Best F1 driver: 2022 Season Review Awards

That finally happened under the new regulations in 2022. In the early part of the season as RBR faltered he appeared to have a genuine shot at the title, winning in Bahrain and Australia and taking a couple of second places. Six poles in the first eight events was a very impressive achievement. However, he lost momentum in the middle part of the year as Ferrari dropped the ball on strategy choices and the car lacked race pace, and there were no more wins for the Monégasque driver after Austria in July. Nevertheless he still did enough to secure second in the World Championship. Honest and self-critical, he remains one of the most exciting drivers on the current grid. Summing up his own season he noted: “All in all, we just need to take all the mistakes that we’ve done this year and try to improve for next year.”
Charles Leclerc bio

Vote now

Lando Norris

It’s hard to believe that Lando Norris has only just turned 23, given that he already has four full seasons with McLaren behind him, and has started 82 grands prix. He has yet to win a race, but it’s obvious to all that when he gets his hands on a competitive car he will be a world championship contender. For the time being he remains committed to McLaren, and only time will tell whether the team can make the step and give him the winning package that he deserves.

In 2022 he achieved the maximum that anyone could realistically expect, finishing seventh in the table behind the six drivers from the top three teams, having been sixth – and ahead of Charles Leclerc – the previous year. His third place at Imola was the only podium achieved by anyone outside that elite top sextet. The McLaren wasn’t always the fourth fastest car and was less competitive over the season than its predecessor, and yet Norris scored consistently well with it. And significantly he left team-mate Daniel Ricciardo trailing and struggling to work out what he could do to match the younger man. “We’ve not been the quickest car, or quick enough,” Norris said of his season. “We’ve just done a better job with the strategy and with reliability.” And he surely played his part too.
Lando Norris bio

Vote now

George Russell

No one could blame George Russell for feeling a little frustrated at having to spend three years at Williams, when two years or perhaps just one should have been enough to prepare him for life at Mercedes. We’ll never know what might have happened had he graduated earlier than 2022, but the indications are that the Williams apprenticeship served Russell well. When the W13 turned out to be a difficult beast to tame his years of fighting tricky cars into improbable grid positions probably helped him to make the best of it.

Russell was impressive from the start of the season, often outqualifying Lewis Hamilton in the early races and seemingly getting more out of the car on Sundays than should have been possible. His irrepressible enthusiasm also helped to drive the team on as it tried to improve the W13. Pole in Hungary was a personal landmark, and then he got his real reward with his wins at Interlagos in the sprint and the Grand Prix itself, heading Hamilton home in the latter. Going up against the seven-time world champion was a big ask, and yet Russell thrived on the challenge. “Being team-mates alongside Lewis, it’s such a difficult place to be,” he noted. “I feel so fortunate, because I’m learning so much. He’s really pushing me to be a better driver.” Clearly there is still a lot more to come from the 24-year-old.
George Russell bio

Vote now

Max Verstappen

The path to Max Verstappen’s second World Championship was very different to the first. In 2021 he fought with Lewis Hamilton through a rollercoaster of a season that saw things finally fall his way on the last lap of the controversial Abu Dhabi finale.

In 2022 the Dutchman reigned supreme after overcoming the frustration of two mechanical retirements in the first three races. Charles Leclerc and Ferrari were often quicker over one lap in qualifying, especially in the first part of the season, but Verstappen was often in a class of his own in the races. It wasn’t always as straightforward as he made it look, and yet time and again he found something extra and overcame any niggling problems in his trademark unruffled style. Perhaps the only real blip came in Brazil, after he’d clinched the title at the previous race. A clumsy clash with Lewis Hamilton cost him dear, and then his stubborn refusal to help team mate Sergio Perez score extra points created some waves within the team. However the finally tally of 15 Grand Prix wins and a victory margin of 146 points spoke volumes. “It has been a great team effort, especially after our tough start to the year, to turn it around like that,” he said. “I would have never imagined that.” Still only 25, he’s started 163 race and won 35 of them. It will be fascinating to see what more he can achieve.
Max Verstappen bio

Can’t see the voting form? CLICK HERE to launch in a new window