Motorsport Roundup: Dakar 2022 Updates, 2022 F1 Car Launch Dates, Formula E In India, Daruvala Signs With Prema And More

The last seven days saw 2022 pre-season action well and truly kick off with a slew of announcements and unveils including India potentially getting a Formula E race for the first time. Aside from that, the gruelling Dakar 2022 rally came to a close. Here’s everything you need to know from the past week in motorsports:

Dakar 2022 

The curtains fell on the prestigious Dakar 2022 rally after 14 days, 12 stages and 8375km of running in a variety of off-road challenges. Coming out on top in their respective categories was Nasser Al-Attiyah (cars), and Sam Sunderland (bikes). For our Indian presence in the bikes category, the Hero MotoSports squad of Joaquim Rodrigues and Aaron Mare finished in 14th and 16th in the final rankings. While Harith Noah was taken out of the running due to a mechanical failure, he still managed to complete the rally under the Dakar Experience category.

Formula One 

It’s almost time for car launches for Formula One’s new 2022 era, and the first dates are out. Aston Martin will be the first to unveil its 2022 challenger on February 10, followed by McLaren on February 11, with Ferrari unveiling their car on February 17. The first three-day pre-season test kicks off from February 23-25 at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya in Spain.

WRC

Shortly after Hyundai Motorsport unveiled its 2022 challenger, Toyota Gazoo Racing and M-Sport Ford unveiled their WRC Rally1 prototypes. The 2022 FIA World Rally Championship will commence in Monaco from February 20-23.

Formula E

Looks like India is in the running to host a Formula E race for the first time as the State of Telangana has officially signed a letter of intent to host a round in Hyderabad. But do note that this is simply a letter of intent, with the final approvals still pending.

The other big announcement is that Maserati will end its long hiatus in motorsport and will join the Formula E grid when the Gen3 era kicks off in the 2022-23 season. It’ll be the first Italian manufacturer to join the all-electric series. 

Formula 2 

The 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship will see Jehan Daruvala switch from Carlin to Prema Racing for his third season in the championship. This isn’t Daruvala’s first rodeo with Prema, as the Indian driver had a strong F3 campaign with the team in 2019, finishing third in the overall standings. Pre-season testing kicks off from March 02-04 in Bahrain, followed by the season opener at the same circuit from March 18-20. 

Indian Motorsport 

Shortly after Mumbai Falcons announced its driver lineup for the 2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship, the team also announced an all-Indian driver lineup for the 2022 Formula 4 UAE season. The lineup includes Sohil Shah, who will be racing his first international championship as a rookie. The other driver will be Yash Aradhya who has won multiple national titles including the ‘Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar’, the highest civilian award by the Government of India for kids under the age of 18 years and the first person in Indian motorsports to receive this award. 

Next week will see the opening round of the 2022 World Rally Championship take place in Monaco, with the 2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship and Formula 4 UAE season openers commencing in Abu Dhabi.