Formula One: Teams starting from scratch with changes to rules and regulations

Sebastian Vettel shaking down the new Aston Martin at Silverstone. Photo / Supplied

Red Bull will be hoping to bring a double-edged sword to this year's championship after unveiling its new car, although not all of it, apparently.

The Milton-Keynes-based team wasn't able to wrestle the Constructors' title away from Mercedes last year, meaning the latter has won that contest for a record eight consecutive seasons.

But Red Bull driver Max Verstappen did win the Drivers' championship, albeit somewhat controversially, when he was able to pass Lewis Hamilton on the last lap in the last race of a 22-race championship in which the lead in the title battle went back and forth. By the time they got to Abu Dhabi they were equal on points, but the tie-break was broken when FIA race director Michael Masi decided the race wouldn't finish under a safety car and allowed lapped cars between leader Hamilton and chaser Verstappen to be un-lapped, leading to a last-lap shootout that Verstappen won and with it, his first world championship, denying Hamilton of an eighth title. The FIA inquiry into that is under way.

At the online launch attended by Verstappen and his returning teammate Sergio Perez, team boss Christian Horner was still singing the praises of his new world champion.

"Max was phenomenal last year," Horner said. "An outstanding season for him. He dominated the amount of laps led, and 10 grand prix victories, and the world championship. His confidence is going to be sky high, and he'll be looking to build on those performances in 2022."

"Checo [Perez] in his first year [with Red Bull} winning that race in Azerbaijan, other podiums, he is going to be stronger and taking a step up I am sure in 2022."

The big question is whether Red Bull has interpreted the new rules and regulations correctly to give its drivers a chance of winning the championship. If it has, it will be winning as Oracle Red Bull Racing, with new sponsorship from the American tech firm, not to be confused with the Oracle yachting team that raced for the America's Cup. Sky Sports in the UK has suggested the Oracle sponsorship is worth £100 million (NZ$204m) a year over five seasons.

The RB18 was unveiled in the normal Red Bull livery, but is still a dramatic departure from the 2021 car thanks to the new rules. And Horner admits there will be plenty of questions for the team to answer with the regulation changes.

"We're aiming very much to build on what we achieved last year, so the target is obviously to retain the title," he said, meaning the Drivers' title.

"The big unknown is, have we missed something with these regulations? Has another team stolen a march because of the focus and effort that went into 2021? We believe we've a good car, the RB18 is coming to life. It's a combination of a huge effort from the team and I'm looking forward to seeing it out on the track in anger."

"I think by the time we get to the first race, the car's not going to look very much like this, and I think the evolution will be very, very quick as we progress through the season."

Aston Martin revealed its new car after Red Bull, at its Gaydon base in Warwick in the UK, with drivers Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll present, and showed off the updated racing green livery. But unlike the other teams, Aston Martin claims the car it unveiled is the one that will be used in pre-season testing on February 23 in Barcelona, and in the first race, and has already been given a shakedown at Silverstone.

Aston Martin chief technical officer Andrew Green took a swipe at Red Bull for not showing the real thing.

"Because we're an honest bunch, we're not trying to deceive," he pointedly said.

The new team principal is Mike Krack, who replaces Otmar Szafnauer, and will report to the new CEO, Martin Whitmarsh, who used to be with McLaren. At the launch, Vettel commented on the changes at the top.

"The truth is the team is growing," Vettel said. "Obviously, having a shuffle in management is always a bit of a hiccup, or shakeup, and it will take time to overcome. But hopefully, we manage to pull together and despite growing in size, becoming more leaner or more efficient in our processes."

"I think this year will be a true test for us and we will see how good we are."

Vettel has also questioned why F1's We Race As One message, which the sport has promoted for the past two seasons to address issues around discrimination, is being dropped this year. That means drivers will no longer take the knee and wear anti-racial T-shirts before the start of a grand prix.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicalli believes the time has come to move on.

"I think now it's a matter of changing gesture to action," he said. "Now the action is the focus on the diversity of our community, and this is the first step."

"I was a bit surprised," was Vettel's reaction. "I think the issues that we're tackling are not going to be gone within two years. And therefore, I was a bit surprised. I hope that as drivers, we find a way to get together and find a slot of still expressing topics that are important to us. Probably not all the drivers care, but I think there's some that really do care. But probably it was getting a bit too strong and individual for the business side of things."

McLaren was disappointed not to have been able to finish ahead of Ferrari in last year's Constructors' battle and has unveiled what has been described as a bold and "aggressive" updated livery in its colour scheme, retaining the "fluro papaya" added to a light blue, inspired by the Gulf Oil livery, and black. The traditional design of suspension layout with a push-rod front and pull-rod rear, has been swapped around, with the team going for a pull-rod front suspension and push-rod rear.

McLaren technical director James Key says they have "got it really, really right ... or not."

Team principal Andreas Seidl says the budget cap of US$140m has had an impact on every process in the design of the MCL36.

"The big challenge obviously getting ready for this new season was to develop a completely new car under completely new technical regulations from scratch in parallel to the cost cap being in place for the first time last year," Seidl stated.

Lando Norris has been in F1 at McLaren for three seasons now, yet is still only 22. He finished sixth last year, including three podiums, but is yet to win a grand prix and admits that is his initial aim in 2022.

"I would love to win," he says. "It's an aim, a target for some points. If that's this year, wonderful. If not, I'll just hope it's next year."

He says he does not yet know if the new car will suit his driving style despite doing some simulator work, but "there are opportunities for me to continue last year's progress and I'll try to make that next step".

Norris has re-signed with McLaren until the end of 2025 and, according to The Sun, is now the third-highest-paid F1 driver behind Hamilton, who is reportedly on £40m plus bonuses, a year, while Verstappen is on £18.5m. Norris is now on £10.5m just ahead of his teammate Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, both reportedly on £10.19m. But as driver salaries are not officially disclosed, it seems unlikely Norris is earning more than Fernando Alonso at Alpine or Vettel at Aston Martin.

Extending his contract for three more years confirms Norris has confidence in the team.

It took Ricciardo nearly half of the 2021 season to get used to the car after moving from Renault, but even though this is the second of a two-year contract, he says he will want to continue beyond 2022.

"I know Lando did an extension, but I do have an option there and I do feel quite strongly that we're in this together," Ricciardo said. "And even through some of the lows of last year I was still ... of course on track it is frustrating, but I was still really enjoying this McLaren environment and the team, so it's an environment I want to have success in and thrive in. Obviously, we got a taste of that in Monza, so it's fair to say that both of us have the same objective of being world champion."

Four teams out of 10 have revealed the new cars and, as we go to press, Alpha Tauri and Williams will launch their cars, followed by Ferrari and Mercedes on February 17 and 18, with Alpine and Alfa Romeo next week. And then the talking stops as pre-season testing begins.