Having completed 11 rounds of the scheduled 22, we take a look at the Formula 1 teams and their drivers’ performances so far.
With Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc claiming the Austrian GP last weekend, the Formula 1 2022 season has arrived midway to what was supposed to be the longest-ever season in motorsport’s history (If it hadn’t been for Sochi Grand Prix being axed off the calendar amid political unrest between Russia and Ukraine).
Nevertheless, the season so far has seen it all. Fast, thrilling drama, persisting anticipation, shockers, upsets, moments of despair and tears of joy.
A record eight-time constructors’ title holders Mercedes struggling with a porposing car, Ferraris dominating the grid once again, and Kevin Magnussen’s Haas going wheel-to-wheel with Lewis Hamilton, we’ve seen it all. Or is there more? Of course, there is. Without any further ado, let’s jump to the mid-season report of the Formula 1 teams and their drivers.
RedBull:
Red Bull had a disappointing start to their season as they suffered a double DNF in Bahrain as Ferrari sealed a one-two pdoium finish and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took a points lead on arch-rival Max Verstappen.
RBR, however, have fared well since that horrendous start as the Max-Checo duo successfully bagged a total of 14 podiums, which includes 7 wins across the 11 rounds so far. The Christian Horner-led team currently leads the constructors’ championship with 359 points claimed so far.
Verstappen has secured three pole positions in Emilia-Romagna, Canada, and Austria respectively while his teammate Sergio Perez registered one pole position against his name in Saudi Arabia.
Verstappen, continuing his stellar form from last season leads the drivers’ championship with 208 points under his belt while his team mate Perez ranks at third having won 151 points. The Dutch racer also emerged victorious in the two sprint races held so far, bagging 16 points in the process.
Ferrari:
With massively improved performances in the pre-season testing, Ferrari sent the message out – loud and clear. Living up to the expectations, the Prancing Horses were fast without requiring to be furious in the season-opener as they recorded a comfortable one-two to announce that the revamp was on.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr have jointly secured 11 podiums and 7 pole positions so far with Leclerc winning three races. His teammate Sainz triumphed once as the Spaniard took the checkered flag converting his pole position at Silverstone earlier this month.
Ferrari continues to inch closer to the top spot in the constructors’ championship as they currently sit at second with 303 points – 56 behind the leaders Red Bull Racing.
Leclerc sits at second with 170 points – 38 points behind leader Verstappen and holds off the Dutch’s teammate Perez who sits at third. Sainz, on the other hand, has amassed 133 points and sits in fourth position.
Mercedes:
Long before the 2022’s new regulations humbled the record eight-time constructors’ champions, the unrest in the Mercedes base camp began in November 2021 when the 2021 F1 season came to its controversial conclusion.
Fast forward to March 2022, after the clouds hovering around Lewis Hamilton’s career dissipated, many suggested, including the Brit himself, that the best was yet to come. Little did anyone know that a porpoising W13 will leave the motorsport’s most-decorated team in a misery they’d find so hard to battle with.
Despite the continued struggle, the Silver Arrows have bagged seven podiums so far this season. Lately, the W13 has shown a relative upswing as the seven-time World Champion Hamilton secured three podium finishes on the trot, which included fastest laps recorded over the weekend at Silverstone.
His rookie teammate, George Russel, on the other hand, has finished on the podium thrice in this season already.
The Totto Wolff-led team sits third in the constructors’ table with 237 points claimed so far. Hamilton with 109 points in the championship sits at sixth spot – 19 points behind his compatriot Russel, who occupies the fifth position with 128 points secured so far.
McLaren:
Recovering from its early-season brake heating issues, McLaren has had at least one MCL36 in the Q3 in nine races since the Australian GP.
Team principal Andreas Seidl believes that the team should not be “fully comfortable” with the fact that the team has reemerged as the motorsport’s leading mid-table team as it sits at fourth spot in the constructors’ championship with 81 points – tied with Alpine, who are chasing them from fifth.
As Daniel Riccardo continues to struggle having notched up only 17 points in the first half of the season with a best P6 finish in Australia, his teammate Lando Norris, who finished inside the top five in 10 of the first 11 races last year, has secured a podium finish at Imola. The young Brit has secured 64 points so far in the drivers’ championship.
Alpine Renault:
Alpine tied on 81 points with McLaren, currently sits in the fifth position in F1 constructors’ championship table.
The team would have amassed a better total had it not been for an underlying issue due to which the ECU, which is a standard supply component, was not receiving power. The issue even cost Fernando Alonso a chance to start the Sprint Race at Austria last weekend.
On the other hand, Esteban Ocon was forced to retire at Silverstone due to a fuel pump issue. The team has uncovered its recent reliability woes and will bat to take a lead on McLaren to claim the fourth spot.
Ocon has bagged 52 points so far in the championship and sits at eighth spot, holding off Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas. Alonso, on the other hand, occupies tenth with 27 points clinched in the first half of the season.
Alfa Romeo:
Valtteri Bottas, following his arrival at Alfa Romeo from Mercedes had a stunning start to the season, scoring points in six of the initial seven races.
However, the form has dipped lately and the team has failed to score points in three of the last four races.
Alfa Romeo with 51 points scored so far, sits at the sixth spot in the championship while Bottas and his teamate Zhou Guanyu occupy the ninth and seventeenth positions with 46 and 5 points, respectively.
Hass:
Kevin Magnussen’s life at Haas has been no less than a fairytale. The Danish driver was only signed on the eve of the second pre-season testing in Bahrain as he replaced Nikita Mazepin, whose contract was terminated amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In his very first race with Haas F1, the Dane secured a P5 finish subsequent to his P7 in the qualifying at the Bahrain International Circuit. He has amassed 22 points so far in the championship.
On the other hand, Mick Schumacher’s DNA has begun to speak for itself. The driver, lately, seemed to be on course to lift the heavy weight he carries in his surname. The German finished eighth at Silverstone and bested his own result with a P6 finish at Austria’s Red Bull Ring. For some, it brought nostalgia as an impressive battle between Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton unfolded in front of our eyes. Schumacher sits at fifteenth spot in the championship with 12 points collected so far.
Gunther Steiner’s team has improved massively as they have secured a total of 34 points in the constructors’ championship already. To put things into perspective, the team managed to pick just 3 points in the last two seasons combined.
Scuderia AlphaTauri:
AlphaTauri was in eighth position with 27 points. The team’s form has dipped in the last few weeks with their last points coming from Pierre Gasly’s P5 finish at Azerbaijan.
Gasly with three point-less weekends on the trot, sits at thirteenth spot in the championship with a total of 27 points. His teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, occupies sixth position with 11 points scored.
Aston Martin:
Having joined them in 2021, Sebastian Vettel has scored 58 of Aston Martin’s 95 points so far. This season, with 15 points bagged until now, the German occupies the fourthteenth place in the championship, holding off Haas’ Mick Schumacher.
Lance Stroll sits on the nineteenth spot with no points to show from his performances in the first half of the season.
With 18 points secured so far, Aston Martin occupies the second last position in the championship table.
Williams:
With a new upgrade package introduced at Silverstone, Williams appeared to have made progress at Austrian GP. However, Alex Albon’s FW44 couldn’t beat Bottas’ Alfa Romeo’s pace and had to finish 12th – the team’s sixth consecutive race weekend without points.
The constructors currently sit at the bottom of the table with just 3 points picked up so far in the season.
Nicholas Latifi is yet to open his account while Albon sits at the eighteenth spot in the driver’s championship with 3 points bagged until now.
