F1 2022 Season Preview: the Teams, Dark Horses and Story Lines to Watch

Preseason testing reaffirmed that Red Bull will likely be the one to beat again this season, but could Ferrari be a title challenger?

IMAGO / PanoramiC

It’s a clean slate for Formula One with a new season upon us, the beginning of a new era. 

Much has happened since Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and his first drivers championship, ending Lewis Hamilton’s streak that dated back to ’17. Although the last lap of the season finale remains controversial, it’s time to put it in the rearview mirror. 

There are new race directors, new teammate pairings and new liveries to match the newly designed cars to fit the technical regulations. 

While it is likely that this campaign will feature a fierce battle between Verstappen and Hamilton, younger stars, like Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly, are showing glimpses of their full potential. Previous winners, such as Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, are hoping to prove they’re still able to contend for the title. 

The story of the 2022 season: 10 teams, 20 drivers and 22 races in 36 weekends. What could go wrong? 

Who Switched Teams This Offseason?

Formula One is one of the most diverse sports leagues in the world, with drivers hailing from all over the globe. 

More than a dozen countries are represented among the 20 drivers and many more within the paddock and teams. Most squads remain unchanged from last season, although a few drivers jumped to other teams and new rookies have been added to the mix. It all seemed set heading into preseason testing, but the Russia-Ukraine war forced last-minute changes in one team’s driver lineup just before the start of preseason testing in Bahrain. 

Haas F1 Team terminated its contract with Nikita Mazepin and title sponsor Uralkali, which is owned by Mazepin’s father, Dmitry, on March 5. Four days later the two were added to the European Union sanctions list; the EU cited Dmitry’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 24 as evidence that he is “supporting or implementing actions or policies” that threaten Ukraine.

Kevin Magnussen re-signed with Haas F1 that same day. 

Meanwhile, the other driver moves happened before preseason testing began. George Russell left Williams and joined Mercedes, which had dropped Valtteri Bottas. The Finland native will be driving for Alfa Romeo this season alongside rookie Zhou Guanyu. 

Alexander Albon is making his return to the grid with Williams after Red Bull dropped the Thai racer in 2020. However, he was retained as test and reserve driver, and now, Albon has his shot again. 

Here’s a breakdown of each team and their drivers. 

• Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu
• AlphaTauri: Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda
• Alpine: Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon
• Aston Martin: Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll
• Ferrari: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz 
• Haas F1 Team: Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen 
• McLaren: Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo
• Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell
• Red Bull: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez
• Williams: Nicholas Latifi and Alexander Albon

IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

What Has Happened Since 2021 Abu Dhabi? 

Much has transpired since the checkered flag was waved at the season finale last December. 

A recap of the race: A late safety car came out for a Nicholas Latifi crash with just a few laps to go. Red Bull brought in Verstappen to switch to soft tires, but Hamilton had to stay out on his hard tires to keep the lead. Due to lapped traffic, there were five cars between Hamilton and second-place Verstappen. Race officials initially decided those lapped cars could not overtake the safety car. 

Red Bull manager Christian Horner asked then race director Michael Masi over radio about the situation: “Why aren’t we getting these cars out of the way? We only need one racing lap.”

After the exchange, in a surprising and controversial move, Masi decided on lap 57 of 58 to allow those five cars to overtake the safety car. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff yelled over the race radio to Masi about the decision, as it placed Verstappen right on Hamilton’s tail for a one-lap mad dash to the finish. 

Formula One stewards eventually dismissed both of Mercedes’s protests concerning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the controversial restart, but the FIA, the sport’s governing body, launched its own review. 

The probe resulted in Masi being removed from his role as race director and a slew of changes within the rules. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem announced that Niels Wittich, former DTM race director, and Eduardo Freitas, WEC race director, will alternate as race director. They will be assisted by Herbie Blash as the permanent senior adviser. 

A virtual race control room has been introduced, and the direct radio connection between teams and the race director will be removed. More matters, such as the unlapping procedure behind the safety car, are expected to be assessed ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix. 

Not everyone agreed with the FIA’s decision of moving Masi, though. Verstappen accused the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) of throwing Masi under the bus.

“I think it’s not correct,” Verstappen said. “Everyone always tries to do the best job and everyone can always use help, us drivers also; we have a whole team behind us, to improve ourselves.”

As changes occurred overhead, there were moves happening within teams during the offseason. Lando Norris penned a new contract extension that will keep him with McLaren through 2025 while Verstappen signed an extension of his own. He will be with Red Bull until his thirties. 

Rumors floated about whether Hamilton would return in 2022 after the ending of Abu Dhabi, which he strongly debunked. He said, in part, “While moments like this might define careers, I refuse to let this define mine.”

Hamilton, though, did announce a new change this offseason. He revealed during the 2022 Dubai Expo that he is in the process of changing his name to include his mother’s maiden name, Larbalestier. Hamilton did not say what his full name would be or when the change will be done. 

“I don’t fully understand the whole idea that when people get married the woman loses their name,” he said, “and I really want my mum’s name to continue on with the Hamilton name.”

Netflix released season four of the hit docuseries Formula 1: Drive to Survive. The series triggered an F1 boom within the United States as new fans flocked to the tracks partially because of the show. 

Drive to Survive provides a behind-the-scenes look at the circuit that uses the world as its playground, highlighting the action and providing context to story lines that emerge both on and off the course. Guenther Steiner, the team principal of Haas F1 Team, posed a single question in the premiere of the series: “Why do you watch Formula One?”

He went on to answer himself, not skipping a beat. “You want to see action. You want to see drama. You want to see the underdog making a good result. A story. Each race should have a story, and the story should not be all the time Mercedes or Ferrari wins, because that story gets old pretty quickly.”

Lastly, a race has been nixed not just for this season but likely for future campaigns. In light of the Russia-Ukraine war, Formula One said “It is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances.” The FIA later announced its own decisions pertaining to Russia’s invading Ukraine, taking a slightly different stance than other leagues across the world.

The moves were wide-ranging but included Russian and Belarusian drivers being allowed to compete under “the ‘FIA flag,’ subject to specific commitment and adherence to the FIA’s principles of peace and political neutrality.” Additionally FIA announced that the reason for the official cancellation of September’s Russian Grand Prix was because of “force majeure.” 

Despite this decision, Motorsport UK banned Russian and Belarusian license holders from competing in the United Kingdom, and given that Mazepin was still on Haas F1’s roster at the time, it was likely that he would not have been allowed to compete in July's Grand Prix. 

Formula One later confirmed it “terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix promoter. It means that Russia will no longer have a race in the future.” The sport’s drivers later showed a united stand against the war while in Bahrain. 

Mark Thompson/Getty Images (via Red Bull Content Pool)

Who Are the Dark Horses This Season? 

Expect Red Bull vs. Mercedes (primarily Verstappen vs. Hamilton) to be on full display in 2022—but it may be a few weeks until fans see the full extent of the rivalry. 

Red Bull appeared solid throughout the tests and will likely be the team to beat again, but Mercedes experienced some difficulties despite showing some potential. Hamilton revealed after preseason testing in Bahrain concluded that the team “won’t be competing for wins” with how the car was at the time. There had been struggles with porpoising (when a car bounces up and down as it travels on straights) and overall balance.

“We’re not the quickest at the moment,” Hamilton said during a press conference on Saturday. “Ferrari looks to be the quickest and perhaps Red Bull, and then maybe us or McLaren. “I don’t know, but we’re certainly not at the top.”

Ferrari is a likely dark horse this season thanks to the one-two punch of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc. The Italy-based team is the only squad to compete in every season since the world championship began, in 1950. Since then, Ferrari has tallied 16 world titles and finished first in 239 races. 

The Prancing Horse used to run with the big dogs, winning a then unprecedented five consecutive title doubles (driver and constructor) during the 2000s era with Michael Schumacher. However, it has not won a constructors’ title since ’08 and the last world title was in ’07 with Kimi Raikkonen. 

Sainz was added to Ferrari in 2021, and the Spaniard and Monegasque seemed to click. Sainz, who is the son of a double World Rally champion, outscored Leclerc, but combined, they lifted Ferrari, accumulating more than double their ’20 points tally.

During the preseason Ferrari was a standout, as the two led the mileage charts in Barcelona and went second and third on the opening day at Bahrain testing. However, preseason testing times can be skewed in the overall competitive picture. 

Two other drivers to keep an eye on: McLaren’s Lando Norris and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly. Can Ferrari be a title challenger this campaign? 

Can Leclerc (left) and Sainz make Ferrari a title contender? :: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

Norris drove all of the preseason tests for McLaren while in Bahrain after teammate Daniel Ricciardo tested positive for COVID-19. And while the 22-year-old recorded the fastest lap on day one in Barcelona, McLaren, which took P4 in last year’s constructors’ championship, had trouble in the desert. Norris drove just 200 laps as the team was hampered by braking issues. 

The McLaren driver said the performance was “less than ideal” in Bahrain, and the question, similar to the one facing Hamilton and Mercedes, is whether they can find the right solution in time for the beginning of the season. 

“But it’s not a simple fix; it’s quite a complicated area,” Norris said, per Formula1.com. “It takes a lot of work, a lot of time to come up with these parts and so on and that’s why it’s the challenge to get it all here and in a good condition for next week.”

Gasly scored 110 of AlphaTauri's 142 points last season, and even with a new car, the Frenchman appeared to maintain his momentum in testing in Barcelona and Bahrain. The 26-year-old found himself going head-to-head for several laps with seven-time world champion Hamilton on the final morning in Bahrain. 

And Gasly was second-fastest during day two in Barcelona. It helps that AlphaTauri shares its engine, gearbox and rear suspension with the Red Bull given that the Italy-based team is Red Bull’s junior/“sister” program. 

Both Norris and Gasly battled it out in the midfield last season, the McLaren driver primarily hitting top six while the AlphaTauri rising star was mostly in the top 10. Can they exceed those results this year?