F1 2022: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant AMR22 Revealed

Aston Martin is third to debut their latest Formula 1 racecar and it’s the most distinctive one yet. With the addition of a new title-level sponsor, Aramco, it also has one of the longest official team names so far. Let’s take our first look at the AMR22.

Immediately, the new Aston Martin F1 car looks different from the RB18 we saw the day before. The shape of the side pods is especially distinctive and highlighted by the slatted vents along the top. The show car also features an additional element to the rear wing assembly sitting higher than the swan neck linkage and is likely part of the DRS mechanism. Aesthetically, it’s good to see Aston Martin sticking with that fantastical shade of green combined with neon highlights. The car is truly on brand with other AMR products and the AMR22 is currently the best-looking F1 car for 2022.

It seems that the design of the aero discs is standardised for the debut models but Aston Martin has made more of an effort to visually stand out with the additional white details. We expect those to look pretty cool when the AMR22 is on the move.

Of course, these cars have yet to be tested on the track and will undergo major changes even before the first race of the season, especially with the aero details. But we can see that Aston Martin has taken a different approach from Red Bull to the new set of rules. The AMR22 brings extra interest as it is the first of the new-era Mercedes-powered cars to be revealed.

Under the lovely green body shell lies a very potent 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid powertrain, called the Mercedes-AMG F1 M12 E Performance. Yeah, that’s the 2021 power unit. Unless it is a typing error in the official specifications, it seems Aston will be using an older (albeit successful) powertrain in the second season since its comeback.

While Aston Martin F1 did not seem to keep up with the rest of the midfield in 2021, the new-gen cars should allow it to be more competitive in 2022. The whole point of changing the rules was to make cars that can deliver close racing and if that is achieved, Aston Martin has the talent to snatch some podium results in the 2022 season.

At the helm, we will continue to see Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll. The former champ did manage to claim two podiums when things got messy between the title contenders (one was later delisted due to a technical infringement), and we hope to see him up there this year as well. Lance was more consistent over the season but lacked strong results. Hopefully, he can make the most of having Seb as his teammate to continue to improve on his racecraft. Reserve driver duties will be handled by the vastly experienced Nico Hulkenberg.

Being Aston Martin, the showcase was a little more special than most F1 teams. The AMR22 was debuted in the company of other stunning Astons such as the Valhalla and the Valkyrie AMR Pro. The recently unveiled DBX707 was there too.

What do you make of the Aston Martin AMR22? Do you think it can be competitive against Alpine and McLaren in 2022? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe to the Auto Loons for more F1 updates and news about cool cars.