John N
With the end of the season came a new uprising of fierce rivalries and an abundance of unforgettable moments. The long wait for the 2022 season is almost over, and it’s time to do an overview on some of the most interesting battles in store for us as we get prepared for another fantastic season.
Championship Fight
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen went toe-to-toe in 2021, giving us a season to remember. And it’s anyone’s guess who will come out on top in 2022. It remains to be seen if the pair’s rivalry will be different this year. Their last three seasons have seen them crash into each other twice at Silverstone and Monza, with further incidents at Imola and Jeddah.
It’s not just Verstappen and Hamilton who we should watch out for either. Sergio Perez and George Russell will be itching to join the fight, eager to prove themselves as strong all-round F1 racers. Perez put on a defensive masterclass in Abu Dhabi—but what we’ll be watching most closely is whether he can become more than just a ‘rear-gunner’ for Verstappen, and help Red Bull deliver a fifth constructors’ championship too. Similarly, there’s Russell. The young ex-Williams racer will want to make his mark almost immediately; and if he can rival his seven-time champion team mate and Verstappen, do not be surprised if the 23 year old makes a name for himself early in his F1 career.
Back makers Battle
F1 rookie Zhou Guanyu, who will be China’s first full-time F1 driver this season, has a tough benchmark in ex-Mercedes racer Valtteri Bottas on the other side of the garage. Will Zhou be a quiet understudy to the 10-time Grand Prix winner or emerge as a thorn in his side? Either way, we’re hoping for a storming rookie season from Shanghai’s star.
Alfa Romeo hopes to fare better than they did last season, as Williams passed them and took P8 in the standings. If those two teams, and potentially the aforementioned Haas, go wheel-to-wheel again in 2022, it will be fascinating to see who emerges on top, as Williams prepare to field Alex Albon – making his return to F1 with the Grove squad – alongside Nicholas Latifi.
Sophomore Supremacy
Three of the four rookies from 2021 have graduated to become second-year drivers in 2022. AlphaTauri’s Jomo Tsunoda, plus the Haas duo of Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher, all have difficult sophomore seasons to produce. Jomo Tsunoda had his moments in 2021, particularly that fourth place finish at Abu Dhabi and P6 in Hungary, but the Japanese driver’s campaign was also punctuated by a number of mistakes. No doubt he’ll be eager to show what he can do in 2022 and break out of teammate Gasly’s shadow.
Haas endured a tough time last season, with little in the way of silverware. The highlight was undoubtedly P12 for Schumacher in Hungary, but the American team aimed higher than that. Ferrari’s new engine is more reliable, so we’re curious to see what Haas’s 2022 car can do, given they worked on it all season last year. If the Haas VF-22 isn’t as difficult to handle as its predecessor, then Schumacher and Mazepin may finally realize their potential together. On track, at least: will they get along? This could be a breakout season for Haas’ young pairing – or a squabble-fest…
Triple Midfield Melee
Three teams gave us thrilling close-quarters combat last season, with Alpine, AlphaTauri and Aston Martin fighting for mid-table supremacy. Alpine ended up fifth in the championship, just ahead of the Red Bull sister squad AlphaTauri. However, Aston Martin just couldn’t string enough results together and finished seventh. Let’s not forget that four of the six World Champions are racing this year, including Pierre Gasly, who enjoyed his most successful season last year; Esteban Ocon, who secured a podium finish; and Lance Stroll who scored his first win. And we should also not forget Yuki Tsunoda, who proved to be very exciting too. The potential for action ramps up even further this season.
Alpine-Renault’s Fernando Alonso has not lost any of his competitive spirit, as was evident in the 2018 Crypto.com Masters and the 2019 Hong Kong Grand Prix. In Hungary and Qatar last year, Alonso got into a number of exciting battles with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel—with the four-time champion coming out on top every time. Red Bull Formula 1 owner Lawrence Stroll has funded Aston Martin’s move to F1, while Enstone and Viry both have World Championship experience behind them. Team AlphaTauri produced one of the season’s best cars with their AT02, which will be powered by Red Bull’s might next year.
Giants in the midst
In the background are McLaren and Ferrari – both of which are itching to join the frontrunners this season. These teams could easily be taking on the might of Mercedes and Red Bull in 2022 – but even if they don’t, there is still a salivating prospect of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc going at it tooth and nail. Just think back to Sebastian Vettel’s last season with Ferrari, where Leclerc was more than just a headache for the four-time champion. Now add Sainz into the mix and you have a potential for intra-team turmoil – but much more evident is the potential for one of the strongest pairings of the grid to flourish into a world-beating partnership.
Then add in Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris—the only pair to secure their team a one-two finish in 2021. These two are eager to go up against the might of the Scuderia. The Mercedes-powered team have all the components in place for a successful 2022 season with their MCL36. Last season we had a brilliant battle for P3 in the standings between these two titanic teams; this season there’s the salivating prospect of another toe-to-toe fight that could span the whole 23 races. Which team will end up on top?
Wherever you look on the grid, there’s potential for excitement. And with the new era of F1 cars, the on-track action could be even hotter in 2022. It all kicks off with car launches in February, then the Barcelona and Bahrain tests – before the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20.
