First pre-season test starts tomorrow so we might as well get the ball rolling on this one. I'll do a full breakdown for the non-nerds.
Calendar TRANSFERS:
Australia, Canada, Japan and Singapore return; Miami debuts.
Portugal, Qatar, Styria and Turkey out; China still playing the COVID card.
Grand Prix Circuit Date Bahrain Sakhir March 20 Saudi Arabia Jeddah March 27 Australia Melbourne April 10 Emilia Romagna Imola April 24 Miami Miami Gardens May 8 Spain Catalunya May 22 Monaco Monaco May 29 Azerbaijan Baku June 12 Canada Montreal June 19 Britain Silverstone July 3 Austria Red Bull Ring July 10 France Paul Ricard July 24 Hungary Hungaroring July 31 Belgium Spa August 28 Netherlands Zandvoort September 4 Italy Monza September 11 RussiaSochiSeptember 25Singapore Marina Bay October 2 Japan Suzuka October 9 United States Austin October 23 Mexico City Mexico City October 30 Sao Paulo Interlagos November 13 Abu Dhabi Yas Marina November 20
Team TRANSFERS:
None. Red Bull and AlphaTauri will run engines badged as Red Bull Powertrains in 2022 but it's effectively the same Honda engine as last year; no other changes.
Driver TRANSFERS:
Kimi Raikkonen has retired at the end of 2021. His seat at Alfa Romeo is taken by Valtteri Bottas. His seat at Mercedes is taken by George Russell. His seat at Williams is taken by Alexander Albon.
Antonio Giovinazzi has been released by Alfa Romeo at the end of 2021. His seat is taken by Guanyu Zhou.
Nikita Mazepin has been released by Haas between the first and second tests due to sanctions against Russians. His seat is taken by Kevin Magnussen.
Constructor Car Engine Drivers Alfa Romeo C42 Ferrari (24) Guanyu Zhou
(77) Valtteri BottasAlphaTauri AT03 Red Bull (10) Pierre Gasly
(22) Yuki TsunodaAlpine A522 Renault (14) Fernando Alonso
(31) Esteban OconAston Martin AMR22 Mercedes (5) Sebastian Vettel
(18) Lance StrollFerrari F1-75 Ferrari (16) Charles Leclerc
(55) Carlos Sainz Jr.Haas VF-22 Ferrari (9) Nikita Mazepin
(20) Kevin Magnussen
(47) Mick SchumacherMcLaren MCL36 Mercedes (3) Daniel Ricciardo
(4) Lando NorrisMercedes W13 Mercedes (44) Lewis Hamilton
(63) George RussellRed Bull RB18 Red Bull (1) Max Verstappen
(11) Sergio PerezWilliams FW44 Mercedes (6) Nicholas Latifi
(23) Alexander Albon
Rule changes:
- I think everybody is aware of the main rule change which involves a complete rework of the technical regulations, resulting in radically different cars from what we've seen in the last few years. Ground effect has been reintroduced along with a complete ban on bargeboards and a massive simplification of the front wing design, in an attempt to "make racing better" by eradicating much of the dirty air the old cars would produce (thereby massively reducing downforce of the trailing car).
- Additionally, those chunky 13" wheels we've associated with Formula 1 forever have been ditched in favour of 18" wheels. They now look a lot more like road car wheels which may or may not lead to increased sales for Pirelli in this sector. Rims are now standard equipment developed by BBS complete with 90's style hubcap wheel covers in a further attempt to control airflow from the cars.
- Sprint races remain, again at three races (this time Emilia Romagna, Austria and Sao Paulo). Points are now given to the top 8 (8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1) instead of just the top 3.
- Drivers who make it through to Q3 no longer have to start the race on the set of tyres they set their fastest lap on in Q2.
- Michael Masi is out as race director for making up his own rules in Abu Dhabi.