Mercedes launch 2022 'silver arrow' F1 challenger
Mercedes on Friday took the wraps off their 2022 Formula One challenger, which they hope will allow Lewis Hamilton to take back the drivers' crown while also steering the team to an unprecedented ninth straight constructors' championship.
The F1 W13 has been designed to F1's radical new rules aimed at improving wheel-to-wheel racing and features the cleaner, swept-back aerodynamics and bigger 18-inch wheels of the new era.
The car, which will be driven by Hamilton and new team mate George Russell who moves up from Williams, also has the return of Mercedes' traditional silver livery after the team ran a black colour scheme in a stand against racism for the last two seasons.
"The hopes are, first of all, that we have a competitive car," said team boss Toto Wolff.
"We don’t know whether we’re even in the hunt for another title.
"My hope is that the car goes fast and that Lewis and George are happy with how it drives and that would be a good starting point."
Mercedes have dominated the last rules era which began with the introduction of the turbo-hybrid power units in 2014.
They have won every constructors' title since and would have completed a clean-sweep of title doubles but for a controversial safety car restart at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which allowed Red Bull's Max Verstappen to pass race-leader Hamilton on the last lap and deny him an eighth title.
"It’s a little bit surreal that as a team we were able to achieve that eight times in a row," said Wolff.
"Obviously there was this shadow with the drivers’ championship, Lewis’ championship, the Abu Dhabi situation, but let's look into the future."
The safety car bungle claimed the job of race director Michael Masi, who altered the restart rules and moved only the lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen out of the way, with the governing FIA announcing changes to its race refereeing procedure on Thursday.
It also sparked speculation about Hamilton's future.
"I never ever said I was going to stop," said the 37-year-old, speaking publicly for the first time since a post-race broadcast interview following his Abu Dhabi title defeat.
"It was obviously a difficult time for me and it was a time where I really needed to take a step back.
"I eventually got to a point where I decided I'm going to be attacking again coming into another season."
Ferrari carry burden of history and expectation as they unveil 2022 car
Ferrari are aiming for a return to competitiveness in 2022, with their F1-75 challenger unveiled on Thursday carrying the weight of history and expectation for the sport's oldest and most successful team.
The Maranello-based squad have raced in every season of Formula One since the championship was founded in 1950 and have won more races and championships than anyone.
They have crowned some of the sport's greats including Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher.
But their last champion remains now-retired Kimi Raikkonen who won the title in 2007.
Last year the team, despite bouncing back from a dismal 2020 to take third in the constructors' standings, went without a win for the second season in a row.
"Our objective for 2022 certainly is being back to being competitive and being competitive means being capable of winning races," team principal Mattia Binotto told reporters following the car's launch on Thursday.
"That's the way we see it at the moment and I think we will be pretty happy if we will be in that position."
Formula One is introducing its biggest rules shake up in decades, with cars featuring revised aerodynamics and bigger 18-inch wheels aimed at improving the racing spectacle.
The new rules could shake up the established order and Ferrari, who unveiled a stunning new car done up in a red and black livery in a throwback to the past, are clearly eyeing this season as an opportunity.
The word innovation was repeatedly used during the launch of the challenger, designated the F1-75 mark 75 years since founder Enzo Ferrari manufactured the first car to bear his name.
At the same time the new rules are a step into the unknown. But, despite the uncertainty, Binotto and the team's drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz said the team's efforts into developing the car gave them confidence.
"Of course expectations are high because we are Ferrari, we are the team that is expected to win all the time," said Leclerc heading into his fourth season as a Ferrari driver.
"What makes me confident about this year's car is the work that I've seen in the past few months.
"It's never easy to know until you're really on track for the first qualifying of the year and see the final picture.
"But the feeling is good."
