SEBASTIAN VETTEL
Despite the fact that Vettel’s final season in Formula One was not as relentless or supreme as his Red Bull glory days, there was ample evidence that he still possessed a great deal of the old magic that made him a great driver in the sport.
His rush to eighth in a downpour impacted Imola race when his Aston Martin was uncompetitive was an early-season champion similar to his exhibitions when his AMR22 became one of the better vehicles in F1’s midfield. Vettel’s excellent qualifying performance in Abu Dhabi and sixth place finish at Suzuka demonstrated that he did not slow down when he made the decision to leave Formula One. However, there were just too many qualifying mistakes or times when Lance Stroll got the better of him for Vettel to avoid joining this list in his final year.
VALTTERI BOTTAS
It was a season of two halves for Bottas, not only because the performance of his Alfa Romeo went from being a potential Mercedes-beater to ruining Bottas’ impeccable record of missing Q1 exits.He was the driving force behind Alfa’s successful start to 2022, despite the fact that it was not without its share of mistakes. He also scored a lot of points, which the team was extremely grateful for as the season went on.
PIERRE GASLY
One of the best midfield performers in 2020-21 loses his place in the top 10 in 2022 not due to the relative performance of his AlphaTauri but rather due to his position within the team. Bottas ended a 10-race pointless streak just in time to save Alfa from being overhauled by Aston Martin.He struggled with the car’s weak front end and was significantly outpaced by teammate Yuki Tsunoda than in 2021. He was still the best player on the team, and we saw glimpses of his speed, especially on the streets of Miami, Monaco, and Baku. However, this was a much more muted year than previous years, especially when it became clear that he would be going to Alpine in 2023.
KEVIN MAGNUSSEN
In the event that you’d have made this rundown after the initial not many races Magnussen would have been immovably inside the main 8 and distant from the base half.That was before his stunning pole position, his and the team’s first in Formula One, which served as a timely reminder of why Haas brought Magnussen back for 2022. He produces the big results that Haas found itself resting on for the majority of the year, particularly due to Mick Schumacher’s inability to score points.
LANCE STROLL
Although he was frequently superior to Vettel as the Aston Martin driver, he did not enjoy the same high-scoring heights. His only points finishes that weren’t in the top 10 were an excellent sixth at Suzuka and an eighth at Abu Dhabi, which almost got Aston Martin to sixth place in the constructors’ championship. When Fernando Alonso, one of the most effective operators in the F1 midfield, joins Stroll next year, it will become increasingly apparent that Stroll still lacks that cutting-edge compared to some of his rivals in the midfield.
YUKI TSUNODA Tsunoda
YUKI TSUNODA Tsunoda’s season is hard to rate because of AlphaTauri’s inconsistent performance and his own. However, his second season in Formula One felt like a step forward because he was frequently the faster AlphaTauri driver. However, his absence from the podium for the previous 12 races was troubling, particularly after a fairly successful start that saw him finish seventh at Imola and eighth in Bahrain. Tsunoda’s passing speed has worked on however his administration of races might in any case accomplish with some work – an unmistakable objective region for his third season with AlphaTauri one year from now
ZHOU GUANYU
F1 2022’s only tenderfoot was undeniably more noteworthy than his count of six places – contrasted with the 49 scored by Alfa Romeo partner Bottas – illustrated. He was hurt by the fact that the Alfa was at its best at the beginning of the season, when Bottas was doing well in his new challenge and Zhou was finding his feet.
However, he minimized his mistakes and acknowledged that many of the crashes he was in, such as the horrific Silverstone start crash (shown), were not entirely his own. Zhou did a respectable job and builds a solid foundation for his second year in Formula One, despite lacking the big highs that all of the drivers above him on the list experienced.
DANIEL RICCIARDO
Ricciardo had a difficult first season with McLaren, but nothing could have prepared him for how much harder things would get in 2022. His struggles ultimately cost McLaren fourth place in the constructors’ championship, falling behind Alpine. As a result, the team decided to terminate Ricciardo’s contract early and hire Oscar Piastri, the 2021 Formula 2 champion. Ricciardo’s 202 has very few positive aspects, but his off-track behavior was excellent and his trademark smile never completely disappeared.