Six Must-Watch Stories Across 2022 F1 Season

With a new year now officially arrived, here are six must-watch stories across the 2022 F1 season which you need to know about.

From new rules to fresh challenges and a fresh face on the grid, there is plenty of talking points already whetting the appetite and pre-season testing isn’t even underway.

This season therefore feels like a journey into the unknown because no team, media or fan knows what to expect, yet it promises to be one of excitement with several plots across the paddock taking shape which are set to dominate the year.

Now without further ado, here are six must-watch stories in 2022.

 

Who Will Master 2022 Car Changes?

With a wave of technical changes set to land this season, it could be all change in the pecking order as teams get to grip with new regulations.

Ground effect aerodynamics is set to return for the first time since being banned in the 1980s with bargeboards now eliminated, whilst there will be simplifications of bodywork and front wing with the latter component now required to connect to the front nosecone.

Rear wings will also be much wider whilst restrictions will be placed on teams in their ability to generate downforce from exhaust gases.

Teams therefore face a fresh challenge in terms of nailing car designs with evolution expected across the entire season, with nobody entering pre-season as early hot favourites as a consequence.

 

Camaraderie or Fireworks at Mercedes

After five seasons of stability within Mercedes between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, 2022 sees the Silver Arrows’ protégé – George Russell join the main team alongside Hamilton in an intriguing blockbuster battle of youth vs experience.

After a cruelly “manipulated” climax to 2021 season as he was controversially denied an eighth F1 crown, Hamilton will be fired up to take the regulation changes by the horns as he looks to chase that record-breaking title amidst questions around his future.

Russell meanwhile is stepping up after three strong years of solid development and maturity at Williams, which will stand him in good stead as he looks to maximise his youthful raw talent against F1’s greatest-ever driver and chase a F1 title at his first proper chance.

On that note, 2022 looks set to be epic within Mercedes in terms of whether Hamilton and Russell can form a title-winning camaraderie or if fireworks will implode in a title fight, akin to Hamilton’s rivalry with Nico Rosberg from 2013-16.

 

Can Verstappen Raise His Game?

Having edged out Hamilton to clinch his maiden F1 title in 2021, Max Verstappen now faces the tough task of defending his crown.

Stats though are stacked against him because out of 34 previous champions, only seven drivers went on to defend their title the following season although one positive is that the last driver to achieve that feat drove for Red Bull – Sebastian Vettel who went on to win four consecutive titles.

2022 on the other hand won’t be any ordinary season with a wave of new technical regulations set to come in so a strong start will be crucial, although questions linger over how much effort Red Bull have already put into the new car after focusing so much on last season’s title fights.

Verstappen however has a powerful asset in his aggressive wheel-to-wheel racing style which he could need to maximise more as Red Bull adapt to the new regulations, although stewards could get tougher on aggressive driving which could lead to less disciplinary slack.

Psychology will also be a key element of Verstappen’s season because there will also be additional new pressure upon him as reigning champion, whilst he will also have to deal with a potentially more unsavoury crowd reaction following a controversial 2021 season.

Either way, Verstappen is set for his toughest season yet on so many levels with immense scrutiny placed on his shoulders, meaning that he could raise his game to a new level or struggle if Red Bull fail to deliver a competitive car.

 

High Expectations at Haas

After a lacklustre 2021 season at Haas with literally no development throughout the campaign, there will be high expectations at Haas to deliver a strong car.

That pressure comes about because the team opted to put all focus onto this season at the start of 2021, which looked a bold move as other teams chose to focus on minimal development throughout the 22-race season.

Team Principal, Guenther Steiner explained the reason behind Haas’ no development decision at VF-21 car launch, as he said: “It’s no secret that the VF-21 will not be developed as we focus our energies now on the 2022 car and, what we hope, will be a more level-playing field.”

Another poor campaign therefore surely would be embarrassing after having spent the best part of a year focused on designing the car, so there is surely high expectations at Haas with particular emphasis on Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin to build on their learnings of 2021.

 

Can Zhou Deliver For Alfa Romeo?

2022 sees just one new arrival on the F1 grid as Alpine junior Guanyu Zhou graduates from F2 to the pinnacle of motorsport with Alfa Romeo.

Questions already linger over Zhou’s potential after his signing meant that there was no space for 2021 F2 champion – Oscar Piastri to graduate to F1, in turn raising that age-old question of pay drivers taking F1 seats at expense of talented drivers.

Although there is no doubt that Zhou has talent given his five wins and numerous podiums in F2, there will be pressure on him to deliver for Alfa Romeo next season to justify his seat whilst Piastri finds himself stuck as Alpine’s Reserve Driver instead of racing on-track.

Zhou will have Valtteri Bottas alongside him at Alfa Romeo and with Bottas coming into this season off the back of an inconsistent 2021 campaign, Zhou knows that this is a huge opportunity for him to show his talent if he hits the ground running quickly and outperforms Bottas.

There will also be the small matter of technical rule changes to get to grip with which will add an extra challenge for Zhou to deal with as a rookie, whilst there are ten all-new tracks for Zhou to learn as well so the 22 year-old should be one to watch.

 

Better Stewarding Required

One common theme that cropped up throughout 2021 is the need for better stewarding because there has been a number of weak if inconsistent stewarding decisions made by stewards.

From no action for Verstappen’s deliberate late brake shoving of Hamilton off-track in Brazil to Red Bull negotiating a cheap penalty during a red flag for a similar incident in Saudi Arabia, stewards now face serious questions about consistency of penalty applications to drivers.

Add in various criticism from drivers and teams towards end of the season and it is impossible to just ignore what has unfolded last season in terms of bizarre penalty decisions, the FIA cannot ignore the farce that they has created and change is required this season.

That extends to FIA Race Director – Michael Masi who basically used a flexible rule to override the main rule regarding the unlap of cars under Safety Car in Abu Dhabi, which basically handed Verstappen the title at Hamilton’s expense in farcical scenes.

Attention also needs paying to rain-affected races after the farce of the Belgian GP where half-points were awarded, despite no green-flag racing being held with just a few laps ran behind the Safety Car in bizarre scenes.

With fans now placing consequently placing increased scrutiny upon stewarding next season amidst #MasiOut campaigns on social media, FIA and stewards better get their act together and tougher if F1 is to retain fans.