F1: Ranking the 2022 Driver Pairings
We're only four weeks away from the opening race of the 2022 Formula 1 season, which means it's the time of year to start producing pre-season rankings. This week I'll be critiquing each team's driver lineup, from worst to best, whilst next week will see me rank the liveries for the upcoming season. If you have any other ideas, feel free to get in touch.
Seven of the ten teams have kept things the same as last year, meaning three teams have different lineups. Alfa Romeo have cleaned house after the Kimi Raikkonen retirement. In comes Valtteri Bottas and rookie Guanyu Zhou, as Antonio Giovinazzi moves to Formula E. Bottas' departure allowed George Russell to move to Mercedes, a signing we've anticipated for a while, whilst Alex Albon returns to F1 to replace him at Williams. These moves will pose new team dynamics. Some for the better, some for the worse. Here's what I think as I rank the 2022 driver pairings.
10th - Haas
Ah, little old Haas. It's hardly a surprise that they're here when the team employs Nikita Mazepin. Both of their drivers were rookies last year. One (Mick Schumacher) showed potential in an undeveloped 2020 car, the other struggled to get to grips with it, almost as if he wasn't supposed to be there. Money talks.
There's a real lack of experience in this line-up, I get it, it's where the sponsorships come from, but it's a real disadvantage when it comes to setups and difficult situations. Both are still learning, Mick especially has got potential, but the lack of experience puts Haas last.
9th - Williams
George Russell is going to be pretty damn difficult to replace at Grove. And although I'm a massive Alex Albon fan, I'm not sure he's what the team needs. A reunion with Bottas seemed perfect. He's been about and could've added something. Nicholas Latifi is in his third year. Last season the Canadian was closer to his teammate and scored points on multiple occasions. He's an alright driver, but nothing special.
Alex has shown pace, there's no questioning that. Not only when the pair were teammates at Dams in F2, but also early in his rookie season with Toro Rosso, which then carried on throughout the whole year after his promotion to Red Bull. I'm just a bit sceptical because of how badly his second season in the big team went. If Alex hits the ground running like I hope he does then I like the pairing, but right now he's not better than Bottas.
8th - Alfa Romeo
As I eluded to in the introduction this is a completely new lineup for Alfa. Valterri Bottas comes over from Mercedes to pair with rookie driver Guanyu Zhou. An experienced driver comes to replace his fellow Fin in a well-run team. His time at Merc didn't work out, but at least he was better at keeping up with Lewis than any of the last three Red Bull drivers. In fact over one lap at times he beat the seven-time world champ. He'll be great for Zhou to learn from
Guanyu is an interesting one because although I know he's a decent driver and his name has been spouted about for a while. It's a shame that he beat the last two F2 champions in Nyck De Vries, who is also FE champ, and Oscar Piastri to the seat. It's not as bad as Mazepin at least Zhou's kinda here on merit. He's got promise, but his fellow Alpine junior driver Piastri could be a star.
7th - Alpha Tauri
Alpha Tauri are the second team on this list to have kept their lineup the same. That was the best thing to do as well, even though Yuki Tsunoda looked like a rookie the majority of last season he was there to pick up big points in the likes of Baku, and Budapest and had strong drives to start and end the season at Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.
And then there's Pierre Gasly. He's been one of the best drivers in Formula 1 over the past two years, responding brilliantly to his Red Bull demotion. He's a great role model for Yuki, a real team leader. Too good to be sat in the Alpha Tauri. The problem is the fact that six other teams have either two of the best drivers on the grid or a world champion on board.
6th - Aston Martin
Aston Martin had a disappointing 'debut' season in the sport when you put the previous year as Racing Point in comparison with it. Their lineup consists of Four-Time World Champ Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll. The former arrived at the Silverstone-based outfit last year after a torrid final year at Ferrari driving their punished SF1000, whilst the latter (ex-Williams driver Stroll) has been with the team since 2019, the season after his father purchased it.
Seb had to regroup in 2021 with a new team and power unit and showed quality in that environment, especially with an aerially challenged car. A less experienced driver would have struggled to produce the right setup in that situation. 2022 should see him driving at a high standard. As for Stroll, he gets a load of stick for being daddy's boy, but in reality, he's decent. Last season was arguably his best when you look at the machinery he had at his disposal. He's also elite in the wet. A pretty underrated driver in my opinion.
5th - Red Bull
The Red Bull pairing is a difficult one to evaluate. They've got the best driver on the grid currently in 2021 World Champion Max Verstappen. Ultimately it's very difficult to be his teammate. Sergio Perez is good don't get me wrong. He's been the best of the bunch since Ricciardo in that role.
Honestly though, I just don't think he's better than either of the Mclaren, Ferrari, or Mercedes drivers. He's on a par with Ocon, but definitely not Fernando Alonso. He got out-qualified by a lot of those guys in worse cars. Ricciardo was able to compete up there properly for Red Bull.
4th - Alpine
Both Alpine drivers were a pleasant surprise in 2021. Esteban Ocon wasn't up to Ricciardo's standards the year prior in his maiden season since returning to the grid. He regrouped over the offseason and went toe to toe with one of the most talented drivers we've ever seen in Fernando Alonso for most of the 22 races.
Fernando's return was even more impressive. He was out of the sport for 2 seasons and came back at the age of 40 as good as ever. That defending masterclass to keep Hamilton at bay and give his teammate the win in Budapest was one of the best sporting moments in 2021. It was thrilling.
3rd - Mclaren
Lando Norris had an outstanding third season in Formula 1, picking up four podiums, one pole position, and almost a race victory if not for the rain in Sochi. Many expected the Bristol-born driver to be second fiddle to then seven, now eight-time race winner Daniel Ricciardo at the start of the season. Lando wasn't having any of it, outperforming his teammate at the start of the season, jumping out to a big points lead as Ricciardo struggled to adapt to a different car from what he was used to.
The Honey Badger's fortunes began to turn around the midway point, and got even better after the summer break, winning at Monza. These two were pretty evenly matched towards the end of the year setting up a tasty battle heading into the 2022 season. If Mclaren puts the package together I can see both winning multiple races this year. As can I with both drivers on the next two teams...
2nd - Ferrari
The best pairing from last year falls one spot, as Russell moves to Mercedes. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were both in the top 5 or so drivers last season in my opinion. We always knew the Monegasque was good, especially over one lap, and he showed that by securing two pole positions in a row at his home race, and in Baku.
His Spanish teammate Carlos Sainz was just as brilliant proving yet again that he can adapt to change incredibly quickly and has the ability to adjust his car as if he was a 10-year veteran. Both drivers picked up a load of top 5 finishes and were incredibly consistent throughout the year. An incredibly close-fought teammate battle without drama. It will be interesting to see if it stays the same way if Ferrari are fighting at the front like expected this season.
1st - Mercedes
The greatest of all time combined with a future world champion, the perfect Formula 1 driver pairing. Lewis is the best it gets and will be excellent for George to learn from. I'm intrigued to see how the two get on because Hamilton hasn't had a teammate like George in his career. Rosberg was already in the team for years, whilst Alonso and Button were World Champions and Kovalainen wasn't a threat.
Mr. Saturday will be a challenge for Lewis in qualifying just like Bottas was over the years. I'm interested to see how he'll fare in the race, he should be a big upgrade, but that is not certain. One thing that is, is the fact that Russell has earned this. He showed us exactly what he was made of when stepping in for his new teammate in Sakhir in 2020.
So there you have it. My 2022 Formula 1 driver pairing rankings. What do you think? Am I on the right lines? Feel free to share your opinion on social media. If you enjoyed this piece, more of my F1 content is available here.