Last year’s Formula 1 season had all the hallmarks of a classic battle between titans, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, with the latter coming out victorious in Abu Dhabi, despite what continues to be controversial circumstances as we enter the 72nd year of the sport. This battle emulated some of the greatest the sport has ever seen and has been compared to the likes of Alain Prost vs Ayrton Senna and James Hunt vs Nikki Lauda – so what will happen next, I’ve outlined 3 predictions for the 2022 season.
#1 The Four World Champions will remain supreme
With the ‘Iceman’ Kimi Raikkonen retiring, the grid is still left with 4 world champions, joining Hamilton and Verstappen is Fernando Alonso – the Spanish veteran showed impressive form in the Alpine, often outperforming the car to deliver not only consistent results, but great results. Joining them is four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, many questioned whether the move to Aston Martin was the wrong choice for driver, however the German champion proved critics wrong, with several impressive performances including a P2 at the Azerbaijan Gran Prix.
#2 Bigger Tyres means Better Racing
When Formula 1 made the decision to delay increasing the tyre sizes from 13inch to 18inches, fans across the world groaned (I’m assuming – I did at least) – the smaller tyres have often been pointed as the reason that the cars are unable to follow each other closely for long periods of times as they degrade too quickly. This move to a bigger tyre has been done for two reasons, 1 to facilitate closer racing, but also 2. to allow for effective knowledge transfer from high performance race tyres to road tyres as the sizes are a lot more applicable to modern cars. As a side note, please don’t think because you’ve had a new set of Pirelli’s fitted to your car you’re now ready to tackle the Nürburgring!
#3 Aston Martin will be in the top 4 constructors
You what? Ok this prediction may be ‘bold’ and slightly biased as am an Aston Martin fan, however there is logic to this. Aston Martin F1 has been investing heavily in their drivers, team and facilities. Step 1 was to secure two great drivers. Check. Step 2 was improving the team, in the offseason Aston Martin have recruited Mick Crack as their new team principal, Dan Fallows (ex-Chief of Aerodynamics at Redbull) and Eric Blandin (ex-Chief of Aerodynamics at Mercedes). Check. And step 3, well does a new £200million state of the art facilities being built by IFS user McLaren Construction count? As I said you may call this bold, but the team is combining all the ingredients for a perfect recipe.
In what is set to be one of the most fascinating seasons in F1 for some time due to the rule changes, tension and team changes. You’re probably like me having the F1 dates in your calendar and are already planning ‘compromises’ with your other half to ensure that you can watch all the action.
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