With the 2022 F1 season officially complete, it is time to look back on each team’s best weekend of the year.
It wasn’t the F1 Championship battle for the ages like we saw in 2021. However, there were plenty of brilliant races and surprising results. With the new 2022 regulations, there were many questions at the start of the year up and down the pitlane. Who would be competitive? Who would regress? Well, for the first time since 2019, every team scored points. Every team had its moments in what was, the longest season in Formula 1 history
Williams:
There was a lot of hope at Williams that the new regulations would push them away from the back row of the grid. But 2022 only brought eight points on the board. The highlight of their season was the Italian Grand Prix when lead driver Alex Albon had to drop out with appendicitis on the Saturday before the Grand Prix. Mercedes Reserve Driver and Formula E champion Nyck De Vries stepped in for Albon. With limited practice, De Vires out-qualified his teammate Nicholas Latifi and stuck the car in P13. On Sunday, the Dutchman was able to score a remarkable 9th place – points on his debut. It was the day that set up his move to Alpha Tauri for the 2023 season. For Williams, it was a feel-good day in what was overall a disappointing season.
AlphaTauri:
AlphaTauri is the lowest Constructors’ Championship position for Red Bull’s sister team since 2018. In a season where it didn’t have a double points finish, the highlight was P5 in Baku. 2023 Alpine driver Pierre Gasly secured the points after a double Ferrari DNF. It was a season unmemorable for Franz Tost and company. With Nyck De Vries and Yuki Tsunoda hopefully returning and with some help from the main team, AlphaTauri will look to push their way back to the F1 midfield.
Haas:
There’s only one right answer for Haas. The Pole Position in Brazil. Even if it was for the Sprint Race, it still counts. It was the team’s first and Kevin Magnussen’s first pole position. The incredible lap on the soft tires for the Dane came in right before the rain came at Interlagos. No one else could improve and they had the official Pole Position for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Sadly for Magnussen and company, the race itself was over in less than a lap after contact from Daniel Riccardo. I’m sure Gunter Steiner and the whole team won’t soon forget that weekend.
Aston Martin:
There were high expectations from Lawrence Stroll and his team going into 2022. However, they never quite reached the heights of battling Alpine & McLaren. Singapore, with a P6 and P8, was the team’s best result of the season. Both Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel qualified outside the top ten but kept their noses clean. However, the team missed out on 6th in the F1 Championship on count back to Alfa Romeo. With lots of money being pumped into the former Racing Point team and the arrival of Fernando Alonso, the pressure will be on in 2023.
Alfa Romeo:
At the start of the season, Alfa was arguably the 4th best car after testing. Whilst that wasn’t how it turned out, a 6th place in the championship sets the team up well for the post-Alfa Romeo era. The Canadian Grand Prix was the best result for the Swiss outfit with a 7th and 8th place finish. With the team once again under the Sauber name, there are many questions about what they can do next season. Don’t forget about Audi’s arrival into F1 in 2026.
McLaren
After worrying brake problems hampered the Woking team in testing, the fact that they were battling for 4th in the championship til the end was impressive. Lando Norris scored 122 of McLaren’s 159 points. This begs the question of what could have been if Daniel Riccardo’s struggles hadn’t continued. A 4th and 5th in Singapore was the best team weekend of the season. On the other hand, Lando Norris’ podium at Imola was the only time Red Bull, Ferrari, or Mercedes filled the entire podium. With Daniel forced out of the team for fellow Aussie and 2021 F2 Champion, Oscar Piastri, there will be high expectations at McLaren to reclaim fourth and push on in 2023.
Alpine
It was a very solid campaign from Team Enstone. There were no outstanding results other than a 4th and 7th at Suzuka. Consistency was indeed key for the French team having scored points in 19 of the 22 Races. While they secured 4th in the Constructors’ Championship, it would have been far more comfortable if not for their reliability issues. The headlines for Alpine, however, came off the track with the contract dispute over Oscar Piastri. It resulted in Pierre Gasly signing for an exciting all-French lineup for 2023.
Mercedes
Considering that Mercedes struggled to get out of Q2 at the start of the campaign, their 1-2 in Brazil was a phenomenal result. George Russell took the Sprint Race and the Grand Prix at Interlagos. Lewis Hamilton collided with Max Verstappen on the opening lap but still charged his way back to P2, showing yet again why he is the G.O.A.T. If they are able to continue that level of progression in the off-season they could be back in the title fight for 2023.
Ferrari
For the team that started with two wins in the first three races, it is hard to believe that the Scuderia finished 205 points behind Red Bull. Poor strategic decisions and reliability hampered their early title charge. Their best weekend was the 1-2 in the opening race in Bahrain. It was clear that the car was quick. They ended the season with the most Pole Positions. But, of those 12 pole positions, only three of them resulted in victory on Sunday. With personnel changes reportedly on the way, the pressure will be on Mattia Binotto and company to bring Ferrari back to its former glory again. 2022 was a step forward with the potential there to go to the top.
Red Bull
What a season for Red Bull Racing. Despite three DNFs in the first two races, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez won 16 of the next 20 races. They dominated the Constructors’ Champions as other teams spent time learning the new regulations. In a nearly flawless 2022 season, the team surprisingly only had one 1-2 finish. That was in Japan where Max Verstappen clinched his second World Driver’s Championship. Like many races, they were unstoppable. Sergio Perez to deserves a lot of praise for being the perfect teammate to Max. It is the F1 equivalent of a super team. The rest of the grid should be worried about yet another Red Bull dynasty for years to come.
