Alpha Tauri unveiled renderings of its 2022 challenger the AT03 in a launch video from is Faezna base on Monday. PHOTO: Redbullcontentpool.com

BRENDAN LINES FEBRUARY15, 2022

ALPHA Tauri broke cover of its AT03, the car the Italian-based team hopes will complete its rise from the mid-field to a serious contender in 2022.

Mixing fashion and function in its launch video, the arm of Red Bull’s clothing brand showcased renderings of the AT03 alongside drivers Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda.

At first look the ATO3’s livery sports a negative-effect look from its predecessor — the AT02 — but that’s where the similarities end, with the AT03 the team’s first interpretation of Formula 1’s new ground-effect led rule changes.

Side-pod concepts unveiled by the teams have piqued curious intrigue throughout 2022’s launch season, the AT03 appears to have blended the divergent concepts seen so far.

In that, the ATO3 has opted for an elongated top surface forward of the cockpit with an aggressive undercut— like Aston Martin’s AMR22 — but sweeps to a smooth outwash to the rear end of the floor, like the McLaren ML36.

Alpha Tauri has opted for a push-rod style front suspension, most likely adopted from its big brother Red Bull.

The actual AT03 will make its first official Formula 1 appearance at next week’s Barcelona test, wether the renderings are accurate remains to be seen. 

Team principal Franz Tost hoped the AT03 would deliver on the team’s expectations.

“I am excited to finally reveal what our 2022 Formula 1 car will look like,” Most said.

“It is a completely new era for F1 and we hope that this package will be very strong, following last year’s success. 

“Once again, we have worked closely with AlphaTauri to launch our new car and I think we’ve managed to deliver something very special.”

Following the team’s highest points scoring season to date – picking up 142 points in 2021 – the AT03 could be the car which sees the Faenza-based team become a contender and close the gap to the top end of the grid.

Alpha Tauri has backed lead driver of Gasly and Tsunoda, “Pierre’s experience makes him the natural team leader, while teammate Yuki continues his F1 journey in what will be his second season in the sport” a team spokesperson said.

Gasly, accumulated a career-best 110 championship points in 2021.

The AT03 will make its on-track debut at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on February 23.

Aston Martin drivers Lance Stroll (left) and Sebastian Vettel with the teams 2022 challenger the AMR22. PHOTO: Aston Martin

BRENDAN LINES FEBRUARY 11, 2022

ASTON Martin was the first Formula 1 team to reveal a real version of its 2022 challenger — the AMR22 — off its Graydon assembly line on Friday.

The launch of the AMR22 was a significant step for the factory team entering its second season, its first interpretation of Formula 1’s new regulations and marking the British manufacturer’s centenary of its maiden Grand Prix at the 1922 French Grand Prix.

Aside from carrying a new and much brighter Aston Martin Racing Green livery, the car’s noticeable elongated side pod concept, is a clear departure from the ‘coke bottle’ design, which has become a standard in recent years.

The addition of gill-like slots along the length of side pod’s top is another new design unseen in recent iterations of Formula 1 cars.

But that is just one in a raft of visible cues laden across the AMR22 chassis design, which performance director Tom McCullough said “was a clean sheet of paper in so many areas”.

“But this launch car will change quickly,” he said.

Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll said last year was “year one” of the team’s five year plan towards re-establishing itself as a serious contender.

Stroll said a work-in-progress new factory and technology campus, due for completion next year was a “serious statement of intent” of the team’s commitment.

Red Bull unveiled its 2021 RB18 at its Technology Campus in Milton Keynes. PHOTO: redbullcontentpool.com

BRENDAN LINES February 10, 2022

RED BULL has unveiled its RB18, the car world champion Max Verstappen will take the wheel in defending his 2021 crown.

Red Bull is the first team in 2022 to produce a physical concept — other than Haas’ renderings on Friday — of its interpretation of Formula 1’s new regulations.

But world champion Verstappen revealed adapting to the RB18 should be “straightforward” with no added pressure to his title-defence season.

“I will just do what I do all the time because I don’t think there is any reason to be different,” Verstappen said.

“Now I just I can’t wait for that first moment when I drive out of the pitlane in the RB18.”

The Milton-Keynes-based team wheeled out a rolling chassis of its 2022 design, but team principal Christian Horner suggested the RB18 is likely to “evolve”  before its on-track debut.

“With the new regulation changes this year, the whole philosophy has altered from last year, which means every single component is different to last year’s car. It’s a clean sheet of paper for every single team,” he said.

“By the time we get to the first race, the RB18 won’t look much like it looks today, the evolution will be very quick as we progress through the season. 

“It is a steep learning curve for everyone and it is a race of development between the first race and the last race.”

A learning curve that will start from “zero” according to driver Sergio Perez.

“The new regulations are said to improve the competition on track, so I hope that for us as drivers we can compete more, race more and follow each other more closely,” Perez said.

“There will be a lot of things we need to learn and adapt to but these new regulations are set to make everything very interesting.”

The RB18 will make its preseason testing debut at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on February 23.

Haas broke cover of its VF-22 with renderings of the 2022 challenger. A first glimpse of an interpretation of the sport’s new regulations. PHOTO:HaasF1team

BRENDAN LINES FEBRUARY 5, 2022

HAAS are the first Formal 1 team to unveil its 2022 challenger, its VF-22 offering the first interpretation of the sport’s new regulations on Friday.

The team’s renderings of the VF-22 might be just a glimpse of the car that eventually turn a wheel at pre-season testing in Barcelona in a few weeks time.

Yet its unveiling is a telling vision of the work behind the scenes of the US-based team’s collaboration with technical partner Ferrari.

The VF-22 is the first entry to emerge from the American-owned team’s all-new design-office in Maranello, Italy – led by Technical Director Simone Resta. 

Resta was tasked with bringing together a new personnel group into the existing fabric of the team.

Now entering its seventh season in Formula 1, integrating with Maranello was just one of many challenges tackled through 2021, plus the team’s freezing of development of its 2021 VF-21 car  — a carryover of the previous year’s VF-20 — in response to Covid-19’s delay of the new regulations. 

Resta said the VF-22 was a “revolution” in design to meet the overhauled regulations.

“In terms of the car itself – other than the steering wheel, pedals, and extinguisher – there are no carryovers,” Resta said.

“Everything must be changed essentially. In certain aspects, freedom is limited compared to previous years, but the devil is in the detail, so I suspect that we will see a vast difference in performance across all cars.

“The biggest change is the aerodynamics, and from that perspective it’s a complete revolution because the regulations are so different.”

Resta said the VF-22 was a significant increase of the North Carolina-based team’s interaction with its engine supplier Ferrari.

“This is probably the most complex project the Haas F1 Team has dealt with to-date for many reasons,” Resta reflected.

“Haas has been working with Ferrari since 2016, and in those years the collaboration has been progressing step-by-step and we’re doing our best to build on this and keep improving the efficiency of the collaboration,” Resta said.

“Ferrari is supplying several components to us although the supply perimeter has changed this year as a result of the new components classification regulation.”

But Haas may have gone out on its own limb adding a push-rod suspension arm, where Ferrari is expected to run a pull-rod on its 2022 challenger.

However the renderings show no definitive blend of the VF-22’s suspension components and could be quite different to the on-track version of the car.

All 10 Formula 1 teams will gather to shakedown their new entries at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya February 23-25.

Alpine’s Pat Fry (pictured) was promoted to chief technical officer and Matt Harman to technical director, the latest appointments in the teams off-season reshuffling. PHOTO: Alpine Racing

BRENDAN LINES February 4, 2022

ALPINE has promoted Pat Fry to the role of chief technical officer and Matt Harman as technical director in its off-season re-shuffle, but the makeup of its three-pronged team leadership group remains unclear.

Fry and Harman are the latest promotions within the Franco-British team, after the razor-sharp gutting of the team’s top brass which included the unceremonious ousting of three-time world champion Alain Prost from an advisory role, plus the parting of executive director Marcin Budkowski.

But another appointment still remains.

In 2021, the team principal role was shared between Budkowski, Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi and racing director Davide Brivio, since the reshuffling began in November, Rossi has reportedly taken over as interim team principal.

Departed Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer has been linked to Alpine, brining with him the former’s title sponsor BWT.

A statement from Alpine said the decision making behind Fry and Harman’s promotions “is part of a new organisation designed to maximise the team’s performance, initiated in November 2021”.

“Their mission is to contribute to developing the car’s performance to achieve the objectives defined by Luca de Meo, CEO of the Renault Group, and Laurent Rossi, Alpine CEO, to fight for the championship within 100 races after Alpine’s arrival into F1,” the statement said.

Rossi said Alpine was “considerably strengthening” the team with its latest promotions which will be based at the team’s Enstone factory.

“Pat is one of the most experienced engineers in Formula 1, while Matt’s drive and expertise will prove critical in extracting the full potential of our race cars, thanks in particular to his unique expertise combining chassis and engine development,” Rossi said.

Fry will oversee all technical activities in Enstone, and will be responsible for setting the performance target of the car.

Harman will oversee chassis technical direction and bring to the team experience in chassis/power unit technical integration, taken from his time at the the team’s Viry base.