F1 2022: Tops and Flops AUTOhebdo

To conclude the year 2022, the AUTOhebdo editorial team gives you its tops and flops in Formula 1.

Published on 31/12/2022 à 16:00

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TOPS

Max Verstappen

Where to start ? By the numbers perhaps. In 2022, with 15 successes, the Dutchman broke the record for victories in a season which belonged to Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel (13 in 2004 and 2013 respectively). Better, since the end of July and the French Grand Prix, he has only missed victory twice (Singapore and Interlagos). Bluffing. Above all, the impatient and nervous young boy that we saw from 2015 to 2021 has given way this year to a mature and perfectly controlled adult. Relieved and accomplished that he had finally succeeded in becoming what he had always wanted to be: a world champion in F1. 2022 was the year of confirmation, but much more than that, certainly the confirmation of the beginning of an era, after seven years of gluttony of Mercedes as well as Lewis Hamilton. The Batavian, at the wheel of an RB18 which he will have gradually understood and which he will have adopted perfectly as the car became sharper, didn't leave much on the table. Only beaten by Charles Leclerc in the number of pole positions (9-7), Verstappen had the best season of his career, ending the year with 146 points ahead of his runner-up in the championship. Despite the sanctions addressed to Red Bull for exceeding the budget ceiling, Max Verstappen will undoubtedly be the No. 1 favorite for the coronation in 2023. It would already be the third!

Max Verstappen will only have left crumbs for his opponents in 2022 © DPPI

Charles Leclerc

His two years 2020 and 2021 spent at the wheel of single-seaters lacking horsepower never led us to believe that the Monegasque had returned to the ranks after his seven poles and his two victories in 2019. But inevitably, by moving away from high altitudes, one might have expected that the Monegasque would have a little difficulty when it came time to return to the summits. It did not happen. After three Grands Prix, he had already won two, and even allowed himself to be up to 46 points ahead of Max Verstappen. And then, there was this slump, from May to July, where reliability problems and strategic errors of Ferrari followed one another, drastically complicating the young man's plans. In the race, which was his weak point in 2019, he showed that he had become bleeding, with well-felt overtaking. His two costly errors made in the race at Imola and especially at Castellet were a reminder that he did not yet necessarily have the same experience of fighting for the F1 title as Verstappen or Hamilton. But his nine pole positions, making him the only non-Mercedes driver since the start of the hybrid era to set the record for poles in two separate seasons, once again proved his phenomenal speed. 2022 will have taught him and Ferrari a lot. Before a happier tomorrow next year?

Bittersweet season for the Monegasque © DPPI

George Russell

After three seasons spent chomping at the bit at the back of the grid and outclassing a relatively modest opposition at Williams, the young Briton got to the heart of the matter. And he didn't miss his baptism of fire! While he was promised hell when he arrived in Sir Lewis Hamilton's team, Russell charted his course by displaying a nice drive and, above all, quite impressive consistency. With 19 finishes in the Top 5 in 22 Grands Prix, the native of King's Lynn (UK) does better than the champion of the year, Max Verstappen! Russell also knew how not to become disunited upon discovering that the car he had been waiting for for so long was not as competitive, far from it, as its illustrious predecessors. The former champion of Formula 2 (2018) opened all its counters in 2022: that of pole positions, creating a surprise in Budapest during the summer. Then that of victories by signing an XXL weekend in Brazil with a double success: first during the Sprint, then at the end of an intense Grand Prix where he resisted the pressure of his prestigious teammate. Russell not only confirmed all the good things that were thought of him since his sparkling stint at Mercedes at the 2020 Sakhir GP. He also and above all asserted himself, and made an appointment with the future.

George Russell opened his account in 2022 / © DPPI

Alpine

No victory like in 2021, but the Blues provided a more consistent overall copy in 2022. The brand with the A arrow had however started slowly, with a litany of mechanical failures which did not fail to bring out the Dark One Fernando Alonso off its hinges, with good reason. In pure speed, Alpine has progressed well, as proven by the second time in qualifying in Montreal of the double Spanish world champion. In racing too, Alpine has grown in scope, to the point of standing out from McLaren in the distant match for fourth position, which is equivalent in current F1 to the title of “best of the others” behind the untouchable trio Red Bull-Ferrari-Mercedes. To continue this climb to the summit, which Laurent promised Red in 2021, we must not waste time and redouble our efforts.

Alpine made a real leap in performance this season… but without reaching the same heights as in 2021 / © DPPI

Haas

Between 2021 and 2022, it was day and night at Haas. And yet, the season had not yet started when the first turmoil shook the American team. From one day to the next, exit mazepin and sponsor Uralkali, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Gene Haas and Günther Steiner deprive themselves (rightly) of a significant financial windfall and have to appeal – at the last minute – to Kevin Magnussen, their former pilot. A profitable choice: despite a year spent out of F1, the Dane showed himself to be very fast from the opening round with an incredible 5th place in Bahrain! Haas, which had finished the 2021 campaign “Fanny”, is ideally launching its 2022 season. Despite Mick Schumacher in difficulty in certain Grand Prix, the American team took 8th place among the Manufacturers, its best ranking since 2018. But above all, how can we not mention Kevin Magnussen's sensational pole position in Brazil, the very first for the Dane and Haas in their history! The culmination of a season of redemption.

A historic pole for Magnussen in Brazil and an 8th place in the Manufacturers' standings / © DPPI

Ferrari

After two complicated years, the Scuderia could not miss its chance with the new technical regulations. Looking for a victory since Sebastian Vettel's success in Singapore in 2019, the Reds have designed a competitive entry car. A sigh of relief for fans who had almost nothing to eat lately. A major force in the field in the first part of the season, Ferrari truly confirmed its return to the front of the peloton with two victories in three Grands Prix (Bahrain and Australia) but above all an F1-75 responding in qualifying and in the race. In the fight for the title in both tables, the team from Maranello (Italy) was ultimately unable to keep up with the pace of development of Red Bull which gradually took the upper hand to establish a clear and clear hierarchy. If at the finish, the Austrians triumphed among the Drivers and Manufacturers, the Transalpines took a huge step forward. Certainly the numerous strategic errors have weighed them down but the Italians have sufficient resources to continue their momentum and thus fight in the two championships from the 1st to the 23rd Grand Prix next year.

The Scuderia returned to victory in 2022 / © DPPI

FLOPS

Mercedes

Untouchable since the start of the hybrid era in 2014 with 15 titles won out of 16, the Brackley team (UK) has not taken this new era of F1 in the right direction. Starting with a unique concept with the absence of sidepods on the W13, Mercedes started the season far, very far from the mark. As if she had gone back 10 years when her machines with Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher did not really compete against Red Bull. The Silver Arrows were even more than half a second behind the best at the start of the season, the Étoile teams spent many months trying to make up the deficit. And in Formula 1 we know that time is precious and that there isn't a lot of it. If Lewis Hamilton and George Russell still managed to grab Top 5 finishes at the start of the year, podiums and even a pole position (Hungary). They had to wait until the last rounds of the campaign to really appear threatening. A late awakening which certainly allowed 2022 to end on a good note with a total triumph in Brazil, but insufficient to meet the team's initial expectations. The winter will allow Mercedes to regroup to move forward in 2023 with hopefully a machine at the level from Bahrain next March.

Mercedes was fighting with the Williams and the Alpha Tauri at the start of the season! / © DPPI

Alpha Tauri

The magic lasted three years. After securing at least one podium in the last three seasons, including a historic victory at Monza in 2020, AlphaTauri seriously fell into line during the past campaign. There where Pierre Gasly was very regularly in the Top 6 in qualifying 12 months earlier, the Frenchman and his teammate Yuki tsunoda now very often stopped in Q2, when it was not at all in Q1! Initially deprived of future prospects following Sergio Pérez's contract extension at Red Bull, Gasly sometimes had a tendency to overdrive, while having difficulty masking his frustration. After the announcement of his transfer to Alpine, we also felt impatient to turn the page in Faenza (Italy). On the other side of the garage, his Japanese sidekick stood out on a few occasions, without confirming the electric potential glimpsed during his time in Formula 2. Tsunoda was still offered a new one (last one? ) chance to shine next year. A 2023 campaign that he will experience alongside a new teammate in the person of Nyck de Vries, experienced 27-year-old rookie.

After three great seasons, AlphaTauri came back to Earth in 2022 / © DPPI

Ferrari

In the same way that we could not have failed to include Ferrari among the tops after its return to the forefront, how could we not also include the Scuderia among the flops? The car, well born, has long been the best in the first part of the season, and even more so on Saturday on a lap, but on the operational, mechanical and communication levels, everything has not been rosy, far from there. Mixed in, there were major engine reliability problems in Barcelona, Baku (double retirement) and Austria. The rather grotesque strategic errors at Monaco, Silverstone, Budapest and even Interlagos (Brazil). And above all the very conservative communications from Mattia Binotto who almost never recognized the errors of the Reds, when Toto wolff for example, who has not had the best of seasons, has never invented stories.

Beyond strategic mistakes, the Scuderia will also have failed in terms of reliability… / © DPPI

Sebastian Vettel

The announcement of his retirement, which came in Hungary before the holidays, had an impact on me due to the general lack of empathy in the paddock. As if the departure of this quadruple world champion affected no one, that the latter was no longer considered as the legend of this sport that he is, but simply now as the environmental activist that he has become. The moment of the real departure in Abu Dhabi reassured me, it was of a completely different ilk. Well helped by the lack of sporting issues apart from the identity of the vice-world champion, Sebastian Vettel was the star of the weekend, just like his father Norbert, a great man with delicious good nature. Since announcing his retirement, Vettel has raised his level another notch, as if he had rediscovered the enormous motivation that characterized him when titles were at stake. He had a lot of help, it must be said , by the gradual rise in power ofAston Martin after a bad start to the season. Sebastian Vettel leaves F1 with 4 world titles, 299 Grands Prix under his belt, 122 podiums, 53 victories and 57 pole positions. Even if he left the door open for an occasional return to Suzuka (Japan), his favorite track, a huge page of history is being turned…

The announcement of Vettel's withdrawal in Hungary was almost a non-event / © DPPI

McLaren

McLaren's 2022 season is a relative flop. Certainly, the British team is 5th in the championship, which is not catastrophic. Certainly, Lando Norris is the only driver other than Red Bull – Ferrari – Mercedes to have scored a podium this season, at Imola (Italy). But we expected much better from the men from Woking (UK)! The dynamic launched in 2019 has taken a turn for the worse: 3rd in the championship in 2020, 4th in 2021 and now 5th in 2022, McLaren is falling in the hierarchy and was even defeated by Alpine This year. The reasons ? A single-seater with inconsistent performance, powered by a lagging (but reliable) Mercedes engine and above all, a duo of drivers who are too heterogeneous with a valiant and combative Norris on one side of the garage, and a Daniel Ricciardo in distress and totally overwhelmed by the other. The handling of the Ricciardo case has caused a lot of internal turmoil, in addition to the affair Piastres, who will be the future McLaren driver in 2023. The rebound is more than expected next season, it is imperative! The departure of Andreas Seidl for the Audi project at Sauber, after only four short seasons, is not very reassuring either…

Nicholas latifi

His performances in 2020 and 2021 with the modest Williams team were far from glorious, but the torrent of insults and harassment suffered following his exit from the track at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix had prevented any constructive criticism from taking place. make day. A year later, the departure of Nicholas latifi of the great circus of F1 allows us to draw up a definitive assessment of his depressing career. Never fast, nor consistent (except in blunders), the friendly Canadian was not cut out for this sport, and spent countless "second chances", as well as checks to be made payable to the repair department of the English factory. Latifi handicapped Williams, who most of the time had to be content to play the Manufacturers' ranking with only one car, that of the frigant Alexander albon. Fortunately, its replacement by Logan sargeant should breathe new life into next year.