2022 F1 Lineup (Part 1)

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton, George Russell

After Lewis lost the 2021 championship many speculated that he would leave the team. Which I completely disagree with considering Lewis Hamilton has a solid chance of winning an 8th title.

He signed a 2 year contract with the team in July sealing his spot till 2023. 

Valtteri Bottas leaving the team was a shocker considering he was out qualifying Verstappen and Hamilton on many occasions. After Bottas left there was no doubt that F2 World Champion George Russell would replace him for the 2022 season. His 2020 race in Sakhir with Mercedes ended him in just missing out on a win due to a puncture and his podium in Belgium made him an obvious choice.

 

Red Bull: Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen

The role of being Verstappen’s team-mate hasn't been easy. Ricciardo left as he felt that the team was favoring Max. Gasly and Alex couldn't keep up with Verstappen. Sergio Perez signing was unusual considering Redbull usually sign people from their youth. Although Red Bull didn't win the Constructors his performance was good enough for him to get a 1 year contract extension.

Ferrari: Carlos Sainz, Charles Lecrec

Lecrec’s contract extends till 2024 which keeps him here for 3 more seasons. Sebastian Vettel left Ferrari for Aston Martin as he wasn't enjoying his time at the club Carlos Sainz filled his spot. While Ricciardo and Vettel didn’t pick up form Sainz adapted well to the team scoring only 2.5 points less that his team mate Carlos Sainz.

McLaren: Daniel Riccardo, Lando Norris

McLaren signed Ricciardo from Renault for a 3 year deal till 2023. Daniel heavily underperformed compared to team-mate Lando Norris. Towards the end of the season Daniel won the Italian Grand Prix and McLaren got the only 1-2 of the season and momentarily passed Ferrari in the Driver’s World Championship. With Norris' contract ending in 2024 the duo will be together for the next 2 seasons. 

Alpine: Fernando Alonso, Estaban Ocon

The Renault team was rebranded and named Alpine. Alpine's gamble to sign 2 time world champion Fernando Alonso paid off as their team came top 5. While Ocon picked up his first ever victory in Hungary, the team has been steadily keeping up with the usual suspects (McLaren, Ferrari ,Red Bull and Mercedes) which makes me believe that they can chase for a top 4 spot in the Constructors championship.

 

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Top 5 F1 races of the season (2021)

5. Italy

8.2/10

For the past 3 years there has been a curse on the Monza circuit. Charles Lecrec won in 2019 and crashed in 2020. It continued when unexpectedly Pierre Gasly won in 2020 but crashed in 2021.

The sprint race put the McLaren's in the top 5. Although Verstappen and Bottas were ahead of Norris and Ricciardo , Bottas was relegated to the back of the grid for a power unit replacement penalty and Riccardo passed Verstappen for the lead at the start. 

Verstappen and Hamilton crashing gave the McLaren's bring home the only one-two finish of 2021 and their first F1 victory since 2012. 

4. Saudi Arabia 

8.4/10

The new circuit Jeddah was by far the most controversial race of the season. 

There was an early red flag after the crash of driver Mick Schumacher.

Verstappen and Hamilton battled after the restart but due to a car pile up the race stopped again. During the race Verstappen was advised to give back the position to Hamilton. Although this message wasn’t passed to Hamilton resulting in them colliding.

Hamilton won the race due to Verstappen getting many time penalties, with Bottas snatching a podium from Ocon in the final few meters.

3. Azerbaijan

8.5/10

Lecrec grabbed his second pole of the season however Ferrari struggled on Baku’s straights. Verstappen had been irritated not to set his final lap in Q3 once again, this time due to a combined crash between Ricciardo and Sainz but, nonetheless, led the race for much of the distance before both he and Lance Stroll suffered alarming tyre failures out of the final corner.

After Verstappen's crash the restart meant that Hamilton could steal a win but due to a lock up in the first corner he was out of the points. Perez took his first and only win of the season and surprise podiums for Vettel and Gasly made the race special.

2. Hungary 

8.7/10

Turn 1 in Hungary was eventful as  a pile - up caused Norris, Bottas, Perez, Stroll all taken out of the race and Verstappen and Riccardo badly damaged.

The red flag restart saw the track dry enough which caused most cars to pit for slick tires, leaving Lewis Hamilton alone on the track which was one of the most funny things in F1 history.

Hamilton fought back hard but Alonso defended brilliantly and kept him waiting until his teammate Ocon could get his first Grand Prix win  in his career and Alpine first Grand Prix after returning to F1.

1. Russia

9/10

The weather was a key factor playing a big role in the dramatic events that took place at Sochi. Norris took pole and led most of the race, re-passing Sainz after being behind him for some time.

Towards the end rain increased and a bad call by Norris to hold on to his slick tires. Eventually Norris slid to the run-off area resulting in a win for Hamilton.