Looking back on 2022: the year in pictures

As a year of spectacular racing goes, 2022 will live long in the memory – as the images capturing the action round the world illustrate only too well.

The eventual dominance of Max Verstappen and Red Bull made what initially looked to be an exciting Formula 1 season turn out to be a slightly foregone conclusion, but the new era of ground effect cars still provided some thrilling races with the pictures to match: shots of the low-slung cars sparking as they diced round Silverstone and went wheel to wheel in Austin will certainly endure.

January

The new year may just have dawned, but there was already motor sport action aplenty in January 2022.

The new Rally1 era got underway with a titanic scrap between part-times Sébastien Loeb and Sébastian Ogier, with the former winning out at the wheel of the M-Sport Ford Puma.

Just days before Loeb had been competing at Dakar – he’s seen here rocketing through the desert, but it was Nasser Al-Attiyah who eventually emerged victorious for Toyota.

In the States, the gruelling NASCAR season got underway with The Clash exhibition race held at LA Coliseum – the event was deemed a a success, with eventual 2022 champion Joey Logano taking first place the Tr.

February

Once the NASCAR season got underway proper, there were predictable yet no less thrilling scrapes and spills at Daytona – Zane Smith would come through the chaos to win the Trucks race.

WRC took its Rally1 cars to snowy Sweden, with young prodigy Kalle Rovanperä taking victory, meanwhile Formula E went to satiate the passionate Mexican motor sport fans.

March

Charles Leclerc saw in the new F1 era with a win for Ferrari after a thrilling battle with Red Bull’s Verstappen, WEC roared into life at Sebring and Scott McLaughlin’s 200mph duel with Josef Newgarden in Texas ended in victory for the American.

April

Carlos Sainz Jr walks away after first lap disaster in Imola, Formula E races through imposing pre-WWII architecture in Rome and celestial views at WRC Croatia.

May

Mick Schumacher now finds himself off the grid for 2023 after one too many accidents for Haas. One of the worst was at Monaco, where he split his car in two just after the Swimming Pool.

The so-called ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ saw former F1 man Marcus Ericsson win the Indianapolis 500, and big jumps in Portugal saw many cars hits the heights, though Kalle Rovanperä would win again.

June

Valtteri Bottas takes in the scenery, but it would be Verstappen who would capitalise on Leclerc’s engine failure to win the Azerbaijan GP.

Indonesia provided an appropriately verdant setting for Formula E was WEC’s blue riband endurance race – Le Mans – would see 56 competitors battle it out in searing heat.

July

Zhou Guanyu had a terrifying scrape in Silverstone after connecting with George Russell’s Mercedes, but the Chinese driver thankfully emerged unscathed.

Charles Leclerc had the French GP in his hands until he span off and Antonio Felix da Costa decided to take a dip in the Hudson after winning the New York E-Prix.

August

Red Bull celebrate in sombrero style, Gus Greensmith goes flying Finland and the Nashville IndyCar weekend provided another typically chaotic race.

September

Despair for Yuki Tsunoda after he retires at Zandvoort, sun sets in Japan WEC race and Leclerc celebrates a home Ferrari pole in Monza.

October

Despite the inclement weather, an early challenge from Leclerc and confusion over the points awarded for a shortened Japanese GP, Verstappen was eventually declared 2022 F1 champion in Suzuka after a brilliant year.

Meanwhile competition raged on elsewhere – M-Sport’s Craig Breen is seen below at Rally Catalunya.

November

Toyota’s Elfyn Evans explores the angles in Japan, but his team-mate Kalle Rovanperä was already WRC champion. NASCAR’s finale gets underway, with Joey Logano eventually crowned, while Lewis Hamilton congratulates George Russell for his debut win.

December

The final month of the year still saw some frantic action. Lewis Hamilton’s X44 team would win the Extreme E finale in Uruguay, the Dakar 2023 prologue got underway in Saudi Arabia and Max Verstappen was given his world championship trophy – plus a slightly odd speech from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem thrown into the bargain.