Since the rule that prohibited F1 drivers from changing their helmet more than once per season disappeared, it is no longer surprising to see new designs on the heads of the protagonists in each race. However, this year the teams have wanted to add to this trend to a greater or lesser extent to show off new aspects, and already more than half of the grid has modified the colors of their cars.
Alpine, Haas, Williams, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Ferrari and finally McLaren made livery adjustments to their 2022 cars at some race, and we’re going to see why.
Photos: the special decorations of the 2022 F1 cars
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Alpine’s special decoration in the 2022 F1 season: pink
In the weeks leading up to the presentation of Alpine’s car for F1 2022, there was much talk of the presence of the characteristic pink color of its sponsor BWT, which had already painted the Racing Point car that color in the past. Minutes before finding out about Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon’s car for this course, a photo of a mostly pink car was leaked, which made us think that the Alpine would be like that Racing Point. However, it was a temporary version, which they would use only in the pre-season tests and in the first two races of the year, the Bahrain GP and the Saudi Arabian GP.
(Photos: the pink Alpine… and the “normal”)
Foto de: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Haas livery change in the 2022 F1 season
Haas was the first team to change its livery after the cars’ first outings on the track. And it is that the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine coincided with the 2022 preseason, and the team quickly broke with its sponsor Uralkali, a Russian company. He removed the stickers of that brand (while firing the Russian driver Nikita Mazepin) and also removed the Russian flag that ran along the entire side of the car. Already on the last day of testing in Barcelona, he wore a much simpler single-seater, before presenting his final livery for the Bahrain tests and the rest of the season, white with black and red parts.
(Photos: the original ‘Russian’ Haas, the first without the Uralkali and the flag, and the final one)
Photo by: Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Alessio Morgese
Decoration changes by weight in F1 2022: Williams, Aston Martin or McLaren
One of the big headaches for the teams with the new generation of F1 cars was getting close to the minimum weight. Most teams created ‘overweight’ cars and looked for every possible way to shed loads to be lighter. One of the measures taken by several was to remove paint from some parts and take them untreated, directly on the black of the carbon fiber.
Aston Martin removed the green painted areas of its car to save what they estimated to be around 350 grams, and McLaren also removed the orange paint from its airbox for the first race of the season. However, the most striking change was that of Williams, in whose car black gained prominence to the detriment of blue on the side, around the pontoons.
(Photos: the original Williams, and the weight saver)
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Alfa Romeo’s livery change in the 2022 F1 season
If there was an award for the best special decoration, in F1 2022 it would go to Alfa Romeo without a doubt. To celebrate the launch of the brand’s road car, the electric SUV named Tonale , Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou’s car was painted with the Italian flag for the Azerbaijan GP.
“The green color is a nod to the Montreal tone, used at the launch of the Tonale, but also because of the strong link with Alfa Romeo’s identity for the transition towards a more responsible and sustainable mobility concept,” they explained then. And he fell in love with everyone, of course.
(Photos: the Alfa Romeo ‘Italian, and the rest of the season)
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
Foto de: Alfa Romeo
Photo by: DPPI
Mercedes’ livery change in the 2022 F1 season
Mercedes left many with honey on their lips when it was leaked that it would run with a red decoration (Ferrari type) at the 2022 Belgian GP. However, the tribute to the 55 years of AMG (the sports branch that was its partner before to belong to them) at Spa-Francorchamps it was only with retro numbers on the cars of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, and with a 55th anniversary sticker.
A Mercedes F1 was seen in the Spa paddock mixing its silver color with red, in homage to the historic Mercedes 300 SEL 6.8 AMG , known as ‘Red Pig’. But Wolff explained that with three races in a row and the aforementioned overweight problem, they couldn’t change their livery that much.
(Photos: the ‘retro’ Mercedes in Spa and a poster of the red version that could have been and was not)
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Erik Junius
Photo by: Erik Junius
Ferrari’s livery change in the 2022 F1 season
At the Italian GP, Ferrari celebrated the 75th anniversary of the creation of its first car, the mythical 125 S from 1947. And for this reason, they added yellow touches to the rear of their single-seater, as well as a complete change of clothing for the members of the Scuderia and the drivers, who were in full yellow. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, also wore yellow helmets…
(Photos: the Ferrari with the yellow livery of its 2022 F1)
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
McLaren’s livery change in the 2022 F1 season
McLaren was the latest team to introduce a special livery in the 2022 season, after announcing that in Singapore and Japan, to celebrate F1 returning to Asia after the pandemic, it will feature neon pink elements and illustrations alongside its usual papaya orange. from the motor world inspired by cyberpunk.
(Photos: the McLaren with the new livery, and the original)
Photo by: McLaren
Photo by: McLaren
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Do you want to read our news before anyone else and for free? Follow us here on our Telegram channel and you won’t miss a thing. All the information, at your fingertips!
