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[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

So....does Michael Massi stay on as Sporting Director* for F1 for next year and beyond?
* - Sporting Director = Referee for each race

[NWI_Irish96]

So....does Michael Massi stay on as Sporting Director* for F1 for next year and beyond?
* - Sporting Director = Referee for each race

Yeah, he needs to go. He broke his streak of 50,000 consecutive rulings in Mercedes' favor. Can't have a director making any rulings not in Mercedes' favor.

[formulanone]

Well, at least they didn't crash into each other on the last lap.

[7/8]

So....does Michael Massi stay on as Sporting Director* for F1 for next year and beyond?
* - Sporting Director = Referee for each race

I hope they can reform the stewarding in general. Every week their decisions seem to be different from the week before. The lack of consistency is painful.

Well, at least they didn't crash into each other on the last lap.

Yeah I'm really impressed that Hamilton almost caught up on the second straight on old hards! I thought Max's tire advantage would be more substantial.

[Takumi]

I’m happy Max won, but not like that.

In other news, there’s a young driver test coming up later this week. Florida’s own Logan Sargeant will be testing for Williams, Pato O’Ward from McLaren’s IndyCar team will be testing their F1 car, Liam Lawson will test for Alpha Tauri, Guanyu Zhou will debut for Alfa Romeo, and Robert Shwartzman will test for both Haas and Ferrari. I know there are others, but I can’t remember them.

[7/8]

Mercedes team statement from today: https://t.co/tgrBjrNkcz

Dear Formula 1 community and fans,

We left Abu Dhabi in disbelief of what we had just witnessed. Of course, it's part of the game to lose a race, but it's something different when you lose faith in racing.

Together with Lewis, we have deliberated carefully over how to respond to the events at the Formula 1 season finale. We have always been guided by our love of this sport and we believe that every competition should be won on merit. In the race on Sunday many felt, us included, that the way things unfolded was not right.

The reason we protested the race result on Sunday was because the Safety Car regulations were applied in a new way that affected the race result, after Lewis had been in a commanding lead and on course to win the World Championship.

We appealed in the interest of sporting fairness, and we have since been in a constructive dialogue with the FIA and Formula 1 to create clarity for the future, so that all competitors know the rules under which they are racing, and how they will be enforced. Thus, we welcome the decision by the FIA to install a commission to thoroughly analyse what happened in Abu Dhabi and to improve the robustness of rules, governance and decision making in Formula 1. We also welcome that they have invited the teams and drivers to take part.

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas team will actively work with this commission to build a better Formula 1 - for every team and every fan who loves this sport as much as we do. We will hold the FIA accountable for this process and we hereby withdraw our appeal.

To Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing: we would like to express our sincere respect for your achievements this season. You made this Formula 1 Championship title fight truly epic. Max, we congratulate you and your entire team. We look forward to taking the fight to you on the track next season.

And lastly, even though this Drivers' Championship did not end the way we hoped, we could not be prouder of our team.

Lewis, you are the greatest racer in the history of Formula 1 and you drove your heart out for every lap of this incredible season. You're a flawless sportsman on and off the track and you delivered a faultless performance. As a pure competitor and as a role model for millions around the world, we salute you.

Valtteri, you have been such an important part of this team, delivering five Constructors' Championships in five seasons. Thank you for your remarkable contribution to our motorsport history. Kiitos, Valtteri.

Finally, to every one of the skilled and passionate women and men of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team in Brackley and High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth: you've written an historic chapter in the Silver Arrow story by winning the eighth Constructors' Championship - in a row. This is an unprecedented achievement. In simple words: it's awesome. You are awesome.

On a different note, I just got my tickets for the Montreal GP. Hopefully it goes ahead this year!

[Takumi]

According to Toto, Lewis isn’t sure if he’s coming back next year. (I personally think this is posturing and that not only will Lewis be back next year, but he’s going to rewrite the record book.)

[formulanone]

The season's over but the media really wants to drag out every little bit of an issue because the off-season is going to be quiet for three months. Every seat for next year is filled and testing is limited.

It will be interesting to see how the new technical regulations shape up next season.

[JoePCool14]

On a different note, I just got my tickets for the Montreal GP. Hopefully it goes ahead this year!

I'm hoping to get the chance to go down to COTA to see the US GP this year. I've never been down there, and my last race I was at was the legendary 2011 Canadian GP.

[7/8]

On a different note, I just got my tickets for the Montreal GP. Hopefully it goes ahead this year!

I'm hoping to get the chance to go down to COTA to see the US GP this year. I've never been down there, and my last race I was at was the legendary 2011 Canadian GP.

I actually went to COTA in 2021 as my first race. Thankfully, the timing was perfect between the Delta and Omicron waves, so me and few others flew down and managed to test negative for the flight home. If you end up driving to the circuit, I'd recommend reserving parking at Chris Taylor Racing Services (Google link). It was a good price and much quicker to get in/out compared to the official lots (and the walk isn't too bad). The traffic on the farm roads in and out was still a pain though!

[7/8]

The first of the car liveries (to keep us going through the off-season) is Haas. It's very similar to last year's.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-haas-become-first-team-to-reveal-2022-car-and-livery.6hTev2bioqDq0QuojBQXp9.html

Keep in mind, as mentioned in the article:

It is anticipated that the car will look noticeably different to what the digital renderings show, with teams keen to keep significant parts of their design under wraps as long as possible, to avoid giving away any clever ideas they have had when designing to the all-new rules to their rivals.

[formulanone]

Keep in mind, as mentioned in the article:

It is anticipated that the car will look noticeably different to what the digital renderings show, with teams keen to keep significant parts of their design under wraps as long as possible, to avoid giving away any clever ideas they have had when designing to the all-new rules to their rivals.

I was thinking how simplistic the new designs have become, but then I read that and now I'm a little less surprised.

Haas seems to be running on a lack of sponsorship, which I thought was the reason for having a pay-driver (maybe one-and-a-half?) in the first place.

[7/8]

Keep in mind, as mentioned in the article:

It is anticipated that the car will look noticeably different to what the digital renderings show, with teams keen to keep significant parts of their design under wraps as long as possible, to avoid giving away any clever ideas they have had when designing to the all-new rules to their rivals.

I was thinking how simplistic the new designs have become, but then I read that and now I'm a little less surprised.

Haas seems to be running on a lack of sponsorship, which I thought was the reason for having a pay-driver (maybe one-and-a-half?) in the first place.

Uralkali (Mazepin's sponsor) must be doing some heavy lifting in terms of funding.


Second livery reveal: Red Bull! Not surprisingly, very similar to their previous livery, but their new sponsor Oracle now has prominent logos on the sides and rear wing. It's also exciting to see Max's #1 on the nose!
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.revealed-red-bull-show-off-verstappens-2022-title-defence-challenger-the.4W2MaPHNlelufO6uuIeCDH.html

[7/8]

Another day, another car launch, this time being Aston Martin!
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-aston-martin-reveal-2022-car-with-revised-livery.34DZACb63lmdQdguSdl8YF.html

The pink stripe has switched to lime green (since BWT has left the team) and Aramco is a new sponsor this year (prominently shown on the back of the rear wing and several other spots). The textured sidepods look really cool, hopefully they make it to the real track car.






Though the highlight of the article is this:

They will be led by new Team Principal Mike Krack

(poor guy )

[7/8]

Last car launch of the week: McLaren!
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-mclaren-showcase-bold-new-livery-as-they-reveal-2022-challenger-the.5etd9Tgo3ivFuzQIJFNt5r.html

The blue is a lighter shade now. I wish the driver numbers were in black though - or at least outlined in black (bright blue on orange is tough to read)!






BWT is now a sponsor of Alpine, and there's going to be pink on the car. We'll have to wait until Feb. 21st to see how that turns out. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alpine-set-for-blue-and-pink-livery-as-bwt-becomes-title-sponsor/8074293/

[7/8]

#5/10: AlphaTauri!
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.alphatauri-reveal-their-2022-f1-car-the-at03.4GpOH3Dkx0KqfrzpWobyWk.html

Feels like a mix of the 2020 mostly-white livery and the 2021 mostly-navy blue livery.

[7/8]

#6/10: Williams!
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.williams-reveal-striking-blue-2022-livery-for-their-fw44-challenger.3DSWgBoRZ1LRjwPC1PQ3bx.html

Quite a change from last years (which itself was a big change from 2020)! This is personally one of my favourites out of the ones we've seen so far. The red accents are an interesting touch. Hopefully it doesn't look too similar to Alpine's livery.

[formulanone]

Back when Frank Williams was entering "customer cars" as a privateer, the team painted their cars dark blue. It kind of annoyed Brabham that they were performing better than they were with the same cars, back around 1969...



(Any excuse to post Piers Courage at the Nürburgring's Flugplatz is a good excuse.)

[7/8]

(Any excuse to post Piers Courage at the Nürburgring's Flugplatz is a good excuse.)

Thanks for sharing, that's a sweet photo! Crazy to see how much more dangerous the F1 cars were back then.

On the same day of their launch, Williams brought out the real car at Silverstone (for some reason the launch photos were the F1 show car). This photo looks amazing!



But back to today's news, it's launch #7: Ferrari!
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.ferrari-unveil-2022-challenger-the-f1-75.3U7sFyNrXBxlhDo9XYX4jO.html

Ferrari is going with a black and red livery this year, and the red is a deeper shade than last year's. The side pods have a unique shape you can see well in the third photo (very concave along the top).

[formulanone]

Ferrari seems to be echoing 1983-1992, with the red/black livery design.

Alpha Tauru seems to be going to the 1980s Brabham well, but they're unrelated.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

So Michael Masi did get removed as F1 race director after all.
It appears to be a complete remodel for F1 race control system going forth.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fia-removes-masi-announces-new-virtual-f1-race-control-system/8254024/

[7/8]

So Michael Masi did get removed as F1 race director after all.
It appears to be a complete remodel for F1 race control system going forth.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fia-removes-masi-announces-new-virtual-f1-race-control-system/8254024/

Hopefully these changes reduce the inconsistency between races (time will tell)!


Launch #8: Mercedes!
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.mercedes-launch-hamilton-and-russells-championship-contender-the-w13.10qDf3lwvFRBwTnfpvZKb2.html

It appears the images in this article are simply the livery on the F1 show car. I'm happy to see the return of silver and I think they nicely incorporated last year's black too. I still find Ineos' red a bit too "clashing" with the rest of the colours (particularly on the rear wing), but otherwise I think it's looking pretty sharp!





EDIT:
Here's a photo comparing the car shown in the livestream (above - closer to the real car) vs. the F1 show car render (below).

https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/sve6e2/two_different_cars_that_mercedes_launched/

[formulanone]

The idea that many teams are not showing off their actual car but just a test mule to show they're making a new car to 2022 regulations...such is the evolution of the cars from concept to now (and probably a little different by the first race in Bahrain).

F1 never really tried to make a "spec" template car, so I suppose the teams used it as an opportunity to drum up sponsorship by dressing up an older car.

[Takumi]

Michael Andretti is planning to enter his own F1 team starting in 2024 after his attempt to take over Sauber failed.
https://racer.com/2022/02/18/michael-andretti-targets-f1-team-entry-in-2024/

His father Mario broke the news, and has an interview with Chris Medland about some deeper plans for it.
https://racer.com/2022/02/19/exclusive-mario-andretti-on-andretti-f1-game-plan/

As with the Sauber attempt, Colton Herta would likely be one of the drivers.

[7/8]

Michael Andretti is planning to enter his own F1 team starting in 2024 after his attempt to take over Sauber failed.
https://racer.com/2022/02/18/michael-andretti-targets-f1-team-entry-in-2024/

I hope this works out! It would be great to have two more drivers on the grid!


I'm a day late (didn't feel like posting on the holiday), but here's launch #9: Alpine!
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.alpine-unveil-blue-and-pink-2022-challenger-the-a522.37RIZP9p7FyPIFrS1bwIzv.html

For the first two races, they'll be using a predominately pink car.






After Jeddah, they'll be switching to their main blue and pink livery. Personally I prefer the mainly pink one (I think the blue and pink version just looks awkward), but hopefully it'll grow on me. The pink also looks a bit darker on this one, but that might just be the render colours being off (the previous one looks more like BWT pink to me).