The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hosted the first pre-season testing event of the 2022 Formula 1 season and gave franchises an opportunity to test out their new machines ahead of the first Grand Prix in Bahrain towards the end of March.
For the first time, all ten teams will be given two pre-season testing events to try out the new cars due to the phenomenal changes and new regulations in place for this year.
Not only are the cars seeing the greatest number of changes brought into a single F1 season, but the FIA will be introducing new regulations within the Grand Prix themselves, including communicating with the race director and the instigating of a VAR type system.
Barcelona gave franchises a chance not just to test out their new 2022 creations, but also allowed an inspection of their opposition’s works and spy on the prospective competition.
On an interrupted final day of pre-season testing, it was Mercedes who came out on top with seven-time world Champion Lewis Hamilton setting the fastest time and his new teammate, George Russell not too far behind.
Red Bull followed with Sergio Perez finishing third and reigning World Champion Max Verstappen in fourth while Sebastian Vettel managed a fifth place finish despite stopping in the final minutes of the morning session due to an oil leak and a resulting fire.
With just over a week until the next testing event, and just under three weeks until the first 2022 Grand Prix, let us take a look at the new liveries that were on show in Barcelona.
1. Max Verstappen will defend 2021 World Championship in new 2022 livery
2. Mercedes
Drivers for 2022: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell The most notable change for Mercedes is their return to a silvery design. In 2020, Mercedes chose a black design in order to deliver a strong anti-racism message. Their 2022 car has returned to the more traditional silver but still contains elements of black on the design. Team Principal Toto Wolff said: “The black livery was a clear intent and a clear demonstration of our mission to become a more diverse and inclusive team. “It has become part of our DNA, but the silver colour of the Silver Arrows is as much our DNA, it’s our history. As a team we have grown from the silver Arrows to slowly becoming a more diverse and inclusive team and therefore our colours going forward will be silver and black.”
3. Red Bull
Drivers for 2022: Max Verstappen and Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez Red Bull showed off their RB18 in Barcelona. The team, lead by Christian Horner, had the second-smallest allocation of wind tunnel and CFD time for the first six months of 2022 due to the new cost-capping, and has been rebranded as Oracle Red Bull due to its new partnership with the computer technology company. Honda’s HRC logo is still present but only on the engine cover. They will continue to produce, assemble, maintain and support the engine but have formally quit the sport.
4. Ferrari
Drivers for 2022: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Ferrari’s F1-75 continues to show off a black and red livery and features an interpretation of the new rules with a sidepod design as well as mirroring Aston Martin with cooling louvres on the top. The Italian team’s introduction of a significant hybrid upgrade in 2021 will continue into 2022 but it now has a ‘significantly different’ combustion engine design this year. It consisted of a new energy store which increased it from a 400-volt to 800-volt system. Ferrari will hope that their new car will bring them back to being a consistent race-winning challenger rather than a strong midfield team that they have become in recent years.