F1 Season 2022 Preview – Will Hamilton Bounce Back After Last Lap Despair?

The new F1 Season is on the horizon and after the excitement and controversy of last season, it promises to be a hugely intriguing campaign this time around.

Last year, in a controversial decision by race director Michael Masi, he allowed racing to begin on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after a safety car had allowed Max Verstappen, on fresher tyres, close a big gap on Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen duly overtook Hamilton on the last lap of the race to claim his first World Title and leave Hamilton tied with Michael Schumacher on seven titles.

In the fallout after that race, many speculated whether Hamilton would return to drive for Mercedes this season, and the British driver has signalled his intent to race this year, but has insisted that he will call it a day at the end of this season.

With a new team mate in British compatriot George Russell, who has made the switch from Williams, it promises to be another hugely exciting season with Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez expected to feature prominently, while much more is expected this year of Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Junior.

As always, you can enjoy a wide range of bets both before and during the F1 season with Bet365 Sport, which includes a wide range of futures market betting, as well as betting available on each individual race both pre-race and In Play.

Let’s now take a look at the ten teams confirmed for the 2022 F1 Season.

2022 F1 Season – Teams & Drivers

As was the case last season, ten teams will compete in this year’s World Championship and each will have two named drivers competing in each race.

Ferrari will supply the Engines for three teams, Mercedes four, while Red Bull’s first year as an engine manufacturer will see them provide units for two teams. Renault will provide the only other power unit in F1 season.

In terms of driver moves, in addition to the George Russell move mentioned above, Valtteri Bottas has replaced the retired Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo. Alex Albon has replaced George Russell at Williams, while Antonio Giovanazzi has left F1 and been replaced at Alfa Romeo by Guanyu Zhou, who becomes the first Chinese driver to compete in the championship.

The teams are listed in the name – engine unit – drivers (country) format.

1. Alfa Romeo – Ferrari – Guanyu Zhou (Chn) & Valtteri Bottas (Fin)
2. Alpha Tauri – Red Bull – Pierre Gasly (Fra) & Yuki Tsunoda (Jap)
3. Alpine F1 – Renault – Fernando Alonso (Spa) & Esteban Ocon (Fra)
4. Aston Martin – Mercedes – Sebastian Vettel (Ger) & Lance Stroll (Can)
5. Ferrari – Ferrari – Charles Leclerc (Mon) & Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spa)
6. Haas F1 – Ferrari – Nikita Mazepin (Rus) & Mick Schumacher (Ger)
7. McLaren – Mercedes – Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) & Lando Norris (GB)
8. Mercedes – Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton (GB) & George Russell (GB)
9. Red Bull – Red Bull – Max Vestappen (Hol) & Sergio Perez (Mex)
10. Williams – Mercedes – Nicholas Latifi (Can) & Alexander Albon (Tha)

The 2022 F1 Race Calendar & Schedule

Due to a switch around in the timetable, there is a somewhat later than usual start to the F1 Grand Prix season this year with the first race not taking place until the 20^th March.

Traditionally, Melbourne has been the season opener in more recent times, but due to the pandemic, this new season will see the first two races competed in the Middle East before the F1 circus heads to the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne.

In total, 23 races will take place across the year, Covid-19 regulations permitting and the schedule of events is as follows:

1. 20^th March – Bahrain Grand Prix (Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir)
2. 27^th March – Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah)
3. 10^th April – Australian Grand Prix (Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne)
4. 24^th April – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (Imola Circuit, Imola)
5. 8^th May – Miami Grand Prix (Miami International Autodrome, Miami Gardens)
6. 22^nd May – Spanish Grand Prix (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmelo)
7. 29^th May – Monaco Grand Prix (Circuit de Monaco, Monaco)
8. 12^th June – Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Baku City Circuit, Baku)
9. 19^th June – Canadian Grand Prix (Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal)
10. 3^rd July – British Grand Prix (Silverstone, Northamptonshire)
11. 10^th July – Austrian Grand Prix (Red Bull Ring, Spielberg)
12. 24^th July – French Grand Prix (Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet)
13. 31^st July – Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungarorig, Mogyorod)
14. 28^th August – Belgian Grand Prix (Spa Francorchamps, Stavelot)
15. 4^th September – Dutch Grand Prix (Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort)
16. 11^th September – Italian Grand Prix (Monza Circuit, Monza)
17. 25^th September – Russian Grad Prix (Sochi Autodrom, Sochi)
18. 2^nd October – Singapore Grand Prix (Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore)
19. 9^th October – Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka, Suzuka)
20. 23^rd October – United States Grand Prix (Circuit of the Americas, Austin)
21. 30^th October – Mexico City Grand Prix (Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City)
22. 13^th November – Sao Paulo Grand Prix (Interlagos, Sao Paulo)
23. 20^th November – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi)

Changes to the calendar this year include the return of the Australian, Canadian, Japanese and Singapore Grand Prix, as well as the very first Miami Grand Prix.

The Qatar Grand Prix will not be contested this year due to the country focusing on World Cup preparations, and the Chinese Grand Prix will not take place due to travel restrictions, though both should return for the 2023 season.

The Portuguese, Styrian and Turkish Grand Prix’s which were added to the 2021 season to increase the number of races are not included in this years set of races.

Regulation Changes

In addition to the changes outlined above, there are a number of technical regulation changes that have been brought in with the aim of making the difference in performance between the field much less than in previous years.

Indeed, FIA estimate that the gap between the quickest and slowest teams on an average given lap will be halved allowing for much closer racing between teams.

Red Bull designer Adrian Newey commented that the changes were the most influential made in F1 since the 1983 season.

All of this means fans should be expecting closer and perhaps a more intense rivalry between more teams over the forthcoming season.

Current Drivers Championship Odds

Lewis Hamilton is the 5/4 favourite with bet365 to win the Driver’s Championship in 2022, with Max Verstappen, the 2021 Champion, 15/8. George Russell is 11/2, then Charles Leclerc at 11/1 before the odds then drop sharply off.

And as for my tip? This could be an intriguing season if it plays out as FIA has hopes it will, but I think we will see the same two teams dominate perhaps with Ferrari and McLaren playing more of a role in the races this year, but for me, Hamilton is still the pick to win the Drivers and Mercedes the constructors title.