The Uralkali Haas F1 Team officially launched a brand-new era of Formula One into life, after unveiling the livery of their VF-22 for the upcoming season. The car itself isn’t believed to be the finished product, that will be seen for the first-time at the upcoming pre-season test at Barcelona.
The images released from the livery launch show just how drastically different the cars are for the 2022 season, after a haul of technical regulation changes. The images clearly show a much simpler front-wing but a dramatically shaped rear-wing. This season will also see brand-new 18-inch rims and low profile tyres from Pirelli, which are designed to reduce overheating, hopefully allowing drivers to push harder for significantly longer.
The livery itself is practically identical to the one Haas ran in 2021, with some very minor tweaks. The Haas and Uralkali logos are still the main features on the car, including the white, blue and red coloured stripe!
Haas are in desperate need of a good season after their shocking 2021 season, which they completely sacrificed in order to put as much time towards the 2022 car as possible. Should Haas continue to be at the back this season, then questions will surely begin to be asked. Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin will both be hopeful that this season will see them featuring consistently in the midfield.
Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner is very excited to see what the VF-22 is capable of, with all expectations being that the team will return to the midfield this year.
“It’s exciting to be at the point where we know the VF-22 will be on-track shortly. We all know what the team is capable of, we’ve proved that in the past, and with this new car – born out of a completely new set of regulations and with our new design team in place, I’m confident we can showcase once again that we can compete on weekends.
“It’s been a tremendous effort by everyone involved and now comes the fun part of getting the new car to the circuit and dialing in all the elements. Last season was a long one but I’m confident that 2022 will see us back in the mix with the VF-22.”
Founder of Haas Automation and Chairman of the Uralkali Haas F1 Team, Gene Haas, is hoping their decision to sacrifice last season won’t backfire.
“It’s that time of year where you’re naturally optimistic that the hard work and effort of everyone will translate to a competitive entry on track. We made the decision back in 2020 to really channel time and resources into the VF-22, foregoing anything track-related for 2021 – which wasn’t easy to watch. Hopefully that decision bears fruit and we return to challenging for points and taking something from the weekends.”
