Our Top 50 drivers of the year… (50th to 41st)

50 – Mikel Azcona (Spain)
2022 WTCR champion with BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse (4 victories)

After having been fed with touring cars since his adolescence, the Spaniard finally reached his goal at the end of a season controlled from start to finish. Very consistent at the front, Azcona, who had already won the TCR Europe twice, won the last Touring Car World Cup in history. Having moved from Cupra to Hyundai, the 26-year-old also scored a victory in ETCR and won the TCR category at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

©DPPI/G. Lenormand

49 – Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Italy)
F4 Champion Germany and Italy with Prema (22 victories)

The Italian prodigy did like Oliver Bearman in 2021. He won the two major titles in Formula 4, namely Germany and especially Italy. With Prema, Kimi flew through the Italian season, finishing with more than 100 points ahead of his closest competitor and a whopping 13 victories in 21 races! He also won the FIA ​​Motorsport Games for his country, again in F4. The protégé of Mercedes will continue its ascent of the pyramid in 2023 car by tackling the FRECA, despite preparation truncated by a wrist operation.

©Prema

48 – Oliver Bearman (United Kingdom)
3^e of the FIA ​​championship F3 2022 with Prema (1 victory)

Opposed to two repeaters at Prema, the Briton tried to shine in F3 by arriving directly from F4, where he had won the title of champion of Germany and Italy the same year. Great good came to him. After a start to the season marked by learning, “Ollie” exploded into the open with 8 podiums including a victory, and above all a cannonball end to the season, to finish 3^e of the championship, 7 points behind champion Victor Martins. Bearman has earned the right to continue with Prema at the next level in 2023.

©DPPI/A. Vincent

47 – Dino Beganovic (Sweden)
2022 FRECA Champion with Prema (4 victories)

In 2021, the Swede had alternated between good and especially not so good in FRECA. In 2022, the story was quite different for the Scandinavian. Now comfortable in a series known to be difficult, the member of the Ferrari Driver Academy has assumed its favorite status. Three wins and five 2s^es places during the first 8 races confirmed his intentions. A new success in Belgium and 5 other podiums allowed him to dominate his great rival Gabriele Mini. But Beganovic was simply a step above.

©Prema

46 – Mathieu Jaminet (France)
Winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona and 2022 GTD Pro champion in IMSA with Pfaff Motorsports (5 wins)

His final fight against Laurens Vanthoor at the 24 Hours of Daytona left a lasting impression. With only one lap left to complete in this 70^e edition of the Floridian double clock tower, the French, on the Porsche n°9 of Pfaff Motorsports, had that of KCMG driven by the Belgian on its heels. Dispossessed of the lead in the previous lap, Vanthoor tried everything at the chicane, but Jaminet emerged victorious from this virile duel. A muscular warm-up before a full season for Lorraine. The duo he formed with Matt Campbell thus added four more victories and the IMSA title to their bag.

©IMSA Media

45 – Ross Chastain (USA)
2^e for the NASCAR Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing (2 wins)

If he is not champion, Ross Chastain is undoubtedly the revelation of this NASCAR season. An opportunist, he was able to capitalize on the success of his young team, Trackhouse Racing. As aggressive behind the wheel as he is smiling and friendly once the helmet is off, Chastain has certainly attracted some enmities on the track, notably with Denny Hamlin, but he was ultimately able to rally popular opinion to his cause. His Martinsville “Move” made him a legend in the discipline.

©Nascar Media

44 – Louis Delétraz (Switzerland)
2 LM P2022 Champion in ELMS with Prema (4 victories)

The Swiss continues to assert himself as one of the references in the LM P2 field. With 4 victories in 6 rounds, Louis Delétraz retains his European title Le Mans Series, which he shares this year with the Austrian Ferdinand Habsburg. Delétraz has also distinguished himself across the Atlantic with several successes in IMSA. Next year, he will defend the colors of Wayne Taylor Racing and Acura in the championshipEndurance North American.

©DPPI/P. Maria

43 – Filipe Albuquerque (Portugal)
2022 DPi runner-up in IMSA with Wayne Taylor Racing (4 wins)

Of the four victories obtained by Wayne Taylor Racing in the IMSA DPi category in 2022, three were thanks to daring maneuvers by the 37-year-old driver, who further distinguished himself by his excellent starts and his knowledge of the traffic. The adventures of this season, however, have not been kind to Albuquerque, whether at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the United Autosports LM P2 that he shares with Phil Hanson and Will Owen was sent into the gravel on the first braking , or at Petit Le Mans, where a collision with a GT cost the WTR the last title chances.

©DPPI/J. Filipe

42 – Johan Kristoffersson (Sweden)
2022 WRX Champion with Kristoffersson Motorsport (8 wins)

If the world championship Rallycross no longer has the same scope as a few years ago, this should not minimize the hegemony of Johan Kristoffersson over the discipline. Winner of 8 of the 10 rounds on the program aboard his Polo RX1e, the Swede leaves only crumbs to his opponents and takes a 5^e title in a row in the category, the first in electric.

©DPPI/P. Maria

41 – Tom Blomqvist (UK, Sweden)
Winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona and Petit Le Mans 2022, 2022 DPi champion in IMSA with Meyer Shank Racing (2 victories)

It is no coincidence that Tom Blomqvist was the first driver confirmed by Meyer Shank Racing to drive the Acura ARX-06 in the IMSA GTP category in 2023. This season, the 29-year-old British-Swede has demonstrated all his talent at the wheel of the Japanese manufacturer's DPi. From the 24 Hours of Daytona, it was he who placed his teammates Oliver Jarvis, Helio Castroneves et simon pagenaud on the royal road to victory. After a season at the forefront, it was again he who took pole position at Road Atlanta and held off Filipe Albuquerque in his last stint to achieve another prestigious success... and the title.

©IMSA Media