By Joe Man
If you are thinking its too early to make predictions for 2022 then you are correct!
It would take a crazy man to make bold predictions before we see the cars on the track but luckily I am that crazy man! But just how crazy, have I been…
1
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis was missing all season break after being robbed of the 2021 world championship. He has been through the shock of the final lap of 2021, put it right in his head and is ready to fire. Hamilton doesn’t take this stuff lying down. He will have trained harder than ever to take that record 8th world title. The Mercedes W13 looks super fast and who would back against the team with a record breaking eight consecutive titles. Expect Lewis to be extra aggressive this year as he seeks to bury his rivals.
2
Charles Le Clerc
I have a feeling Ferrari are confident that they have built a championship contending car. The Italian giants have been quiet for a while now and are primed to strike. They have one of the strongest driver line ups and if they can get off to a good start will be contenders. I put Leclerc ahead of Sainz as he is a proven race winner and makes less mistakes. The Frenchman will however need to eliminate his own mistakes if he is to challenge for the title.
3
Max Verstappen
You might all be quite surprised that I have Max in third. My only reasoning behind this is that Red Bull committed more to 2021 than any other team. While the other teams had turned their focus to the new 2022 regulations, Red bull made sure they upgraded their 2021 car enough to win them the title. I only have Max ahead of Russell and Sainz purely due to his driving brilliance. He will drag whatever machinery he is given to places it doesn’t belong. Honda have also now left the sport with Red Bull now designing their own engines using Honda technology. There have already been reports of the 2022 engine having power issues. It’s going to be fascinating to see how this pans out.
4
George Russell
For the young Englishman many of his dreams have already come true. Sitting alongside teammate Lewis Hamilton must feel surreal after idolising him his whole career. George will not be concerned about this and will do anything he can to give the seven time world champion a run for his money. This was one of my hardest decisions on these predictions. My gut feel is Russell will finish higher than this and quite possibly challenge for the title. My head says maybe it’s too early. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles Russell’s legendary qualifying skills could make a massive difference. Rows 2-6 will not be the place to be when you look at the drivers involved.
5
Carlos Sainz
2022 should be another great year for the Spaniard. I feel he will win for the first time, maybe more than once. He could well be higher if the the red rocket comes true. How he handles his team mate will be fascinating as Leclerc tends to be the more aggressive. Luck hasn’t always been with Sainz but maybe this is the year it turns around.
6
Lando Norris
McLaren have to be one of the big question marks for 2022. Ive put Lando in this position due to the belief that at this stage McLaren will be fourth fastest. As a keen McLaren fan all my life, I hope I’m wrong. They look like they have a perfect team set up and could well be further up the table. Lando will win in 2022. As a team they will be looking to make a huge statement in testing and the first few races.
7
Sergio Perez
Sergio gets number 7 due to my comments regarding Red Bull not having a good enough car. While still being an excellent support for Max I cant see the Mexican having much of an impact.
8
Daniel Riccardo
Same goes for Daniel as it does Lando. If he has the tools he could be a lot higher. I do think he will struggle to keep up with his young teammate. This is such an important year for the Australian. It’s hard to know where he has left to go if he doesn’t make a big impact.
9
Pierre Gasly
Pierre will be another to suffer if Red Bulls engine issues come true. It will be a season full of classy drives but not much to show for it.
10
Valtteri Bottas
This could be a good year for the Finn. Finally out of the shadow of Hamilton and with a multi year deal he must be feeling good. Alfa will have a Ferrari engine in the back and no expectations. Expect to see the Alfa’s flying!
11 – Yuki Tsunoda
Another Red Bull victim. Yuki must aim to get as close as he can to his team mate. Perez may not get the drive for 2023 so there is plenty to play for. It appears Red Bull senior management don’t like Gasly so Tsunoda will be the obvious next teammate for Max. He has to improve enormously though for that to happen.
12
Fernando Alonso
Poor old Fernando. Im going to predict that once again Alonso is going to end up with a slow car. Their team boss is gone and has been replaced by Otmar Szafnauer. Interestingly Otmar was let go by Aston Martin who also have made changes. In such a crucial time with the new regulations you need a settled team. Alpine I predict to be one of the two biggest losers of the next generation of F1.
13
Estaban Ocon
Estonian like Alonso will be in for a very frustrating season. He will be hoping to show enough to keep himself firmly in the mind of Toto Wolff for that Mercedes seat when Hamilton retires.
14
Alex Albon
Williams look in a better place and will challenges for top ten honours regularly. Alex will be raring to go after sitting out 2021. I think 2022 will be another year of progress in the right direction for the legendary Williams team.
15
Sebastian Vettel
Aston Martin are my other pick for disaster. The team doesn’t look right. We still don’t really know why they parted company with team boss Otmar Szafnauer. Although Aston Martin have plenty of money from Lawrence Stroll, he looks hard to work with. If Vettel gets fed up we know what happens and I believe this could be has last year in the sport.
16
Mick Schumacher
The rise of the young German will continue and with a Ferrari engine will drag Haas back up the midfield. He will need to avoid the distraction of inter team fighting with his teammate Mazepin.
17
Guanyu Zhou
The rookie of 2022 should have a good season with the Ferrari powered Alfa. Like most rookies he will make his mistakes and will have his share of DNF’s while fighting at the back.
18
Nicholas Latifi
I fancy even with a better car beneath him that Latifi will struggle to match Albon. Im yet to be convinced that the Canadian has what it takes at this level.
19
Lance Stroll
If things go south with the team Lance is going to find himself in an unenviable position. With regulations set to remain for the next while he will be stuck in a bad car with his dad as boss!
20
Nikita Mazepin
Last, but not least, we come to Nikita. I expect the Russian to make plenty of headlines. For all the wrong reasons. If racing is closer he is going to be in all sorts of incidents. Whether his financial backing will save him time will tell.
Put these predictions on your wall and feel free to comment every time I’m wildly wrong!
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