The podium of the year in Formula 1: what were the best races of 2022

2022 has been a rousing season of Max Verstappen. the Dutch he won 15 of 24 dates of a record calendar of Formula 1 and became a two-time champion.

However, the podium of the best races of the year does not see him as the winner. Conversely, the Ferrari drivers – a team that fought for the title at the start – were left with two of the three most exciting races.

In the usual survey that F1 does to its fans asking them what was the most exciting race of the year, 34% of the over 65,000 voters those who had participated up to December 30 chose the British GP, of July 3, as the best of the season. maybe he had to The Spectacular Accident of Guanyu Zhouwhose Alfa Romeo skidded upside down along the front straight.

to close, with 21%, there was the race in Brazil, even though the champion was already defined. At Interlagos, George Russell -involved in the crash that caused the Chinese driver to crash- won his first Formula 1 race on November 13, after a purely spectacular qualifying and sprint race with Kevin Magnussen from pole position.

Finally, he came in third place with 8% Bahrain’s first test of the Ferrari one-two that thrilled the fans on 20 March. In Sakhir, Charles Leclerc fought with Max Verstappen but the Dutchman’s abandonment on a black day for Red Bull – Checo Pérez also out at the end of the test – favored the Monegasque and his teammate, the Spanish Carlos Sainz .

Although the first two positions seem defined, the third place can change in the days before the vote. To choose you must enter this link.

34% – British Grand Prix: Zhou’s crash that shook the world

A shiver went through the body of those who were at Silverstone and also the millions of spectators around the world. The memory of the French Romain Grosjean, which went up in flames for a Haas split in two at the Sakhir circuit on November 29, 2020, was still fresh. like that day no one knew how Chinese Guanyu Zhou was when his Alfa Romeo overturned and so he covered the main straight until he left the English circuit.

Was following a multiple accident in the first corner of the race, which also involved George Russell’s Mercedes, which lost its left front tire due to a side impact with Zhou’s car.

The Alfa Romeo then overturned and displaced several meters of asphalt and clay, generating sparks that flew next to its hull, overturned, got up and climbed over the circuit protection en route to one of the grandstands at Silverstone. There, it was the bars that prevented the accident from becoming a tragedy.

Russell immediately got out of the car and ran to help his colleague. With him came the medical services from Silverstone, who also had to deal with Alex Albon (Williams), another of those affected by a crash that also involved the Frenchman Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri ).

Yes, OK the race continued, and Carlos Sainz won it despite Verstappen snatching pole position from him at the start, the most important thing continued on social media. There, the first statement was from the FIA, which reported that Zhou was “out of danger”. Some time later, Alfa Romeo radioed Valtteri Bottas that his teammate had not suffered any fractures. “And considering what happened, that’s pretty good.”.

An hour later, halfway through the race, Formula 1 provided a reassuring update on Zhou’s health: “He was declared fit and discharged from the Medical Center”.

In sport, despite poleman Sainz winning it, there was excitement throughout the British GP. In the tire change on lap 20 of 52, the Spaniard left the privileged position to Leclerc, who had to give it to Hamilton when he stopped on lap 26. Meanwhile Verstappen, who already had hard tires, complained on the radio: “Why did they put these tires on me?! I can not do anything!!! It’s like driving on ice.”.

Leclerc took first place and Sainz second when Hamilton pitted on lap 34 but five times later the yellow flag generated different strategies: while the Spaniard was on soft tyres, the Monegasque stayed on track and immediately relaunchwhere he was overtaken by his teammate.

Behind him, the battle for second place was between Leclerc, Checo Pérez and Hamiltonwhich enlivened the final laps, where the Ferrari driver lost out, finishing fourth when he was battling for the lead of the race. “I don’t know what to say… Incredible, my first win, 150 races later with Ferrari and at Silverstone. I couldn’t ask for more. It’s a day I’ll never forget.”said Sainz, the winner of the best race of the season.

21% – San Paolo GP: from Russell’s first victory to the tough cross between Pérez and Verstappen

What emotion could the penultimate round of a championship that Max Verstappen had already won give F1? Very. in Interlago, The adrenaline went from Friday to Sundayeven after the race won by George Russell, who thus added his first F1 victory.

The Brazilian GP, ​​round 21, represented a special race for Charles Leclerc and Ferrari in their fight for second place, due to the points that the Sprint Race had added to the appointment. But in San Pablo a surprise was in store: the unexpected pole of Kevin Magnussen and Haasafter a red flag and rain that changed the outlook for Q3.

The Danes, on the other hand, he did not hold that position long in the Sprint Race, which Russell won to take pole position for Sunday. On the last day of the weekend, the Englishman gave a driving lesson and celebrated his first Formula 1 win in the 1-2 Mercedes in a bumpy race.

The first safety car arrived at turn 8 of the first lap, when Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) touched the right rear wheel of Magnussen’s Haas and the two went off the track. Thus, the first six laps took place with the race neutralised.

In the seventh test was relaunched and the emotions did not take long to reappear. Because a few minutes after the Safety Car came out, Verstappen tried to pass Hamilton, but the cars ended up touching, in what looked like a rebirth of 2021. The Briton from Mercedes lost many positions and dropped to eighth place. And the Dutchman, who claimed that his rival didn’t leave him room, took the worst: he had to go back to the pits and rejoined the track 17th.

A few minutes later, Norris hit Leclerc when the Monegasque attempted a maneuver and the Ferrari crashed into the barriers, for which he had to pit to assess the damage. Like Verstappen, he managed to come back but in last place.

Following the investigation into the accidents, the FIA ​​announced a five-second penalty for Verstappen for being guilty of colliding with Hamilton and the same penalty for Norris, for contact with Leclerc.

At the end of the test, a double entry into the pits of the German team’s cars added suspense to the definition. It’s that Hamilton got in first, at a stop he didn’t like at all –“Why the hell did they call me?”, he claimed on the radio-, and lost second place to Sainz. And Russell pitted immediately afterwards and when he rejoined the track, the advantage of more than 20 seconds he had over the Ferrari driver became just over four.

On lap 53, Norris stops very close to the track and can no longer move his car, resulting in a Virtual Safety Car. Sainz takes the opportunity to return to the pits and, despite having made a good stop, he returns fourth, with Russell and Hamilton still in front and Perez third. And a couple of laps later, the Safety Car came because Norris’ car couldn’t be removed easily and the test was cancelled.

“Do we run or insure the 1-2?”Russell asked before the raise. “Let’s run, we just have to be respectful”They answered him on the radio.

The test was relaunched on lap 60, with clashes on all fronts. Hamilton went out looking for the win over Russell. Pérez passed Sainz to move up to third, but the Spaniard didn’t give up and regained his position a couple of laps later. A little further back, Leclerc overtakes Bottas and is fifth, very close to the Mexican. Verstappen climbed a few more podiums and finished seventh. And Alonso, who had started 17th, left behind teammate Ocon and Vettel to move up to sixth.

With four laps to go, the Mercedes were comfortably in front, with Russell first and Hamilton second. But behind them the chips continue to move: Ferrari defends the third and fourth with Sainz and Leclerc -who demands that his partner leave the place, thinking of the fight with Pérez for second place-, followed by Alonso’s Alpino and from Verstappen’s Red Bull – which had been ordered to go by Spanish and Monegasque – and Czech. However, there was no change until the end and Russell crossed the line first.

The problems arose under the cars, because Checo was seventh, behind Verstappen, who, despite the team’s request, did not grant him sixth place. “I am very surprised. I don’t know what happened, I don’t understand his reasons. Especially for everything I’ve done for him. I think if he has two championships it’s thanks to me“shot in Guadalajara. “I have my reasons for the things that have happened. It’s important that we sit down to discuss it.”the Dutch was justified.

8% – Bahrain GP: 1-2 for Ferrari in a dream start

The championship started with great news for the fans who They haven’t seen the Ferrari champion since 2007: Charles Leclerc dominated the Bahrain Grand Prix from start to finish, with his teammate Carlos Sainz as an escort, at finish two and a half years without a win of the Maranello team on the Maxima.

Above, Red Bull has had a terrifying start. Max Verstappen, who was running second, retired with three laps to go due to mechanical failures in his car, while Checo Pérez spun on the penultimate lap and also dropped out of the competition with a minute and a fraction to go before the checkered flag.

Beyond the reliability problems that Verstappen accused during the race, the two cars ended up abandoning for one failure in the fuel system. And the team, which arrived at the Sakhir circuit among the favourites, said goodbye to the first round of the season with zero points and too many worries.

According to early reviews, the cars of Verstappen and Pérez had the same problem. “What we suspect is that something happened to the fuel pump of both cars”Helmut Marko, head of motorsport at Red Bull, explained in a chat with Motorsport.com. “But the fuel pump doesn’t come from us, we just have to plug it in. And we’ve never had this problem, that’s the weird thing.”He explained.

Luckily for Red Bull, the solution came at the next race, in Saudi Arabia, where Verstappen took the top step of the podium with Leclerc and Sainz alongside him, while Pérez finished fourth in the grand prix.

Spain and France, without votes

There have been two landslide victories for Max Verstappen who, at the time of writing, They didn’t have a single vote from Formula 1 fans on their website.

On May 22, in Catalonia, Verstappen took advantage of Leclerc’s abandonment – and the help of Pérez after a squad order – to win the Spanish GP and take the lead in the World Cup.

Two months later, on July 24, the Dutchman disputed a perfect race in France and took advantage of the Monegasque’s mistake, who lost control of the Ferrari with worn tires and crashed into the barriers after 18 laps and he was the leader. more pointer than ever in the drivers’ championship.