In about a months time, the racing doors will be open for the Formula 1 2022 season and there is a lot to know about what’s happening with all the latest dates of the season ahead of a year of new cars and hopefully a new look in the pecking order as well. With new regulations making way into the upcoming season, there have been a few changes in the line-ups with one rookie and one returnee making their way onto the F1 race grid. Further changes include a brand new F1 race track which is to be included in the 2022 calendar and the return of some old favourites F1 race tracks that were cut from the Formula 1 fixture due to the coronavirus pandemic in the 2022 and 2021 seasons.
Today at Man’s Life, we’ll take you through everything, right from the Car launch dates to the full F1 race calendar.
THE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
With the changes made to the rules in 2022, one big difference to the 1 season is the F1 aerodynamics package that returns to F1 race cars for the first time since 1982. F1 has also sought to reduce the current reliance on wings for downforce which are blamed for the dirty air that has made F1 races difficult in modern times. Unlike before, the F1 race cars won’t have sliding skirts and instead will have a range of fins underneath to mimimise disturbance. The tyres on the F1 race cars will change as F1 moves to a 19-inch rim for 2022. The rear wings of the F1 race car in 2022 have been redesigned which aims to slash the strength of the vortex produced at the rear end of the car.
THE DRIVER LINE-UP
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There have been just 4 changes to the 20 seats in the next season’s driver line-up. The most significant one without a doubt is George Russel moving to Mercedes which is the first time the Silver Arrows changed their line-up since the shocking retirement of Nico Rosberg in 2015. For Red Bull Racing, there are no changes as they look forward to keeping the pressure on Mercedes with their current line-up consisting of 2021 F1 winner Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Valtteri Bottas moves to Alpha Romeo to partner up with Guanyu Zhou who is the only rookie this season and is also the first F1 race driver coming out of China. At last, it is Alex Albon who takes George Russell’s seat at Williams to complete the F1 driver line-up.
COMPLETE LIST
Mercedes | Lewis Hamilton | George Russell |
Red Bull | Max Verstappen | Sergio Perez |
Ferrari | Charles Leclerc | Carlos Sainz |
McLaren | Lando Norris | Daniel Ricciardo |
Alpine | Fernando Alonso | Esteban Ocon |
Alpha Tauri | Pierre Gasly | Yuki Tsunoda |
Aston Martin | Sebastian Vettel | Lance Stroll |
Williams | Alex Albon | Nicholas Latifi |
Alfa Romeo | Valtteri Bottas | Guanyu Zhou |
Haas | Nikita Mazepin | Mick Schumacher |
THE CAR LAUNCH DATES
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We are almost into the time of the year where constructors begin to reveal their new F1 race cars for the forthcoming season and with the rulebook undergoing massive changes this year, the new era designs should be fascinating.
So here’s a quick rundown of the confirmed dates of each F1 race cars launch for the Formula 1 2022 season:
CONSTRUCTOR | LAUNCH DATE |
Aston Martin | 10th February |
McLaren | 11th February |
Alpha Tauri | 14th February |
Ferrari | 17th February |
Mercedes | 18th February |
Alpine | 21th February |
* Four teams are yet to announce their launch dates
THE PRE-SEASON TESTING
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Before we go racing in the Formula 1 2022 season, the whole of F1 roster will shift their focus on the pre-season testing. The testing is really important so that the constructor’s can carry out the system checks that they have made during the development of their F1 race cars.
Formula one has been conducting their pre-season testing in Barcelona since 2013, but last year due to COVID, they shifted the testing to Bahrain. This time out, F1 will host six days of testing both in Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya and the Bahrain International Circuit.
First Test
Circuit de Catalunya (Spain) – 23rd February to 25th February
Second Test
Bahrain International Circuit (Bahrain) – 10th March to 12th March
THE 2022 F1 RACING CALENDAR
With the 2021 F1 season having an exciting ending as Max Verstappen was crowned as the F1 winner in 2021, the F1 will embark on a record 23-race season to add more excitement in the Formula 1 fixtures and championship battles.
The first F1 race is scheduled to take place in Bahrain for the second season running starting on the 20th of March and the season will end at the Yas Marina circuit on the 20th of November.
The Australian, Canadian, Singapore and Japanese Grand Prix all return to the Formula 1 fixture after being absent since 2019 due to COVID. One new addition to this year’s Formula 1 fixture is the Miami Grand Prix which adds another race in the States.
Here’s the full Formula 1 fixture for the 2022 season:
DATES | GRAND PRIX | CIRCUIT |
20th March, 2022 | Bahrain | Sakhir |
27th March, 2022 | Saudi Arabia | Jeddah |
10th April, 2022 | Australia | Melbourne |
24th April, 2022 | Emilia Romagna | Imola |
8th May, 2022 | Miami | Miami |
22nd May, 2022 | Spain | Barcelona |
29th May, 2022 | Monaco | Monaco |
12th June, 2022 | Azerbaijan | Baku |
19th June, 2022 | Canada | Montreal |
3rd July, 2022 | Great Britain | Silverstone |
10th July, 2022 | Austria | Speilberg |
24th July, 2022 | France | La Castellet |
31st July, 2022 | Hungary | Budapest |
28th August, 2022 | Belgium | Spa-Francorchamps |
4th September, 2022 | Netherlands | Zandvoort |
11th September, 2022 | Italy | Monza |
25th September, 2022 | Russia | Sochi |
2nd October, 2022 | Singapore | Marina Bay |
9th October, 2022 | Japan | Suzuka |
23rd October, 2022 | USA | Austin |
30th October, 2022 | Mexico | Mexico City |
13th November, 2022 | Brazil | Sao Paulo |
20th November, 2022 | Abu Dhabi | Yas Marina |
[Featured Image Credit: Red Bull Racing]
Shashank Iyer