Haas launches its V22 in England.
BANBURY, England--After not achieving any points in the 2021 Formula One season, Haas F1 became the first 2022 launch car, releasing its new VF-22 challenger on Friday morning at their factory in England. The team remains with their regular color scheme of red, white, and blue–not in the coincidence of the American team–but of their Russian sponsor, Uralkali, a manufacturer of Potash.
https://youtu.be/87_Ew99uPWE
The color scheme might be identical, but the new rules for this upcoming season have changed mostly with everything on the car, including reprofiled wings, wheel covers, and ground effect style floors without bargeboards.
Despite this change, Team Principal Guenther Steiner states that even though the car is seen today in computer renderings, real performance is only a few weeks away when the car will be on the track in Barcelona, Spain.
Guenther Steiner: How different it looks in Barcelona [at testing], you will see in two weeks. It will be a little bit different. It’s that time of year when you’re naturally optimistic that the hard work and effort of everyone will translate to a competitive entry on the track. We made the decision back in 2020 to really channel time and resources into the VF-22, foregoing anything track-related for 2021. Hopefully, that decision bears fruit, and we return to challenging for points and taking something from the weekends.
For the first time in the team’s six-year history, the new car is designed by the Maranello, Italy, design department, the same facility manufactured by the famous Ferrari cars. However, 35 employees from that division that were laid off last season developed the design of the car, which has no similarities with the prancing horse.
Simone Resta, one of those former employees, was in charge of this operation, which included all the components and the engine from the Italian team. “From a supply parameter point of view, we try to maximize all the opportunities with Ferrari, we are the smallest team on the grid, so therefore for us, it’s important to maximize the opportunities,” Resta said.
Mick Schumacher and his teammate, Nikita Mazepin, will return for a car that will begin their first test on February 23rd through the 25th, with the second test following in two weeks.
