FORMULA ONE team Haas might have spent the last six seasons at the back of the grid – but they were on pole for their 2022 car launch.
The American-owned Banbury-based team are the first to show off images of their challenger for this season.
A major new rule change for this season will see drastic changes to the cars’ bodywork and larger 18 inch wheels.
F1 hopes the new cars will reduce the amount of turbulence for the cars behind, leading to closer racing and creating more opportunities for overtaking.
Team boss Guenther Steiner said: “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.”
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Haas are the first of the sport’s 10 teams to launch their car after Red Bull had hoped to be first off the line.
F1 testing kicks off in Barcelona on February 23rd for three days before switching to Bahrain in March for a further three days.
The first race of the 23-race record-breaking season is the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20th.
NEW FOR 2022
- Over-wheel winglets and wheel covers. The wheel covers prevent the cars from churning up turbulent air while the winglets will effectively iron-out the distorted air coming off the front tyres. Both of these reduce the air turbulence for the cars behind.
- New 18″ wheels with low-profile tyres. The bigger tyres are designed to reduce the amount they overheat – a primary aspect that should help with closer racing.
- New rear wing with ‘rolled tips’. Again, this is in line with the theory of causing less turbulent wake. The new rear wings force the expelled air upwards, rather than backwards.
- Engines will remain the same as this year’s power unit, however, the cars will now run on biofuel – known as ‘E10’.
- Safety improvements. The new chassis has been designed to absorb 48 per cent and 15 per cent more energy in the front and rear impact tests. The cars have also been designed in such a way that, in the event of a crash, the power unit will separate from the chassis without exposing the fuel tank.
