The Haas VF-22 is a

Formula One racing car A Formula One car or F1 car is a single-seat, open-cockpit, open-wheel formula racing car used to compete in Formula One racing events. It has substantial front and rear wings, large wheels, and a turbocharged engine positioned behind the dri ...

designed and constructed by the

Haas F1 Team Haas Formula LLC, competing as MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, is an List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, American-licensed Formula One racing team established by NASCAR Cup Series team owner Gene Haas in April 2014. The team made its ...

to compete in the

2022 Formula One World Championship The 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars, which was the 73rd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the ...

. The VF-22 is Haas' seventh car entry into Formula One. It has been driven by

Kevin Magnussen Kevin Jan Magnussen (; born 5 October 1992) is a Danish racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for W Racing Team, WRT and the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, RLL as a factory driver f ...

Mick Schumacher Mick Schumacher (; born 22 March 1999) is a German racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Alpine. Schumacher competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Switzerland, Schumacher is the son of seven-ti ...

, and

Nikita Mazepin Nikita Dmitryevich Mazepin ( rus, Ники́та Дми́триевич Мазе́пин, p=nʲɪˈkʲitə ˈdmʲɪtrʲɪjɪvʲɪtɕ mɐˈzʲepʲɪn; born 2 March 1999) is a Russian racing driver and motorsport executive, who most recently comp ...

, the lattermost who was replaced by Magnussen before the season-opening

Bahrain Grand Prix The Bahrain Grand Prix (), officially known as the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix for sponsorship reasons, is a Formula One motor racing event in Bahrain. The first race took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 4 April 2004. It made hist ...

. The car runs on power units supplied by

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

. The VF-22 was the first Formula One car of 2022 to be revealed pre-season. Due to the major change to the Formula One regulations which affected the appearance of the cars, development on the VF-21 used in the 2021 season was cut short, and the team instead focused on the 2022 season. This car is notable for being the first ever Haas Formula One car to take a pole position, in the hands of Magnussen, at the

2022 São Paulo Grand Prix The 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Heineken Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2022) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 13 November 2022 at the Interlagos Circuit in São Paulo, Brazil. Mercedes F1, Mercedes d ...

at Interlagos. Haas had an overall improved season, moving up from 10th in the constructors championship to 8th and back to scoring points regularly.

Development

Haas did not develop its previous car in 2021 and instead focused on the VF-22 during the whole 2021 championship due to a regulation change. For a seventh consecutive year, Haas selected a

engine for its car. On 4 February, the VF-22 became the first 2022 car to be revealed.

Livery

The car was revealed and initially tested in a livery similar to the previous season's VF-21, with the title sponsorship from Russian company

Uralkali Uralkali ( rus, Уралка́лий, p=ʊrɐɫ'kalʲɪj) is a Russian potash fertilizer producer and exporter. It is traded on the Moscow Exchange using the symbol, URKA. The company's assets consist of five mines and seven ore-treatment mills s ...

and designs across the car, particularly on the front wing, resembling the

Russian flag The national flag of the Russian Federation (, ) is a tricolour of three equal horizontal bands: white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The design was first introduced by Tsar Peter the Great in 1693, and in 1705 it was ...

. Following the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

on 24 February, Haas removed the Uralkali branding from their car and website. The final day of the first pre-season test on 25 February was run with the car carrying a modified black-and-white livery. The sponsorship was later terminated along with Mazepin's contract on 5 March. An updated livery with the colour red replacing the Russian flag stripe, was used during the second test in Bahrain.

Competition history

Magnussen drove the car to 7th in qualifying and finished 5th in the

. In the same race, Schumacher placed 12th in qualifying and 11th in the actual race. The following weekend in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, Magnussen qualified 10th and finished 9th. Schumacher's VF-22 lost back end control after hitting a curb in Q2, and hitting a wall. While Schumacher sustained no injuries, the damages to the VF-22 were estimated at $1M. Only one VF-22 raced the following day. At

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

, Magnussen scored points in both the sprint race and full Grand Prix with an 8th and 9th-place finish respectively. The following races would prove barren for both drivers, including a large crash for Schumacher at Monaco where his car split in two after an incident in the Swimming Pool section of the circuit. At the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...

Mick Schumacher scored his first Formula One points driving the VF-22 finishing in 8th place. Magnussen was 10th. At the following round in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, Schumacher finished in 6th. Teammate Kevin Magnussen also scored points in Austria in both sprint and Grand Prix races. At the São Paulo Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen took the team's as well as his first

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

. Haas became the first US-based constructor to take pole since

Shadow Racing Cars Shadow Racing Cars was a Formula One and sports car racing team. The sports car racing team, competing in the CanAm series, was founded in 1968 and was based in the United States. The Formula One team was founded in and was based in N ...

at the

1975 British Grand Prix The 1975 British Grand Prix (formally the John Player Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone on 19 July 1975. It was race 10 of 14 in both the 1975 World Championship of Drivers and the 1975 Internationa ...

Complete Formula One results

References

External links

Official website
{{Dallara, state=collapsed 2022 Formula One season cars VF-22