Everything you need to know about Formula 1 and its 2022 season

By Gabe Korngold ‘23 and Nadya Poisac-Nguyen ‘23

*The 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix; photo courtesy of* *Morio*

The 2022 Formula 1 season, which came to a close on November 20, brought new drama, new winners, and new fans to the sport.

Formula 1 is the highest class of international car racing for single-seating open-wheel cars (cars with wheels outside the main body), meaning the drivers are among the very best in the world.

The season begins in March and ends in November. Each season consists of 21 weekend races called “Grands Prix (singular: Grand Prix)” in locations around the world such as Saudi Arabia, Australia, Brazil, and Russia.

*The 2012 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas; courtesy of Seefrank*

There are ten teams in Formula 1, each with two drivers. Teams are usually subdivisions of auto manufacturers or racing groups that span other motorsports. Each team designs, maintains, and upgrades the two cars for their drivers.

Behind every team are over 150 employees working to strategize with the drivers, engineer and repair the cars, and change tires during the actual races. Because every team has a different budget, there are typically consistent top teams whose drivers place high in every race, and consistent bottom teams who don’t perform as well.

Over the course of the season, drivers and teams compete to accumulate the most points possible. The top ten finishers in each race earn points that go towards their standing in the Driver’s Championship and to their team for the Constructors’ Championship.

The 2022 season concluded with Red Bull Racing F1 Team driver Max Verstappen winning the Driver’s Championship for the second year in a row. After a close fight, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc placed second followed by Red Bull’s second driver, Sergio Perez in third.

The 2022 Driver’s Championship Standings

This season saw a complete shift in the competition, especially between top teams Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes. The points secured by Verstappen and Perez elevated Red Bull to their first Constructor’s Championship since 2013.

2022 Constructors’ Championship Standings

Mercedes, who had won eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships between 2014 and 2021 struggled at the beginning of the year to compete with the fastest cars on the track. This put them too far behind to chase down Red Bull. Even toward the end of the season, they were unable to match their historical level of dominance.

Ferrari also coped with problems throughout the year. Poor strategy, driver error, and mechanical issues cost the team several solid race finishes, and ultimately a chance at their first Constructors’ Championship in the hybrid era (since 2014, Formula 1 cars have used hybrid engines).

At the driver level, Verstappen was nearly unstoppable, winning 14 races and scoring points in all but two. His Ferrari rival, Leclerc succumbed to his team’s technical struggles after a strong start to the season and gradually fell away from Verstappen in the Championship standings.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who was locked in a heated battle with Verstappen all of the 2021 season, finished sixth, below his Mercedes teammate George Russell.

The 2022 season also yielded two new Grand Prix winners. Spanish driver Carlos Sainz for Ferrari won a highly competitive British Grand Prix and Russell coasted to victory in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Commercially, this was a landmark season for the sport, especially among a growing American audience. According to Morning Consult, 2022 saw the introduction of a second American race in Miami, and the largest crowds ever at the United States Grand Prix in Austin drawing over 400,000 people in attendance, a 49% increase from the 2019 season.

One factor that has played a role in increasing the popularity of this sport, is Netflix’s series, Drive to Survive, which debuted in 2019 and currently has four seasons, each recounting the last four years of Formula 1.

In a survey conducted by Morning Consult, 53% of self-identified Formula 1 fans indicated that Drive to Survive played a role in them becoming a fan of the sport. 57% of adult fans say they became fans in the last five years, and 26% said they became fans in the past year alone.

Channels covering the races such as ABC and ESPN saw record-breaking numbers during the 2021 season, posting a 39% increase in viewers in comparison to the 2019 season.

Catlin Gabel School (CGS) sophomore and F1 fan Charlie Nemecek, who attended the US Grand Prix in Austin in October, shared why he is interested in the sport. “I watch it because I think it’s fun watching people try to overtake each other with the occasional crash…it’s entertaining, especially in person.”

Nemecek added that the speed, complexity, and science behind the cars such as g-force (a measure of acceleration) and warming up tires (drivers will weave on the track to warm up their tires in order to better grip the turf) make F1 all the more interesting.

The end of the 2022 season means team dynamics will immediately shift. Constructors have already set to work on designing new cars for next year, and the advantages of this year’s cars will be gone.

The 2023 season will also bring a new driver lineup. Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso will be switching teams, and three new racers will be competing: Oscar Piastri for McLaren, Nyck De Vries for AlphaTauri, and Logan Sargeant for Williams. Nico Hulkenberg will also return to a full-time seat at Haas after a three-year stint as a reserve driver.

Several drivers from this year will not be racing next season. Williams driver Nicolas Latifi, Haas driver Mick Schumacher, and McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo were unable to renew their contracts with their team thus failing to secure seats for 2023.

The 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix also marked the last race for Aston Martin racer Sebastian Vettel, a four-time world champion who formerly raced for Ferrari and Red Bull. Vettel announced his retirement from motorsport back in July this year.

The 2023 season is already shaping up to be another exciting year for Formula 1, especially for American fans. A new season of “Drive to Survive” is scheduled to premiere early next year, which will undoubtedly draw more people to the sport. Additionally, a third US Grand Prix will occur in Las Vegas next November. The season begins on March 5th with the Bahrain Grand Prix.