Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have been warned of a “dangerous” contender who could have a surprise fight for the title later in the year. The 2022 season kicks off in March, and so far there has been no indication as to which teams could go chasing silverware once the racing action begins.
No one could match the title-chasing duo in 2021 as they have been well ahead of the rest of the field in both points and pace throughout the year.
Their teammates Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez were also well behind, although they finished third and fourth in the drivers’ standings, ahead of every driver from all other teams.
Because no other manufacturer has been able to field a car as competitive as the machines from Mercedes and Red Bull – which could change with the new regulations for this year.
New technical specifications come into effect, giving teams the opportunity to outperform their rivals over the winter.
If a team that’s run in midfield in recent years can innovate like none of their rivals can, they could find themselves in a position to compete at the top.
Every team further down the order will hope to achieve this, although they won’t really know the fruits of their labor until testing begins in Barcelona towards the end of February.
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“Fernando drives well, the guy is still a little magician,” said the Australian to Formula Austria.
“He’s the last thing you’d want hanging around in front of or behind the mirror for two hours. He’s extremely good at applying pressure in unconventional ways.
“He’s still very, very good. Let’s see how next year goes with the new car, it will be interesting. If Alpine brings a rocket, he could be dangerous.”
Webber also backed another racer whose 2022 car we already know will rival Hamilton’s.
George Russell will drive for Mercedes, replacing the outgoing Bottas, and will be hoping to settle in quickly and be in contention for podiums and race wins straight away.
Webber has backed him to do just that as he feels his few years in Formula One will already give the young Brit an advantage.
“Face against Lewis is going to be extremely challenging but George has almost 50 races under his belt now so he’s ready for it,” added Webber.
“Lewis went straight to the front, that shows his caliber – only very special drivers can do that. 99 percent of guys need a few races to get used to the idea of being up front.
“George is ready for it, but it’s different than qualifying well in an underperforming car and doing well when there’s little pressure.
“George will know that there will be a huge shift in intensity that comes with the expectation of qualifying on the front row every week and finishing every race in the top spots.”
