The Times - UK (2022-03-18)

FORMULA ONE

2022

3

resumes

challenged Mercedes in both

championships until they could no

longer sustain the performance, or

withstand the pressure, and crumbled.

They are a different team now. They

had a strong performance in testing,

when they were not only quick but also

reliable, and with the exciting driver

line-up of Charles Leclerc and Carlos

Sainz, there are few who would be

surprised to see them fighting for wins.

McLaren had a strong test in

Barcelona but struggled in Bahrain with

overheating brakes. For them, Lando

Norris will be out to prove that he is

worth his new £20-million-a-year

contract, having come tantalising close

to a win last year.

The midfield is perhaps as closely

contested as it has ever been, with Aston

Martin, Alpine, AlphaTauri and even

Haas all capable of pushing up the grid.

Williams still have work to do,

particularly after losing almost a day of

running in testing due to a brakes fire.

Qualifying on Saturday will give us an

understanding of the pecking order, but

with a record 23 races on the calendar

things can change. The development of

these cars will play a big part this season,

which will hopefully run with far less

controversy. The ghosts of last season

are gone, but definitely not forgotten.

WHO WON LAST YEAR

AT GRANDS PRIX ON

2022 CALENDAR

Bahrain...............Hamilton

Saudi Arabia....Hamilton

Australia.................No race

Emilia .............Verstappen

Miami ...................... No race

Spain....................Hamilton

Monaco.........Verstappen

Azerbaijan ................. Pérez

Canada ................... No race

Great Britain ....Hamilton

Austria...........Verstappen

France............Verstappen

Hungary......................Ocon

Belgium.........Verstappen

NetherlandsVerstappen

Italy.......................Ricciardo

Singapore..............No race

Japan.......................No race

USA..................Verstappen

Mexico ..........Verstappen

Brazil....................Hamilton

Abu Dhabi ...Verstappen

13 inch 18 inch

TYRES AND WHEELS

FLOOR PLAN

This year’s car will run with 18in tyres, up from 13in last year. The

hope is that they will overheat less, which means drivers should be

able to push more during a race without the need to conserve

their rubber

This year brings the return of "ground effect" — design features to

increase downforce and grip, to achieve higher cornering speeds.

Two long tunnels have been created in the floor of the car —

replacing the flat floors of years gone by — which help suck the car

into the ground

2022

2021

Bargeboards have been

removed from this year's car.

They used to direct airflow

around the car and push it into

the path of the following car, so

they have been removed

2022

HEELS

car.

w

t into

car, so

Valtteri

Bottas

The Finn

has moved from

Mercedes to take

up the leading

driver role. The 32-

year-old had a bad

season last year

and will be looking

to move forward

with his new team

to help them

develop and move

up the grid.

Guanyu

Zhou

The

Chinese driver, 22,

is the only rookie

this season and

the first from his

country to get a

full-time seat in F1.

He says he accepts

the pressure of

being China’s “only

hope” in the sport;

it remains to be

seen how he does.

C42

The team

struggled with

reliability problems

in Barcelona that

hampered mileage,

but bounced back

in Bahrain. There

are still concerns

about reliability,

with Bottas saying

their “biggest

concern is getting

the race distance

done”.

ALFA ROMEO

Sebastian

Vettel

Aston

Martin’s times in

testing were

underwhelming

but the four-times

champion rightly

shuns the

timesheets. Vettel

said the car was

“not so bad”, which

is about as excited

as the German

gets after testing.

Lance

Stroll

The

Canadian, 23, is a

good driver in the

wet but still has a

lot to learn. He has

three third-place

finishes and will be

hoping the team

can improve on

their seventh-place

finish in the 2021

constructors’

standings.

AMR22

They were,

perhaps, the most

understated team

in testing, with no

blistering lap

times. Across the

three Bahrain days,

Vettel’s fastest lap

ranked 12th among

the drivers; Stroll

ranked 15th. They

should be fighting

near the front of

the midfield.

ASTON MARTIN

Kevin

Magnussen

The Danish

driver has made a

late, but welcome,

return after

replacing the

Russian Nikita

Mazepin. The 29-

year-old entered

endurance racing

last year but his

experience — 120

races entered —

will be valuable.

Mick

Schumacher

Now in his

second season, the

22-year-old has

welcomed his new

team-mate as a

good “benchmark”

for him, which he

lacked last season.

He will now have

to prove how good

he is against a

more experienced

team-mate.

VF-22

Haas effectively

wrote off the 2021

season in terms of

development and

chose instead to

focus on 2022.

They reaped the

rewards in testing:

despite missing

the first morning

due to a freight

delay, both drivers

are very happy

with the car.

Alex Albon

The former

Red Bull

driver has replaced

his good friend

Russell after sitting

out last season.

The London-born

driver, 23, who

races under a Thai

licence, said it was

“amazing” to be

back and said he

would “attack

straightaway”.

Nicholas

Latifi

The 26-

year-old received

death threats after

his crash in Abu

Dhabi last year

triggered chaos

but is now “letting

negativity wash

over me”. He

finished day-two

testing early after

his brakes went up

in flames.

FW44

That brake fire

happened early in

the day and

therefore cost the

team valuable

track-time. They

had been putting

in solid mileage

and looked steady,

with the

expectation they

will be fighting

towards the back

of the midfield.

Fernando

Alonso

The 2005

and 2006

champion wants to

see if changes to

the regulations can

help him fight for a

third title. After

testing, the

Spaniard, 40, said

he was “optimistic”

and expected this

season to be a

“long game”.

Esteban

Ocon

The

Frenchman, 25,

won his first and

only grand prix

last season, in

Hungary. He set

the fastest times in

testing and was

relieved that his

team seem to have

found a solution to

the “porpoising”

issue.

A522

The French team

look like a solid

midfield outfit.

With the resources

at their disposal,

they should be

fighting near the

front of that pack.

They have the

drivers to take

advantage of any

drama up front

that may present

an opportunity.

ALPINE

Charles

Leclerc

The 24-

year-old described

the pre-season

tests as the

“smoothest

preparations” yet.

There were no

major problems

and he put in some

serious mileage

while often

topping the

timesheets.

Carlos

Sainz

Entering his

second season

with the Scuderia,

the Spaniard —

who has six

podium finishes

from 141 races —

has settled well,

beating Leclerc by

5.5 points last year.

Ferrari are keen to

extend his two-

year contract.

F1-75

Ferrari switched

their attention

early last season to

the 2022 car, given

that they were not

fighting for the

championship. The

team left testing

confident that they

can break the Red

Bull-Mercedes

stranglehold —

their drivers are

more than capable.

FERRARI

Pierre

Gasly

He was

surprised to find

himself battling

with Hamilton for a

few laps during

testing — though

while his car’s pace

is good, that was in

part due to

Mercedes’s issues.

The Frenchman,

26, has a race win,

in Italy, in 2020.

Yuki

Tsunoda

The likeable

Japanese driver, 21,

had a solid test

with plenty of

mileage and said

his team had a

“good baseline”.

He has proven

himself to be a fast

driver and, with a

highest race finish

of fourth, is eyeing

a podium.

AT 03

Like most teams,

AlphaTauri

suffered from

“porpoising” but

they seemed to

have it under

control by the end

of testing. Only

Mercedes

completed more

laps in Bahrain

testing, and they

did not have major

issues.

Lando

Norris

The 22-

year-old’s stock is

rising by the day.

He signed a

contract in

February that will

keep him at

McLaren until

2025. He has five
      podium finishes
      but no wins; this
      season he hunts a
      maiden race win.

Daniel

Ricciardo

The

Australian, 32,

caught Covid last

week and so his

Bahrain testing

was disrupted. But,

with eight race

wins, 32 podiums

and 210 entered

races, he will no

doubt be in the

fight for points this

weekend.

MCL36

The first test in

Barcelona was a

success but in

Bahrain the car

struggled due to

overheating

brakes. The team

did the fewest laps

of any team — only

199 — over the

three days and

have their work

cut out to be ready

for this weekend.

TEAM GUIDE REBECCA CLANCY’S

VERDICT ON THE DRIVERS AND CARS

Lewis

Hamilton

The seven-

times world

champion feels

that he was robbed

last season of an

eighth title by Max

Verstappen. The

37-year-old is not

past his peak and

is known for

performing best

when his back is

against the wall.

George

Russell

The former

Williams driver has

landed a

promotion after

three years. While

the 24-year-old will

be out to prove

himself, he knows

his job is to learn

from his British

compatriot and

play a support role.

His time will come.

W13

The car looked

tricky to manage

during testing and

Hamilton said he

does not expect to

compete for wins

early in the season,

though Mercedes

are known for

finding quick

solutions, so do

not expect them to

be playing

catch-up for long.

MERCEDES

Max

Verstappen

The

defending

champion topped

the timesheets on

the final day of

testing in Bahrain.

The Dutchman will

have the No 1 on

his car this season

and after claiming

his maiden title the

24-year-old has a

target on his back.

Sergio

Pérez

The 32-

year-old proved

last season to be

the perfect team-

mate — “an animal”

according to his

team — notably in

the Abu Dhabi

season finale,

when he held up

Hamilton. The

Mexican will be

called on again.

RB18

The quickest car in

testing showed

great reliability.

Expect Red Bull to

be fast out of the

blocks in Bahrain.

On this form, they

are the most likely

team to prevent

Mercedes from

winning a ninth

consecutive

constructors’

championship title.

RED BULL

McLAREN

WILLIAMS

ALPHATAURI

HAAS