Aston Martin unveils 2022 F1 challenger

LONDON: Aston Martin became the first team to show off their 2022 Formula One car in real life, when they took the wraps off their latest challenger on Thursday.

Christened the AMR-22, the new car has been designed to Formula One’s radical new rules featuring revised aerodynamics aimed at improving wheel-to-wheel racing and bigger 18-inch wheels.

The car continues to sport a similar British Racing Green livery to last year with the addition of Aramco branding, the Saudi energy giant the team unveiled as a title partner last week.

“The 2022 regulations are like no other that have gone before," said chief technical officer Andrew Green in a statement.

"A radical change of direction in both concept and application, probably the most significant change of chassis regulations ever implemented..."

Aston Martin are the third team to launch their 2022 campaign after Haas and Red Bull.

Haas kicked off the launch season, showing off a digital rendering of their new car, while Red Bull’s was more of a livery launch, featuring new title sponsor Oracle, on a show car.

Green said the AMR-22 displayed at the launch would evolve rapidly over the next few months as teams begin racing and testing the new-look cars.

Aston Martin, owned by billionaire Lawrence Stroll, finished seventh out of 10 teams in the overall standings last season.

But the Canadian, who bought the team out of administration in 2018 when they were known as Force India and rebranded them Aston Martin last year, wants them to be fighting for the championship in five years’ time.

The team hired four-time champion Sebastian Vettel last year to drive alongside Stroll’s son Lance.

They are also building a new factory and have hired top names from other teams.