Haas F1 Team have been the first F1 team to unveil their Formula 1 single-seater for the revolutionary 2022 season this Friday. The stringent regulations of the new era simplify the design of the cars in an attempt to facilitate overtaking and increase competitiveness. 

It is partly because of this that the launch of the VF-22 had aroused much expectation, despite the fact that the American team finished last in 2021. The team from Banbury, contrary to their tradition of only revealing their car minutes before the start of the pre-season tests at the Circuit de Barcelona, have unveiled their new baby way ahead of the winter tests on February 23. Haass is therefore the first Scuderia to reveal their all-new 2022 challenger. 

The scenery chosen for the occasion has also changed. The Spanish racetrack has been replaced by social networks, where a series of digital recreations have been published. The car has actually not been shown ‘in the flesh’, presumably so the team can keep some cards up their sleeve. 

The seventh Haas F1 car is also the first one being designed at the technical department in Maranello and not in Haas headquarters in Kannapolis. Simone Resta, the Italian engineer who worked for almost two decades at La Scuderia, was sent to Italy to create the VF-22, evidencing the support that Haas is receiving from the team of the Prancing Horse.  

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A simpler and more slender vehicle  

The images offer a good glimpse into the car’s essential characteristics, despite the fact that their rendering intentionally hides some of the most sensitive technical aspects. These new features include a very simplified front wing, a revolutionary rear wing, the 18-inch Pirelli tires, whose spectacular rims are hidden with horrendous hubcaps aimed at preventing turbulence in that area, and a much more compact rear. 

As for the floor of the car, a key element to achieve the desired ground effect, no details can be seen in the images published by the team. The North American racing car, which will be powered by an engine of Ferrari origin, will use E10 fuel for the first time. 

The conceptual design of the VF-22 has changed drastically, but the livery colours are a continuation of its predecessor. White is still the predominant tone after it was chosen in 2021 when Uralkali became the team’s main sponsor. Breaking up the white are also its traditional red and blue strokes which, together with the white, represent the Russian flag. 

Same drivers in pursuit of better results 

Haas will maintain the same line-up that they used for their F1 debut in 2021. Mick Schumacher, son of the seven-time Formula One world champion, and Nikita Mazepin, son of the team’s main investor, will have to move on from the mistakes of their debut year in order to lift the team up from the bottom of the grid at the end of their second campaign in the speciality. 

Under Ferrari’s wing, the German racer will continue his adaptation to the World Championship in the hope of making the leap to Maranello in the not-so-distant future. Mazepin should try and escape the long shadow cast by his teammate and move on from some of his dreadful performances of last season. 

We have had a sneak peek into the new VF-2, now it remains to be seen how it performs on the track. But that will be a different story. 

Images: Haas F1 Team.