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Barcelona F1 2022 testing: Latest technical images

The final day of the first pre-season Formula 1 test of 2022 saw teams battling issues and a wet track, as Pirelli soaked it to gather data. Giorgio Piola and Sutton Images were busy taking pictures in the pitlane and trackside in order that we can appreciate the tech on offer.

Williams FW44 engine detail

Williams FW44 engine detail

Giorgio Piola

Ferrari F1-75 side detail

Ferrari F1-75 side detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Ferrari introduced a new floor on the third day of the test with a floor arc and aperture exposing a tongue-like structure bobbing out from the underside of the floor. It will be fascinating to see if other teams follow in their footsteps and adopt a similar solution.


Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18, with aero paint applied

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18, with aero paint applied

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

A great shot of the Red Bull RB18 with flo-viz painted on the rear section of the edge wing and sloping floor transition.


Williams FW44 engine detail

Williams FW44 engine detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

An altogether fascinating insight into the Williams FW44’s internal packaging, with a large portion of the cars cooling shifted onto the centreline, with two coolers mounted diagonally in the saddle position above the power unit.


Alpine A522 front detail

Alpine A522 front detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Alpine are already getting tricky with their front brake duct design, as a window-like aperture in the drum shows another panel with teardrop-shaped outlets housed behind it. This avenue of development has been curtailed heavily by the new regulations but given the performance benefits we’ll see teams do whatever they can.


Red Bull Racing RB18 detail

Red Bull Racing RB18 detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The sidepod bodywork is detached in this shot of the Red Bull RB18 which gives us an opportunity to see their radiator and cooler setup within, whilst also being privy to the flow conditioning devices used within too.


Red Bull Racing RB18 front brake detail

Red Bull Racing RB18 front brake detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The front brake and upright assembly on the Red Bull RB18 without the brake drum cover in place gives a great idea of the teams cooling strategy, whilst the disc itself is also shrouded in a duct or sorts.


Red Bull Racing RB18 front brake detail

Red Bull Racing RB18 front brake detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Meanwhile, with the drum in place we can see how much of the inlet is exposed between the end fence and where the tyres sidewall will reside.


Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW44

Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW44

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

A great shot of the Williams FW44 on track gives us an appreciation for the quickly sloping sidepods, with their throughput duct seen open on the upper, outer corner of the sidepod on this occasion. Also note the width of the engine cover, where more of the radiators and coolers are now located.


The front wing of the Ferrari F1-75

The front wing of the Ferrari F1-75

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Top down overview of the Ferrari F1-75’s front wing, note the shorter chord upper elements when compared with the mainplane and second element.


Alex Albon, Williams FW44

Alex Albon, Williams FW44

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Williams with reference dots and chequered stickers on their rear wing which can be used to determine how the wing is flexing when studying the footage from the rearward facing onboard cameras.


Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Similarly, Red Bull have strategically placed chequered stickers on their rear wing so they can gather hi-speed footage of the wing that can be studied later.


Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, leaves the garage

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, leaves the garage

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Top down overview of the Ferrari F1-75’s hot tub-like sculpted sidepods, where we can see some of the cooling gills blanked off.


Bodywork of Ferrari F1-75

Bodywork of Ferrari F1-75

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

With the bodywork taken off the Ferrari F1-75 we can see where the cooling gills have been blanked off.


George Russell, Mercedes W13, leaves the garage

George Russell, Mercedes W13, leaves the garage

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

Close up of the Mercedes W13 as it leaves the garage with the splitter, bib, floor strakes and wavy floor section in clear sight.


Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo C42

Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo C42

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Guanyu Zhou at the wheel of the Alfa Romeo C42 and testing out the DRS


Esteban Ocon, Alpine A522

Esteban Ocon, Alpine A522

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Alpine installed a taller edge wing on the A522 during the second day of testing, seen here (the one with the DuPont and Microsoft logos)


Esteban Ocon, Alpine A522

Esteban Ocon, Alpine A522

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Plenty to digest in this angle of the Alpine A522, from the shape of the top edge of the front wing endplate, the design of the floor edge and the engine cover cooling gills being covered being just a few.


Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Photo by: Motorsport Images

A similar angle of the Aston Martin allows us to appreciate just how different each of this year's designs are and not only in one department.


Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

A rearward shot of the Red Bull RB18 allows us to once again soak in their stacked beam wing design, while also noting their use of the cooling gill panel between the sidepods and engine cover.


Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

A shot of the AlphaTauri AT03 with the DRS open but also note the floor edge design.


Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C42

Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C42

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Flo-viz painted on the front suspension elements of the Alfa Romeo C42 that has made its way down the car to the floor bib and sidepods.


Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW44

Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW44

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Flo-viz painted on the rear section of the Williams FW44’s floor, which is almost touching the ground.


Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Overview of the area between the front wheels and sidepods on the Aston Martin AMR22 reveals the double splitter/snowplow solutions and shows how large their outer edge wing is.


Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Top down overview of the Aston Martin AMR22 also shows how the team has the rear section of the cooling gills covered due to the current temperatures.


Red Bull Racing RB18 rear detail with sensor

Red Bull Racing RB18 rear detail with sensor

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

A large kiel probe rake was fitted to the Red Bull RB18 at one point, as the team looked to collect data on how the air is flowing over the car.


Nikita Mazepin, Haas VF-22

Nikita Mazepin, Haas VF-22

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Lots of interesting details on the Haas VF-22, including but not limited to, their front wing endplate and diveplane, the floor edge, winglets around the cockpit and the cooling outlet louvres on the engine covers spine which has also led to the detached engine cover shark fin.


Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

The Aston Martin AMR22 with kiel probe rakes mounted in an unusual position around the middle of the sidepods.


Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

The kiel probe rake seen from the rear on the Aston Martin AMR22


Alfa Romeo C42 side detail

Alfa Romeo C42 side detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The Alfa Romeo C42’s floor edge has some interesting details to note, including the lifted and slotted scroll section.


Testing rig on the car of Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18

Testing rig on the car of Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Another view of the kiel probe rake mounted on the left-hand side of the Red Bull RB18, but also note the horizontal extension across in front of the rear wing on the right-hand side of the car too.


Alfa Romeo C42 front brake detail

Alfa Romeo C42 front brake detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

A close up of the front brake duct on the Alfa Romeo C42, note the metal wirework at the top and bottom of the inlet to help prevent the inlet being clogged up with tyre marbles or other detritus.


Testing rig on the car of Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03

Testing rig on the car of Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

A huge kiel probe rake attached to the AlphaTauri AT03 which extends out beyond the width of the car.


Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

The cockpit region on the Alpha Tauri AT03 features not only a boomerang winglet atop the halo but also three fins on the edge of the sidepod.


Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo C42

Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo C42

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Rearward view of the Alfa Romeo C42 - note the C-shaped winglet mounted above the exhaust outlet.


Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari F1-75

Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari F1-75

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

Rear view of the Ferrari F1-75 noting the size of the rear cooling outlet and the cooling gills embedded within the sidepods' upper surface.


Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW44

Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW44

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

Comparatively we have the Williams FW44 from behind, which doesn’t utilise the cooling gills on its very short sidepods but does have a larger rear outlet as a consequence.


Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

The Mercedes W13 has a similarly sized rear cooling outlet when compared with the Williams but the team has also tried various sized and positioned cooling gill panels over the course of the three day test.


Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

A rear view of the Red Bull RB18 which also features the high waisted and larger cooling outlet at the rear of the car.

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