The Haas VF-22 has had the honor of being the first car of the new era to be shown to the public. It is a “base” car that will already have many changes in the tests of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and that in fact will not be definitive until those of Bahrain, but the version presented allows a clear vision of the identity that the single-seater will have .
A Formula 1 with ground effect, which is a clear break with the show car that FIA and FOM had shown last summer: it is evident that Simone Resta ( on loan to Haas from Ferrari ) has interpreted the new regulations with a rather brave approach , almost certainly in line with several of the concepts that on February 17 we will also review in the Ferrari F1-75.
Details of the new Haas car: 1) A very long rear end
The VF-22 shows a very long rear, with the engine as close as possible to the cockpit and with a long transmission to have a very narrow keel in the rib area where the diffuser slopes upwards in search of maximum downforce. they are able to generate the two Venturi tunnels placed under the bellies.
Details of the new Haas car: 2) Margin with the wheelbase limit?
However, to stay within the 3,600mm wheelbase limit (which is the maximum allowed by the regulations), the front axle was moved closer to the frame with a shorter wheel-to-radiator gap. Resta may have chosen a slightly shorter wheelbase than the maximum allowed in order to have a little leeway in case intervention is needed if the faster cars turn out to be longer or shorter and in passing to contain the weight.
Details of the new Haas car: 3) The front spoiler, with a bit of an outwash effect
The front wing looks a lot like the one on the show car that the FIA-FOM showed at Silverstone in 2021, but, although it is not the one we will see on track, it already highlights some interesting aspects: the main profile is flat, while the last flap is interesting because it shows in the outermost part a reduction in incidence that feeds a small useful channel to direct the flow towards the outside of the front wheel, looking for that outwash effect of last year. In the central part there is an accentuated arch, while in the interior an attempt is made to channel the air towards the cooling grilles of the radiators.
The endplate that connects to the nearly square-shaped flaps is slightly recessed at the leading edge to promote outwash effect .
Details of the new Haas car: 4) The nose is short and sloped
The nose is rather square and aerodynamic, as well as sloping because it does not quite embrace the main, flat profile of the wing, and it has small support pillars for the wings. The opening of the S duct is not visible on the chassis, a solution that with this regulation will find little use.
Details of the new Haas car: 5) The push-rod front suspension
The front suspension maintains the push rod scheme (the pattern of push rods), as Ferrari usually does: the upper triangle acts as the first flow separator between the air destined to cool the Ferrari 066/7 engine and the one that is led to Venturi tunnels. Interestingly, the steering arm positioned slightly ahead of the triangle arm is offset downwards to create a breath.
The lower triangle, on the other hand, is at the height of the hub mount and is used to direct the flow to the ground effect channels. The shell-shaped air intake for the brakes seems to have a smaller opening than that allowed by the regulations.
Haas New Car Details: 6) High Radiator Outlets
In the front view of the car, it is striking how small the radiator cooling vents are: they suck the air very high, despite the fact that the FIA has raised the upper lateral anti-intrusion cone by 60 mm, leaving a very large space in the lower part that allows supplying the air destined for the rear diffuser. The belly is very short and follows the shape of the radiating masses, with a rapid drop on the side that integrates with a triangular-shaped body that connects to the lower part with a solution similar to that of the 2021 Red Bull RB16.
The gills that this year will have to dissipate the heat do not appear, but they will have to, because the rear engine hood is very closed.
Details of the new Haas car: 7) Ferrari-type airbox
The air box that must feed the Ferrari Superfast engine is triangular like that of the F1-75 : in addition to the endplate that divides the air that goes to the compressor from that destined for the radiator at the rear, there is also the inlet behind the driver’s helmet and between the two roll bar pylons.
With the rear wing taller this year, Haas engineers looked for more efficiency in the center area. The vertical drift that acts as a small ridge at the end of the engine cover is minute.
Details of the new Haas car: 8) The chassis weighs more
The chassis is of a new conception: to comply with the strictest safety standards in side collisions, there has been a significant increase in weight (about fifteen kilos!) which is obviously added to the new BBS wheels and 18-inch tires from Pirelli (another 15 kg in total): the Haas, however, had no homologation problems, passing all the crash tests already in December.
Details of the new Haas car: 9) The hubcaps
It can be seen in the hubcaps that they are no longer flat as we saw them in the Abu Dhabi tire tests: in the central part they have a recess to make it easier for the mechanics to stop in the pits. Modification made for security reasons.
Details of the new Haas car: 10) The pull-rod rear suspension
The rear suspension is pull-rod: to maintain the long wheelbase behind, the triangles are facing forward, and therefore it is conceivable that we will no longer see the anchors towards the deformable structure as Red had done. Bull and Mercedes. The lower triangle is located above the Venturi channel: the arms in the tunnel would have created a significant aerodynamic lock that would have affected downforce.
At the rear you can see a single larger central exhaust, and the double pillar that supports the new rear spoiler in two still standard design profiles. Of more interest are the endplates that in the show car connected to the lower wing with a curvilinear connection: on the Haas VF-22, however, we see those edges that Nikolas Tombazis (ruler maker) wouldn’t want to see.
The same argument, in fact, can be made about the huge rear extractor that has the endplates at right angles to the platen. The design of the rear brake grilles where there are still some fins left is very complex, but the published images do not allow an adequate view to describe them.
In short: although it is not a completely finished car, Haas made a very good impression for what he showed. It seems that it will no longer be the Cinderella of the new era of F1…
