The turn of the year means that the 2023 Formula One season is barely two months away. If the betting odds compared by OddsChecker, which compares F1 odds and free offers, are to be believed, then we may have a three-team fight on our hands for the World Championship when the new campaign gets underway in May. Naturally, after his dominant year in 2022, Max Verstappen is the odds-on favorite to make it three consecutive titles next term. But if the data is to be believed, then Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and George Russell are all in with a shout as to where the trophy will rest following the culmination of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 26th.
With the new season just around the corner, we feel that it is time to look back at last season. Despite Super Max’s unparalleled dominance, there can be no denying that there was plenty of spine-tingling action in 2022. Admittedly there were a few snooze-fests, with the late-season Mexican Grand Prix immediately springing to mind. Here are our three favorite races from the 2022 Formula One season.
Bahrain Grand Prix: Winner – Charles Leclerc
The 2022 season got underway last March with the curtain-raising Bahrain Grand Prix, which brought with it plenty of hope from Maranello. Ferrari hadn’t been genuine title contenders since Sebastian Vettel led the 2017 and 2018 championships, only to be overthrown on both occasions by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. But heading into the showdown in the desert, many thought that the Scuderia had the pace to keep up with the newly crowned champion Verstappen.
Those thoughts were validated in Saturday’s qualifying, as Charles Leclerc took pole from the Flying Dutchman, with his teammate Carlos Sainz behind them in third. The top three were separated by just 0.129s, and fans looked to be in for a treat on Sunday evening. A treat is exactly what we witnessed.
Pole sitter Leclerc led into the first corner, with Verstappen’s charging Red Bull hot on his heels. Sainz maintained third while Perez tumbled from fourth. The Mexican was passed by both Lewis Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen.
As the race progressed, Leclerc managed to hang onto his lead but was unable to shake Verstappen. The pair would trade the lead between laps 17 and 19, with the Monegasque driver repeatedly breaking earlier into Turn One, which would give him DRS down into turn four.
The Flying Dutchman’s race began to unravel following his final attempt to overtake Leclerc, which failed and allowed the race leader to pull away. Verstappen would remain in second place until a late failure forced him to retire. That promoted Sainz into second – giving Ferrari their first 1-2 finish since Singapore in 2019 — and Hamilton finished a surprise third in an uncompetitive Mercedes.
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DQqMtf_mTw
British Grand Prix: Winner – Carlos Sainz
The British Grand Prix at Silverstone is always a marquee date on the calendar. Following the drama in 2021, where Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen collided causing the young Dutchman to smash into the barriers at 140mph, anticipation couldn’t have been any higher.
Heading into the Grand Prix, many speculated that Silverstone marked the first chance that Hamilton and Mercedes had to be in contention for victory. Those speculations appeared to be confounded on Saturday as Carlos Sainz took pole ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc, with the two Mercedes in fifth and eighth — over a second off the pace. But on Sunday, it was a different story entirely.
On the opening lap, Sainz was passed by Verstappen but a horror crash involving Zhou Guanyu forced the race to be restarted from the original positions. Upon the restart, Sainz would retain his lead into the corner but was passed by Super Max within a few laps. Verstappen appeared to be in control, however he ran into debris left over from a prior incident, leaving him a second per lap off the pace and dropping him out of contention.
Sainz would regain the lead only for his teammate Leclerc to overtake him and pull away. All the while, Hamilton — who was on fresher tires after pitting later than the leaders — was charging after the lead Ferraris. The seven-time World Champion was reeling in the leaders and appeared to be on course for victory, only for a late safety car to curtail his charge. While Leclerc was inexplicably left out by Ferrari when Sainz, Hamilton, and Perez all pitted for fresh softs.
When the race got underway, Sainz promptly passed Leclerc, while the latter would battle Hamilton and Perez for the final two podium places. With Leclerc and Red Bull’s second driver doing battle into the final corner, Hamilton would famously pass both drivers at the same time, only for both to come charging back and re-overtake him. In the end, Leclerc would end up being passed by both of them and eventually finish fourth with Hamilton third, Perez second and Sainz picking up the first victory of his career.
Dutch Grand Prix: Winner – Max Verstappen
One man brought Formula One back to the Netherlands, and that man is, of course, Max Verstappen. With his Orange Army making their presence felt at races in countries such as Austria and Hungary, the powers that be within F1 decided to give the Dutch their own Grand Prix. And thus far, no one has been able to usurp Super Max on home territory. Although one man came very close in 2022.
Verstappen would secure pole position on Saturday, beating championship rival Leclerc — who was now some 90 points off the standings’ summit — just two hundredths of a second behind. But on Sunday, it was all about the revival of Lewis Hamilton. Two months on from the disappointment of Silverstone, the 37-year-old finally had another chance to secure his first victory of the season.
The leading Red Bulls and Ferraris both opted for two-stop strategies, while Mercedes opted for a one-stop, and a late virtual safety car gave Hamilton a cheap pit stop and a shot at victory. A second VSC then forced Mercedes to make an unscheduled second pit stop and gave the lead back to Verstappen.
But in the laps following Hamilton was taking a second per lap out of the race leader and the victory, on enemy territory, looked possible. But a final safety car period, in which Mercedes opted to keep Hamilton out while everyone else pitted, was one hurdle the seven-time champ couldn’t overcome. Verstappen would pass him within seconds of the restart and cruise to victory, with Hamilton eventually finishing fourth.
