A new era dawned with Formula 1 with these new regulation changes coming into force for the 2022 season. These changes had been intended to be introduced in 2021, but were delayed until 2022 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes would result in closer and competitive racing through the season.
Nikita Mazepin was originally due to compete for Haas for a second consecutive year. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resultant cancellation of Uralkali’s title sponsorship, his contract was terminated. He was replaced by Kevin Magnussen, who last competed in 2020 with the same team.
It also saw Race Director Michael Masi removed from his post following the controversial ending at last season’s Abu Dahbi GP and Seb Vettel would later announce his retirement at the end of the season as well.
Round 1 – Bahrain
Once again, the curtain opener of the season and it did not disappoint us. Charles Leclerc show his contention of claiming Ferrari’s 1st drivers title since 2007 won the race after starting from pole position, his first win since the 2019 Italian Grand Prix. Leading all but two laps after pitting a second time, short of a Grand Slam, Leclerc had a hat-trick with pole, race win, and fastest lap.
Teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lewis Hamilton in an all-out of sorts Mercedes completed the podium, as reigning champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez both retired. It was Ferrari’s first win and 1–2 finish since the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.
Round 2 – Saudi Aribia
At an earlier date than last season, Verstappen won the race after a late overtake on Leclerc with Sainz rounding off the final spot. It was clear that was to become a two horse race between Ferrari and Red Bull with Mercedes lacking behind.
Round 3 – Australia
Leclerc won the Australian Grand Prix from pole position, setting the fastest lap, and leading every lap, getting the first grand slam for Ferrari since Alonso at the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix. Pérez and Mercedes’s George Russell took second and third, respectively as Verstappen was running second before he retired on lap 38 due to fuel leaks causing a fire. Leclerc at this stage had a 30+ gap ahead of Verstappen in the standings.
Round 4 – Imola
Despite Leclerc overtaking him at the start, Verstappen recovered, using DRS to overtake him and win the sprint, ahead of Leclerc and teammate Pérez. Verstappen won Sunday’s Grand Prix from pole position to achieve the second grand slam of his career, while Pérez finished in second to give Red Bull their first 1–2 finish since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Leclerc ran in third for the most of the race but spun on lap 53, falling to ninth and promoting McLaren’s Lando Norris to the final podium place.
Round 5 – Miami
Leclerc led Sainz for a Ferrari front-row lock-out for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. At the first corner on the opening lap, Verstappen overtook Sainz for second place and closed in on Leclerc, whom he passed for the lead on lap 9, as Leclerc struggled with the medium compound tyres and that’s how essentially how the race ended.
Round 6 – Barcelona
Leclerc took pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, which he led until being forced on lap 27 to retire due to a turbo and MGU-H failure. Despite DRS issues, Verstappen won the race, with Pérez letting him by on lap 49, as they were on different strategies; Russell completed the podium. For the first time in the season, Red Bull led Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship, while the Drivers’ Championship standings switched from a 19-point Leclerc lead to a 6-point advantage for Verstappen.
Round 7 – Monaco
Leclerc claimed pole position for his home race at Monaco, in front of Sainz and Pérez. As a bit of a running joke for the season however Ferrari screwed him over with a poor strategy error, Leclerc fell to fourth place behind Verstappen and Sainz, with Pérez winning the race.
Round 8 – Azerbaijan
Leclerc once again claimed pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, in front of Pérez and Verstappen. Pérez immediately overtook Leclerc in turn 1 and held the lead until lap 15, where Verstappen overtook him. On lap 9, the virtual safety car was deployed after Sainz stopped at turn 4, due to a hydraulic issue. Then, on lap 20, after briefly taking the lead of the race, Leclerc suffered a power unit issue and pulled into the pits giving Verstappen the lead and the victory.
Round 9 – Canada
Verstappen took pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix, which returned to the calendar after a two-year absence, after a wet qualifying session. Alpine’s Alonso started second, ahead of Sainz. In a race which nothing really happened, Sainz closed in on Verstappen and chase down the Red Bull driver in the closing stages. Despite this, Verstappen won the race from Sainz and Hamilton 3rd.
Round 10 – Silverstone
Sainz claimed his first pole position at the British Grand Prix. Verstappen overtook him at turn one, before the race was red flagged from a horrific crash which involved George Russell & Guyno Zhou. Sianz kept first position off the second start, before being overtaken by Verstappen several laps in.
Verstappen picked up damage to his floor and dropped down to seventh. Sainz was then overtaken by Leclerc. Sainz, Pérez and Hamilton all pitted for new tyres under the safety car. With newer tyres, Leclerc was vulnerable and was overtaken by all three, dropping him down to fourth. Sainz won his first-ever Formula One race.
Round 11 – Austria
Verstappen qualified on pole and won the second sprint of the championship at the Austrian Grand Prix. During the main race, he was overtaken three times at various points by Leclerc, who eventually won the race. Leclerc’s first race win since Australia.
Round 12 – Hungary
Russell took his maiden pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix while Red Bull Racing struggled in qualifying, with Verstappen suffering MGU-K problems and Pérez unable to get a clean lap in Q2 leaving them tenth and eleventh on the grid. Verstappen made a strong recovery drive, working his way up the order with better strategy and pace. Verstappen won from Hamilton, who recovered from seventh, following a DRS failure in qualifying. Russell came third.
Summer Break Turmoil
During the summer break we had a crazy driver transfer window! It was announced that Oscar Piastri will be racing for Alpine after the announcement that Fernando Alonso will be joining Aston Martin for next season replacing Sebastian Vettel who announced his retirement from the sport at the end of the season.
However, this turned out to be a social media blunder by Alpine as Oscar Piastri made the statement that he will be racing for McLaren in 2023 instead! This lead to a court battle which ended in favour for Piastri and McLaren.
Round 13 – Spa
Sainz started the race from pole; Alonso and Hamilton made contact after a scrap at Les Combes. Hamilton was forced to retire his car shortly afterwards. Sainz not long after lost the lead to Verstappen to which he went on to win the race. Leclerc finished 6th which meant losing further championship points to Verstappen.
Round 14 – Zandvoort
At the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen was able to beat Leclerc to pole at his home race. It looked as if Mercedes could have potentially won this race This brought out a virtual safety car, allowing Verstappen to make a pit stop to keep the lead ahead of the two Mercedes. On lap 55, Bottas retired with an engine issue, bringing out a full safety car. Verstappen overtook Hamilton at the restart almost immediately slipping down to 4th with Russell 2nd and Sainz 3rd to bring back to back home victories for Super Max.
Round 15 – Monza
Leclerc took pole at the Italian Grand Prix with Verstappen taking second. He, alongside Sainz and Hamilton, took penalties for replacing components. Verstappen started from seventh, but reached second by lap 5, behind Leclerc who had held successfully defended first position. Verstappen held the position and won under the safety car.
Round 16 – Singapore
The Singapore Grand Prix was the first race wherein Verstappen could mathematically win the championship. It turned into a race to forget for the dutchman. The race was delayed by over an hour due to thunderstorms. Pérez won the race, followed by Leclerc and Sainz. Verstappen came seventh.
Round 17 – Japan
Following Verstappen’s failure to secure the championship at the Singapore Grand Prix Verstappen had a second chance this time at the Japanese GP. Verstappen would secure pole, in front of Leclerc, Sainz, and Pérez. The race began on time despite poor weather and was red-flagged after two laps following an accident involving Sainz.
The deployment of the recovery vehicle during the red flag was criticised; Gasly narrowly missed it in poor weather conditions. Gasly angrily remonstrated that “[he] could have killed [himself]” if he had lost control and hit the vehicle, even at reduced speed. The race resumed at 16:15 local time behind the safety car.
In a race reduced to 28 laps, Verstappen comfortably won the race and clinched the championship after Leclerc received a 5 second penalty for producing an “illegal” overtake on Perez at the final lap.
Round 18 – Circuit of the Americas
Sainz took his third pole position of the season, and was spun by George Russell into turn one and forced to retire due to the resulting damage. Mercedes had a chance at winning after Lewis Hamilton took the lead through a very slow pit stop for Verstappen. Verstappen overturned a four-second gap to retake the lead on lap 50 and went on to win the race. Red Bull clinched their first constructors championship since 2013.
Round 19 – Mexico
Verstappen took his sixth pole position and his fourteenth race win of the season at the Mexico City Grand Prix, breaking the record for most wins in a Formula One season, previously held jointly by Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013).
Round 20 – Brazil
The São Paulo Grand Prix was the third and final sprint weekend of the season, meaning qualifying was on Friday, in wet conditions. Kevin Magnussen took a shock first pole position of his Formula One career, as well as Haas’ first. Magnussen was unable to keep the faster cars at bay during the sprint, and Mercedes were able to lock out the front row for the Grand Prix on Sunday with Russell winning the sprint and feature races respectively his first race win in his F1 career.
Round 21 – Dubai
In the finale at Dubai there was no controversial ending this year as Verstappen took a seventh pole position at the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and a fifteenth win on the season, extending the record he set in Mexico City. Leclerc with a hard battled 2nd which was enough for him to finish 2nd in the Drivers standings and Perez rounding off the Top 3.
