F1's big switch-off after 2 crazy years: 'Season end can't come too soon'

As the Formula 1 paddock descends on Interlagos to kick-off the double-header that will round out 2022, it feels almost like the culmination of two seasons rather than one.

The enormity of the 2021 fight, the fallout from how it ended and the late finishing point in the year meant that last year’s storylines seemed to blend into this year, despite the huge change in regulations and the very different type of season that followed.

But now, thanks to the FIFA World Cup, in just 11 days time the racing will all be over for this season. And it feels like at that point the sport might just about enter a period of relative calm over the winter.

It’s quite remarkable that there hasn’t been a lull of any note this year, even amid the Red Bull dominance that contrasts so wildly with the titanic battle from 12 months ago. But then, Red Bull has been one of the reasons why there’s been such heightened interest.

Once we got into this year, the way it stumbled in the first couple of rounds – after some epic fights between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc – meant the catch-up story could be a big one. Then the tale of Ferrari dropping the ball in that fight took over, and once the title battle really faded we had the drama of the McLaren and Alpine tussle over Oscar Piastri (and Daniel Ricciardo’s future) before it was all eyes on Red Bull once again with the budget cap breach.

And now? Now we’re left at a point where the biggest unknown is who will win certain midfield constructors’ championship fights or which German is going to get the one remaining race seat still available for 2022 at Haas.

On the latter point, I’d be leaning towards Mick Schumacher if I was in Guenther Steiner’s shoes. It’s a tight call, and I see that in Nico Hülkenberg there’s vast experience to lean on as the team seeks consistency, but it has also seen increased consistency from Schumacher, too.

The crashes at the start of the season certainly hurt his cause, and rightly so in a budget cap era where you can’t afford such heavy damage on a regular basis. But those have been ironed out, and he still manages to be more than a match for Kevin Magnussen in qualifying, even if his race performances haven’t always come together.

But the point I feel like might be overlooked in this choice is the fact that Haas has already gone through the hard yards with Schumacher. He was a rookie in a terrible car a year ago and did all he could do in that, but did some serious learning in a car capable of scoring points in the first half of 2022.

Flashes of pace were undermined by the crashes, but as those become a far less common occurrence and his consistency improves, it shows the work done so far is starting to pay off. He knows the team, he knows the challenges of F1 and is maturing, so you’d expect his level to only increase. Why go through all of those expensive moments and tough lessons only to then replace him as he gets into a position to deliver?

Magnussen is an excellent benchmark after all, so the only other major consideration I see for choosing Hülkenberg is that Haas actually feels the Dane’s level has dropped during the year — in turn making Schumacher look better — and needs a different challenge from his team-mate. But that’s very much me doing two-plus-two on that front.