Romeo

When: February 27

Where: TBC

Alfa Romeo is set to launch its new car and livery after the first three days of action with the 2022 cars the team has confirmed.  The C42 will be officially unveiled on February 27.

It has already carried out a shakedown, wrapped in a camouflaged colour scheme, which it will take to the first test.

As only team on the 2022 grid with an all-new driver line-up, Alfa Romeo heads into the new campaign on the back of a disappointing season last time out, falling behind Williams in the constructors’ standings.

The date you’ve been waiting for 📅 pic.twitter.com/PIjqLMUXhL

— Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN (@alfaromeoorlen) February 2, 2022

Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou will combine experience with youth and ideally drive the Hinwil team back to the mid pack unless it can go even better with the new car.

 

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Haas

2022 Haas VF-22

Haas was the first team to unveil its new car ahead of the new campaign. While the actual VF-22 won’t be exactly the same as the one it runs during testing and the 2022 season, and it was billed as a livery launch, it does provide a glimpse of what to expect this year, as it seems to be base on Haas’s own chassis.