And just like that… the 2022 F1 season has sadly come to an end. From now on, where will us viewers find the sports thrill and excitement that Formula 1 provided us with? I suppose the Football World Cup will suffice for December, but we will unfortunately be left in limbo for the months of January and February. Not to worry though, time will fly and soon enough the reveal of the renovated 2023 cars will be debuted, commencing a brand new competition between our beloved top teams. Until then, let us take a look back at the chaos and spectacle that was this past season.
The most prominent feature of this season was certainly Redbull’s triumph, as Verstappen dominated most of the year, snatching 15 wins from the 22 races. His handwork and consistency definitely did not go unnoticed, as he rightfully achieved P1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to wrap up his near-perfect performance this year. Does anyone remember back to when Max was the underdog? This is certainly not the case anymore!
Although there was much to celebrate at the end of the last Grand Prix, some goodbyes were forced to be said. The very well-respected and iconic driver, Sebastian Vettel decided to retire at the end of the 2022 season, leaving his fans in utter dismay. In conjunction to his departure, a few more of our current drivers are leaving the grid too. Some have decided to leave, where as others were given a slight ‘nudge’ to depart by their teams for underperforming. These other drivers include Latifi, Schumacher and Ricciardo. The exits of Latifi and Schumacher were somewhat expected due to their inabilities to live up to their teams expectations, but the announcement regarding Ricciardo shook fans tremendously.
It is no secret that since his Redbull withdrawal, Danny Ric has been struggling to ‘get his groove’ back. He has hopped from team to team in hopes of striking gold, but unfortunately fell deeper into a slump. His McLaren recruitment in 2021 meant a new opportunity to redeem himself, and his win in Monza 2021 certainly seemed like he had done so. Unfortunately his glorious win was a one-time occasion, and soon enough he was back to battling it out for the likes of P12. McLaren’s decision to let go of the driver was therefore anticipated, but still hard to swallow. Ricciardo is such a large presence in Formula 1, radiating his bubbly personality all throughout the paddock and beyond. His energy and the almost permanent smile planted on his face will be sorely missed next year. All hope is not entirely lost though Ricciardo Fans! Redbull has just announced that Daniel will be their reserve driver for the next year, essentially their ‘third driver.’ Therefore we can find comfort in knowing there will definitely be more Ricciardo content to follow…phew.
The wait until the 5th of March of 2023 is going to be gruelling, I can’t sugarcoat that fact unfortunately. Although, there are a few ways in which to keep the F1 spirit within you alive these winter holidays while you wait. It is always a good idea to binge ‘Drive to Survive’ on Netflix again, just to serve as a reminder of the high-intensity glory days. You can additionally visit the newly opened ‘F1 Arcade’ if you happen to be in London in December, where you can participate in sim-racing and F1 related games. Seems like a good time to me!
Image: Alexandr Bormotin on Unsplash