F1 2022: Season Preview

F1 is back, finally. I’ve been counting down to this weekend for quite a few weeks, the anticipation of the new cars and new regulations fuelling my excitement.
Who will come out on top this year?

Ferrari looked like strong contenders in testing, which may be a slight surprise based on their performance of late. Gone are the glory days of the OG MSC winning multiple championships in the famous red livery, but Sainz Jr and Leclerc do look like a serious pairing once again this season. What about Russell in the new Mercedes? Will Hamilton have his teammate challenging him in the same way Rosberg did in 2016? I certainly hope so, it’s about time to be honest. While Bottas’ contributions helped secure multiple constructors championships, he never really fought for top spot. That job fell to Verstappen.

We can’t deny that the championship was won in controversial circumstances last year. I am a fan of Verstappen, and I didn’t want him to win in the manner in which he did. Hamilton was robbed of the final race win and subsequent title, and I don’t think anyone can really deny that. I still believe that Verstappen deserved the title more than Hamilton last season, based on his overall performance throughout the year. What was great for the fans was that there was no runaway leader, like there has been in recent years. Recently, Hamilton has been consistently winning titles with quite a few race weekends still to come. It was hard to believe that the drivers went to Abu Dhabi last season with Verstappen and Hamilton completely equal on points. I’m no mathematician, but I can’t imagine there’s many permutations that would allow for that to happen again.

What we certainly want again this season is a good fight: clean racing, safe racing, but a good fight. Oh and a Verstappen win at Zandvoort please, because I’ll be in the crowd. 🏁