F1 2022: Launch dates, pre-season test, TV and schedule

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F1 2022 car. Britain July 2021

F1 revealed a model of the 2022 car at the Silverstone circuit. Britain July 2021

How on earth do you try and follow what happened during the 2021 season? Well, F1 2022 also has potential to surprise with the introduction of widespread regulation changes.

When the dust well and truly settles on the F1 2021 campaign, Max Verstappen will be defending his World Championship title in a sport that is going to look very different to what we have seen over the past eight years.

All-new ground effect cars are making their way onto the grid as Formula 1 looks to try and create a more competitive series and bring the field closer together both on and off the track in 2022 and beyond.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the F1 2022 season…

When are the F1 2022 car launch dates?

Launch season is always an exciting time for fans and teams alike but, with the aforementioned all-new cars incoming, the excitement levels could not be higher.

Teams will be trying their best to keep their technical innovations under wraps as beady eyes from their competitors will begin to look at how others have interpreted the new regulations.

Haas were the first team to launch with some renders of their 2022 livery, with the rest of the schedule as follows:

Red Bull: February 9
Aston Martin: February 10
McLaren: February 11
AlphaTauri: February 14
Williams: February 15
Ferrari: February 17
Mercedes: February 18
Alpine: February 21
Alfa Romeo: February 27
Haas: February 4

What are the F1 2022 cars called?

There won’t be many prizes given out for the most innovative car name, with many teams opting to keep things nice and orderly by going up one on their respective scales. Alfa Romeo have broken the mould a little bit by going from the C41 in 2021 to the C40 in 2022, rather than the C42. That’s because the team had already started working on the C40 before the rule changes were pushed back until the 2022 season.

Mercedes: W13
Red Bull: RB18
Ferrari: F1-75
McLaren: MCL36
Alpine: A522
AlphaTauri: AT03
Aston Martin: AMR22
Williams: TBC
Alfa Romeo: C40
Haas: VF-22

When is F1 2022 testing and is it on TV?

F1 2022 testing is split over the course of six days ahead of the 2022 campaign getting underway on March 18-20 in Bahrain.

The first three days will be spent in Barcelona but this event will be behind closed doors and won’t be available to watch on TV or stream. F1TV intend to broadcast a daily round-up show from the Circuit de Catalunya.

After a break, the 10 Formula 1 teams will set up camp in Bahrain for the second test, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 for UK and Ireland viewers and in territories where access to F1TV Pro is available.

The schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, February 23 – Day 1, First Test, Barcelona, Circuit de Catalunya
Thursday, February 24 – Day 2, First Test, Barcelona, Circuit de Catalunya
Friday, February 25 – Day 3, First Test, Barcelona, Circuit de Catalunya

Thursday, March 10 – Day 1, Second Test, Bahrain, Sakhir International
Friday, March 11 – Day 2, Second Test, Bahrain, Sakhir International
Saturday, March 12 – Day 3, Second Test, Bahrain, Sakhir International

What is the full F1 2022 calendar?

March 18-20: Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir
March 25-27: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Jeddah
April 8-10: Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne
April 22-24: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Imola
May 6-8: Miami Grand Prix, Miami
May 20-22: Spanish Grand Prix, Catalunya
May 27-29: Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo
June 10-12: Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku
June 17-19: Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal
July 1-3: British Grand Prix, Silverstone
July 8-10: Austrian Grand Prix, Spielberg
July 22-24: French Grand Prix, Le Castellet
July 29-31: Hungarian Grand Prix, Budapest
August 26-28: Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps
September 2-4: Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort
September 9-11: Italian Grand Prix, Monza
September 23-25: Russian Grand Prix, Sochi
September 30-October 2: Singapore Grand Prix, Singapore
October 7-9: Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka
October 21-23: United States Grand Prix, Austin
October 28-30: Mexico City Grand Prix, Mexico City
November 11-13: Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Interlagos
November 18-20: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina

Where can I watch the F1 2022 season?

In the UK, every session, from the start of FP1 to the end of the race, is available via pay-TV broadcaster Sky Sports. A live stream of their coverage can also be accessed via Now TV.

Highlights of both qualifying sessions and the race will be shown on free-to-air broadcaster Channel 4.

If you have F1TV Pro, you can watch all the action live, too. Please check to see if F1 TV Pro is available in your country.

PlanetF1 will carry live timing and expert commentary on every session of the weekend, with coverage beginning 30 minutes before each practice (first and second practice sessions are now 90 minutes long instead of 60) and qualifying, and one hour before the race.

The F1 2022 season will be shown live on TV on the following stations in the following key markets:

United States: ESPN and ABC (US GP and Mexico GP only)
Canada: RDS (French), TSN (English)
Australia: Fox Sports, Network 10 (Aus GP only)
France: Canal+, C8 (Bahrain GP, Monaco GP, French GP, US GP and Mexico GP only)
Italy: Sky Sport F1, TV8 (Emilia Romagna, Spanish and Italian GPs live only)
Germany: Sky Sport F1, RTL (Emilia Romagna, Spain, Italy & Saudi Arabian GPs only)
Spain: DAZN, Telecinco (Spanish GP only)
Netherlands: Viaplay
Brazil: Band, TV Bandeirantes
Japan: DAZN, Fuji TV Next

What is the F1 2022 driver line-up?

There are a lot of familiar faces and line-ups for the F1 2022 season, with just three teams changing personnel ahead of this landmark campaign.

At Mercedes, George Russell has replaced Valtteri Bottas, who has joined Alfa Romeo alongside rookie recruit Guanyu Zhou. The only other change sees Alex Albon return to Formula 1 to take Russell’s old spot at Williams.

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell
Red Bull: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz
McLaren: Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo
Alpine: Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon
AlphaTauri: Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda
Aston Martin: Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll
Williams: Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi
Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou
Haas: Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin

Who is favourite for the F1 2022 title?

Lewis Hamilton – 6/4
Max Verstappen – 9/4
George Russell – 6/1
Charles Leclerc – 14/1
Carlos Sainz – 25/1
Lando Norris – 35/1
Sergio Perez – 40/1
Fernando Alonso – 50/1
Daniel Ricciardo – 66/1