Mercedes confirms F1 2022 launch date

Mercedes is the latest team to confirm the date on which it will debut its 2022 Formula 1 challenger.

The squad will reveal the W13 on February 18, a day after Ferrari unveils its new contender.

It enters the coming campaign with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell among its driving ranks, the latter replacing Valtteri Bottas.

Speculation has swirled regarding Hamilton’s future since the end of the 2021 campaign, which saw him lose out on the championship to Max Verstappen in controversial circumstances.

The Englishman has kept a low profile ever since, fuelling suggestions he could walk away from F1 despite holding a contract until the end of 2023.

A number of drivers have been rumoured to be in line to replace him should that take place, including Pierre Gasly and Sebastian Vettel.

However, that scenario seems unlikely with Mercedes and Hamilton expected to remain a feature at the front of the grid.

The forthcoming season is the first of a new era in F1 with all-new aerodynamic regulations aimed at improving on-track action.

Mercedes dominated the previous ‘turbo-hybrid’ era, winning every constructors’ championship since 2014 and all but one drivers’ title in that time.

The W13 was fired up last month, the team posting a video online, and is due to have its first run following the launch with a shakedown at Silverstone in the hours following the launch.

Six days of pre-season testing await teams, the first three in Spain from February 23 and the final test in Bahrain the week prior to the 2022 F1 season kicking off in mid-March.