2022 Formula 1 season essentials

Formula 1 season

The 2021 Formula 1 season will be remembered for a long time, as we’ve experienced some unbelievable races. Hollywood could not write a better script, with the championship being decided on the last lap at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Moreover, we had six different race winners from four teams last year.

Click here to subscribe to our print edition!

Despite the 2021 Formula 1 season being one of the most exciting and entertaining in Formula 1 history, the pinnacle of motorsport is about to undergo enormous rule changes this year, as the sport will introduce one of its largest technical overhauls in history. The development of the new rules is led by F1’s Chief Technical Officer, Pat Symonds. The aim is quite simple: the cars should be able to run more closely together to aid overtaking, hence promoting better racing.

You’ve may have heard about ‘dirty air’ which currently makes it tough to follow other cars. According to the calculations, you lose around 47% of downforce when following another car at 20 meters and this number will be reduced to just 4% next year by changing the aerodynamics of the cars. This means the return of the ground-effect formula, which was banned in Formula 1 at the end of 1982 – however it shouldn’t be described as a return of that era as there are major differences in the execution.

The most noticeable changes of the 2022 car are the all-new front and rear wing shapes combined with the removal of complex bargeboards. There were some talks about getting rid of the drag reduction system (DRS), however, it will remain on the rear wing.

F1 is reintroducing wheel covers, and we will see over the wheel winglets on an F1 car for the first time in history. There are changes regarding the tyres too, F1 will use 18” inch low profile Pirelli’s to reduce overheating issues.

At the same time, F1 retains the current 1.6-litre turbo-hybrid units, however, teams will use E10 biofuels from 2022, which also contributes to F1’s net-zero carbon emissions target by 2030.

As safety is a top priority for the FIA, the revolutionary pieces of machinery will be safer than ever, which results in a 5% increase in the minimum weight of the cars. The current $145 million budget cap is also set to drop to $140 – as it was agreed by the teams earlier.

Let’s take a look at the driver lineups for the 2022 Formula 1 season:

LogoTeamDriversPoints in 2021
Mercedes-AMG F1 TeamLewis Hamilton – #44

George Russell – #63
613.5
Red Bull RacingMax Verstappen – #1

Sergio Perez – #11
585.5
Scuderia FerrariCharles Leclerc – #16

Carlos Sainz – #55
323.5
McLaren RacingDaniel Ricciardo – #3

Lando Norris – #4
275
Alpine F1 TeamFernando Alonso – #14

Esteban Ocon – #31
155
Scuderia AlphaTauriPierre Gasly – #10

Yuki Tsunoda – #22
142
Aston Martin F1 TeamSebastian Vettel – #5

Lance Stroll – #18
77
Williams RacingNicholas Latifi – #6

Alex Albon – #23
23
Alfa Romeo RacingZhou Guanyu – #24

Valtteri Bottas – #77
13
Haas F1 TeamNikita Mazepin – #9

Mick Schumacher – #47
0

Guanyu Zhou steps up from Formula 2 and will make his debut with Alfa Romeo alongside Valtteri Bottas who moved from Mercedes, as a replacement of Kimi Raikkönen. Zhou will become China’s first-ever F1 driver. There were changes at Mercedes as well. George Russell was promoted to be Lewis Hamilton’s new teammate this year. After securing a deal to race for Williams, former Red Bull racer Alex Albon will return to F1 and he will partner Nicholas Latifi for the 2022 season.

Here is the 2022 Formula 1 calendar:

RoundDateCountryCircuitNameVenue
1.18-20 MarchBahrain

Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2022Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir
2.25-27 MarchSaudi Arabia

Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2022Jeddah Corniche Circuit
3.08-10 AprilAustralia

Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2022Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit
4.22-24 AprilItaly

Formula 1 Gran Premio Dell'Emilia Romagna 2022Autodromo Enzo E Dino Ferrari, Imola
5.06-08 MayUnited States

Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix 2022Miami International Autodrome
6.20-22 MaySpain

Formula 1 Gran Premio de España 2022Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló
7.27-29 MayMonaco

Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2022Circuit de Monaco
8.10-12 June Azerbaijan

Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2022Baku City Circuit
9.17-19 JuneCanada

Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2022Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve
10.01-03 JulyGreat Britain

Formula 1 British Grand Prix 2022Silverstone Circuit
11.08-10 JulyAustria

Formula 1 Grosser Preis von Österreich 2022Red Bull Ring
12.22-24 JulyFrance

Formula 1 Grand Prix de France 2022Circuit Paul Ricard
13.29-31 JulyHungary

Formula 1 Magyar Nagydíj 2022Hungaroring
14.26-28 AugustBelgium

Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix 2022Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
15.02-04 SeptemberNetherlands

Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix 2022Circuit Zandvoort
16.09-11 SeptemberItaly

Formula 1 Gran Premio d'Italia 2022Autodromo Nazionale Monza
17.23-25 SeptemberRussia

Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix 2022Sochi Autodrom
18.30-02 September - OctoberSingapore

Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix 2022Marina Bay Street Circuit
19.07-09 OctoberJapan

Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix 2022Suzuka International Racing Course
20.21-23 OctoberUnited States

Formula 1 United States Grand Prix 2022Circuit of Americas
21.28-30 OctoberMexico

Formula 1 Gran Premio de la Ciudad de México 2022Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
22.11-19 NovemberBrazil

Formula 1 Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2022Autódromo José Carlos Pace
23.18-20 NovemberAbu Dhabi

Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2022Yas Marina Circuit

With all the technical and driver market changes, we’ll have a record-breaking 23 race calendar in 2022, which includes the debut of the long-awaited Miami Grand Prix around the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Moreover – as it stands, the race weekend in Bahrain, Imola, Canada, Austria, the Netherlands and Brazil will all feature a Sprint race, which takes place on the day before the main event. The first pre-season test will kick off in Barcelona at the end of February, followed by a second test in Bahrain just one week before the season opener.




There are no comments

Add yours