New rules. New hope. Same old heartbreak. Ferrari promised us a resurrection — but Red Bull and Verstappen delivered a reckoning instead.
The 2022 Formula One season — the 73rd — began with a clean slate. Sweeping regulation changes meant redesigned cars, ground effect, and supposedly a fresh start for the grid. For a moment, it looked like Ferrari had finally escaped the ghosts of the past.
Charles Leclerc won two of the first three races. The scarlet car was fast, reliable, and — dare we say — championship-worthy. Red Bull, meanwhile, looked shaky, fragile, undercooked.
But by mid-season, the tide had turned. Then it drowned everything in its path.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull found rhythm, speed, and crushed the field. Ferrari imploded in strategy rooms and pit walls.
By Japan, Verstappen was champion. Again. With four rounds to spare.
Key Highlights of the 2022 Season
– New era of technical regulations begins: Ground effect returns, cars look radically different.
– Ferrari leads early: Leclerc wins in Bahrain and Australia, leads the championship by 46 points after 3 rounds.
– Red Bull bounce back: Verstappen wins 15 races — a new all-time single-season record.
– Ferrari collapse: Strategy errors, reliability failures, driver mistakes — the full menu.
– Mercedes struggles with porpoising: Hamilton and Russell wrestle a bouncing, draggy W13.
– George Russell wins in Brazil: His first win, and Mercedes’ only victory of the year.
– Verstappen clinches title in Japan: Confusing finish, sudden title confirmation, fittingly awkward.
– Red Bull dominate Constructors’: First title since 2013.
– FIA penalizes Red Bull for 2021 cost cap breach: $7M fine and wind tunnel restrictions announced late in season.
The Story of the Season — False Prophets, Ruthless Champions, and a Prancing Horse That Tripped Over Itself
If F1 is a myth-making machine, 2022 was the perfect setup:
– New rules to shake the order.
– Ferrari, reborn in red glory.
– Verstappen, the defending champ under pressure.
For the first third of the season, it felt like Leclerc’s time. He was serene in Bahrain. Sensational in Australia. His pole laps were electric, his driving poetic. And the world wanted to believe.
But then — slowly, painfully — the dreams unraveled.
Imola: Leclerc spins chasing second.
Spain: Leads comfortably — engine blows.
Monaco: A Ferrari 1–2 turns into fourth after pitwall chaos.
Silverstone: Team leaves him out on old tyres under safety car — drops from the lead.
Hungary: Ferrari fits hard tyres for no reason.
Race after race, it became a meme.
Strategy by sabotage.
Meanwhile, Verstappen soared. The early DNF pain vanished. Red Bull fixed their weight issues, refined the RB18, and Verstappen began destroying the calendar.
He won from pole.
He won from 10th.
He won from 14th.
At Spa, he passed half the grid in 12 laps. It wasn’t just dominance — it was almost cruel.
By Japan, in the rain and confusion, he won again. Leclerc got a penalty after the flag. And boom — Verstappen was champion. The broadcast didn’t even realize it at first. Fitting, for a season that promised drama… and gave us demolition.
Off-Track Shadows — Budgets, Bouncing, and Backroom Firestorms
Behind the scenes, the storm never stopped.
– Mercedes suffered deeply under the new regs. Their car porpoised so violently it raised health concerns.
– The cost cap breach by Red Bull became the year’s defining controversy. Though the punishment was delayed and mild, it reignited 2021 rage.
– Ferrari’s internal politics simmered, then boiled. By year’s end, Mattia Binotto was out.
This was not a peaceful year. It just ended with one man standing far above the rest.
Season Summary & Results
Twenty-two races.
- Max Verstappen – 15 wins, 454 points (Champion)
- Charles Leclerc – 3 wins, 308 points
- Sergio Pérez – 2 wins, 305 points
- George Russell – 1 win, 275 points
Red Bull claimed their first Constructors’ title since the Vettel era — 759 points. Ferrari second, Mercedes third.
Legacy — Hope Killed, History Made
2022 will be remembered as a coronation, not a contest.
It was the season where Red Bull rose back to power — faster, smarter, colder.
Where Verstappen didn’t just defend his crown — he sealed it in record-breaking fashion.
Where Ferrari showed up with a rocket, then spent the year launching it into walls.
The new era of regulations may have begun.
But it belonged to the old soul of domination — and a young man who now wears the cape of inevitability.
2022 gave us new rules.
But Verstappen wrote the same ending. With a sharper pen.
