2022 Car Launches and Pre-season Testing (March 10-12, Bahrain)

If a Ferrari car is actually in the championship hunt, it probably won't be driven by Charles Leclerc—mostly because he'll be too busy trying to scrape himself off the first wall he slams into.

Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari—we're looking at three totally different design philosophies here.

Honestly, there’s nothing quite like that first year under a new set of regulations, assuming one specific concept doesn't just absolutely run away with the championship and leave everyone else in the dust.🍿

I was expecting the Mercedes to look more "bulky" like the Aston Martin, but they actually smoothed things out quite a bit—basically just spreading those bulges around to cut down drag and keeping the sidepods pretty slim. It feels more like a Williams approach.

But let's be real, it isn't exactly groundbreaking. You can clearly see how much the team obsessed over 2021.

As for Ferrari, I'm not sure what to make of that little pool setup. Maybe they're using it for downforce to help cooling, or perhaps they're venting air from the radiators straight toward the diffuser...

At this point, Alpine is still a total mystery, and there wasn't enough detail captured on the Red Bull to tell what they've actually cooked up—unless, of course, the Mercedes spies were packing better cameras than we thought.☕

Mercedes ended up building two different cars

Mercedes W13
Mercedes M13

https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/car/

Who knows what kind of scheme Toto's pulling this time!?

Gregory Brown94, do the rules even allow running two different chassis like this?

Look, folks, let's stop the guesswork and actually listen to what the experts have to say—especially regarding that final conclusion.

It wouldn't be any fun without a little speculation and guesswork. That’s just human nature, right?

Here is what Scarbs is predicting for Alpine:


geojson editor

If that actually happens, things are going to get absolutely wild. 🙏🙏

The Mercedes looks sharp, if a bit uninspired.
You can tell they played it safe, even with those clever little touches—like the winglets under the mirrors, the front floor design, or that scalloped edge along the floor.

In the past, this conservative strategy paid dividends tenfold. While everyone else was chasing "revolutionary" breakthroughs and radical shifts, Mercedes just kept stacking wins by sticking to a solid foundation and refining it relentlessly.
We'll see.

fadedwalker18 said:What Scarbs is speculating regarding Alpine:

What a great time to be alive! 🙏🙏🙏

Even in my wildest dreams, I didn't expect such massive shifts in basic car concepts—and we haven't even seen half the cars yet.

On the other hand, compared to the rest of the field, the wings look terrible. Both front and rear.
Front wing endplates are roughly knee-high? I can't wait to see the rear wing once the DRS opens.

I just happened to stumble upon a statement from Lapan Elkan on some Italian site.
The man says—and this is my own loose translation:
"The F1-75 was created to honor the spirit and memory of Enzo."

So, we're looking at zero chance.
Every single ingredient required for a complete failure is present here.
It reminds me of those clueless commentators you see in any sport over here.
Right when they start lecturing about what our teams or athletes "should" be doing, the exact opposite happens on the field.
And knowing how things work over there, they probably don't give a damn anyway...
The only people who actually know if or when Ferrari will ever be champions again are the Tarabić brothers.

Mercedes looks extremely anorexic...
We'll see if that actually pays off or just backfires.

At first glance, nothing special jumps out, but I get the feeling it's way narrower than the rest of the field...

It would be pretty interesting to see a side-by-side comparison of the Mercedes, McLaren, Williams, and AM cars...
They don't look like they share much in common, which is weird considering they're all running the same power unit...

It appears there is no sense of balance left in the Mercedes W13. One can tell they didn't cut any corners during development, though I must admit the livery isn't quite to my taste; nevertheless, the car itself looks remarkably quick.

stormybadger8 said:Mercedes looks incredibly thin—almost anorexic...
Whether that's actually a good thing or not remains to be seen.

At first glance, nothing seems out of the ordinary, but I get the feeling it's much narrower than the rest of the field...

It would be really interesting to see a side-by-side comparison of the Mercedes, McLaren, Williams, and Aston Martin cars...
They don't seem to share much in common, which is pretty strange considering they're all running the same power unit...

Seb, you've got a mess... luck is just gone today.

ruggedhawk20 said:Mercedes ended up building two cars.

The Mercedes W13. Just thinking about it brings back a lot of mixed emotions. It was such a strange chapter for the team, wasn't it? One moment you're at the top of the world, and the next, you're struggling to find any kind of rhythm with a car that just feels... off. It’s hard to wrap my head around how much went wrong with the technical direction there. I guess we all expected more, but sometimes things just don't click, no matter how much talent is sitting in the cockpit. It's a tough one to process.
Mercedes W13 Mercedes M13

Check out the technical breakdown of the car over on the Mercedes website. It gives you a look at how everything is put together.

Who knows what kind of schemes Toto is cooking up this time?

Gregory Brown94, does the rulebook actually allow using two different cars?

You mixed up the names of the W13 and the PJ M13. 😁 Regarding the whole idea of using two different cars—it just isn't happening. Everything is homologated before the season even kicks off. Any massive change like that would have to pass a full crash test first. So yeah, it’s basically an expensive way to go nowhere.

fadedwalker18 Asks:
It’s not going to work without some guesswork and speculation. We're only human, after all, right?

What is Scarbs speculating about regarding Alpine:


I've been looking for a decent geojson editor lately. It’s surprisingly hard to find one that doesn't feel clunky or overcomplicated. Just trying to get something simple to work with.

If that actually happens, things are going to get absolutely insane. 🙏🙏

Good grief, I can't believe people actually fell for that nonsense. It’s just not possible under the current regulations. Even at the absolute extreme, the most aggressive floors we've seen were on the Williams, and that's basically the ceiling. It doesn't work, whether you're looking at the rulebook or the actual engineering behind it.

Look, the Mercedes W13 is basically the result of a long-term strategy that Mercedes has been pushing since they first entered Formula 1. It’s pretty obvious that their main focus is maximizing power, so they’re pouring almost all their resources into the engine and leaving aerodynamics as a secondary thought. Of course, it’s classic Mercedes—they always push things to the absolute extreme while constantly bothering the FIA with questions about whether their designs actually follow the regulations. It reminds me of their history of testing the limits: like that roll bar blade back in 2010, or trying to use a W-duct right when the F-Duct was banned, or even those nose designs back in 2014. They always play it smart, but they definitely lean into the extremes. The W13 isn't any different, and honestly, it feels a lot like what happened in 2017. Back then, we saw massive aerodynamic shifts, but the 2016 car was really just an upgraded version of the previous concept. That seems to be happening again with the transition from the W12 to the W13; it looks like they just took the 2021 model and modified it enough to fit the new rules. I genuinely think they have a dangerously fast machine on their hands, and frankly, I don't think McLaren or Williams are that far behind.

It feels like Ferrari might actually have a car that can work on pretty much any type of circuit. And speaking of Red Bull, I’m convinced their engineers were spending way too much time hanging out at Alpha Tauri's garage—it’s honestly eerie how similar they look. I’ve got my doubts about Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, and even Alpha Tauri, along with Red Bull. I don't quite get why they're sticking to a concept that doesn't show any significant drop-off. When you look at the sidepod-level floor designs used by teams like Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin, they seem to be banking on a concept where high-pressure fluid is created in the tunnels to feed the upper diffuser surfaces with fast-moving air. Alpha Tauri and Red Bull just don't have that. I just know that sidepod-level floors have almost never worked in Formula 1 history, so I'm not sure if this new era will finally make that kind of logic actually function.

Alpha Tauri and Red Bull seem to be chasing a concept that traces back to the old Red Bull RB5 from 2009. Back then, we were dealing with smaller cars, but once the dimensions grew, they started using hot exhaust gases to blow out the rear end. Honestly, seeing that approach makes me think Ferrari's F1-75 looks absolutely lethal—like they’ve really nailed something special.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Alpine is cooking up in their workshop. Just as a reminder, they're moving to a completely separate turbocharger concept, similar to how Mercedes and Honda did it. Since everything is changing, nothing is predictable right now.

Here’s a photo of Red Bull's RB18 that actually looks like a real camera shot, unlike those previous ones that looked like they were taken with a toaster:



I honestly can't believe what I'm looking at—Red Bull is running a pull rod front suspension! I think that might be a first for them since joining Formula 1. The front wing design looks a lot like the Mercedes setup, and the sidepod inlets follow a similar pattern too. It turns out Red Bull actually went with the exact design I predicted Mercedes would eventually adopt—pulling that top edge of the inlet back and placing the rearview mirror mount right along the opening's edge. It's really quite interesting. 🙂

One can clearly observe here exactly what they have implemented regarding the sidepods and the rear section of the car.

stormybadger8 said:The Mercedes-Benz looks incredibly lean...
Whether that’s actually an advantage remains to be seen.

At first glance, nothing stands out, but it feels significantly narrower than the rest of the field...

It would be interesting to see a side-by-side comparison of the Mercedes-Benz, McLaren, Williams, and Aston Martin...
They don't seem to share much in common, which is pretty strange considering they all run the same power unit...

I bet Mercedes will eventually adopt either a wider cooling inlet (like McLaren does) or some sort of louvers (like Aston Martin)...

Gregory Brown94 said:Good grief, I can't believe anyone fell for that nonsense. It's impossible under the current regulations. The narrowest sidepods we've ever seen were on the Williams, and that was the absolute limit—both by the rulebook and by engineering reality.

Which specific part of the technical regulations limits the minimum width of a car's sidepods?

Jason Campbell70 said:Mercedes-Benz will probably end up adding a wider cooling inlet later on—sort of like what McLaren did—or maybe they'll try those venturi tunnels like Aston Martin.

Which specific part of the technical regulations actually sets a minimum width for the sidepods?

Here’s my take on it.
The rulebook basically says you can't have sharp winglets; everything has to be rounded off with a certain minimum radius—that’s why Ferrari went with that scooped-out look. Since that area houses the crash structures, you can't just stick a jagged little fin on there like in this sketch; it has to be a larger, more substantial component. Technically, they could even design sidepods without any inlets at all.

I don't see them actually doing that, though—if they did, all that dirty air coming off the tires would just slam right into the rear of the car. Everyone else uses wider sidepods specifically to kick that turbulent air away.

Here’s a 3D render showing all the components laid out. Every single one of them is strictly governed by the rulebook. Even if you tried to design an ultra-wide Power Unit radiator inlet and split up the cooling ducts so they could handle the whole PU, you’d still be stuck—you have to officially register any part you're claiming is a "bodywork" element.

Honestly, it's just impossible. Completely impossible. We aren't in the V8 era anymore where you could cram extra stuff under the engine cover on those 20-foot-long monsters. If I'm not making myself clear enough, just take a look at this Alfie packaging from lane▼



So, looking at this, we see relatively small sidepod radiators. Now, just imagine trying to fit those two right above that insanely complex Power Unit. At this point, we basically need Hank Pym to show up and shrink a few parts down for us.

What’s the deal with Neighbor 2 skipping the Alpine F1 live stream?

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...moXs1KiuQVk_LM

Dammit, I was just about finished
it didn't even last an hour
that stupid pink color...

but hey, at least I can watch the replay..