Verstappen, Leclerc the stories of 2022 F1 season so far

From 2014 until last year, Mercedes dominated the sport of Formula One.

Even in 2021, when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took home the drivers’ championship – the first time since 2013 that either Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg failed to finish atop the points – Toto Wolff’s Mercedes team captured its eighth straight constructors’ crown in a run of dominance not seen since Ferrari of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

But things have changed. Mercedes no longer has a stranglehold on first place the way it once did.

F1 made a series of technical changes before the start of 2022, with new aerodynamic and tire requirements aimed at reducing a loss of downforce in the car, which the sport hoped would lead to more overtakes and an overall more competitive grid. The last time F1 made drastic rules changes with the beginning of the turbo-hybrid era – a revised engine formula – in 2014, the first year Mercedes began its string of championships at both the drivers’ and constructors’ level.

F1’s all-time leader in career victories (103) and a winner of seven drivers’ titles, Hamilton has just one podium finish in his first eight races this year. He sits sixth in drivers points with 62 and is 21 behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. in fifth. Teammate George Russell has fared better with three third-place finishes and sits fourth with 99, but it’s still not what the German manufacturer envisioned.

“Can I say it’s the best, most exciting journey? No, but it is an experience and it’s bringing the team closer,” Hamilton said last week.

“It’s making us all have to sharpen our tools. The technology is advancing a lot to be able to understand it, and we’re pulling closer than ever before. I guess that’s what happens when you’re faced with adversity, and so there’s lots and lots of positives.”

So, if not Mercedes, who has been running the show?

It’s a two-horse race at the moment between Red Bull and Ferrari. And after this past weekend in Baku, it’s Christian Horner’s team that has the advantage. Red Bull leads with 279 points, with Ferrari 80 back at 199. Among the drivers, Verstappen’s 150 points lead the way, with teammate Sergio Perez second at 129 and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at 116.

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Things couldn’t have gone worse for Verstappen as he kicked off his title defence at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix by having to retire late in the race. A few minutes later, Perez was also forced out, giving Ferrari a double with Leclerc finishing first and Sainz in second. When the dust settled, Red Bull claimed a suspected fuel pressure problem was to blame for both issues and said things would be in order for next week’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

They stuck to their word.

Verstappen used DRS to pass Leclerc with three laps to go and held on to win by half a second, giving him his first victory of the season and fans a good indication of who would be the two fastest teams all year.

“Every battle is different,” Verstappen said after the win. “It’s just smart racing and good racing. It was not easy but a lot of fun.”

“It was hard racing but fair. Every race should be like this. It was fun,” Leclerc said.

Leclerc hit back down under, winning the Australian Grand Prix by more than 20 seconds after another Verstappen retirement, this time due to engine failure. Thankfully for Red Bull, Perez ran his best race of the young season to place second and salvage a chunk of points for Horner’s side.

Up next was the Emilia-Romagna GP at Imola, where points leader Ferrari was hoping for a celebratory weekend on home turf. Only it was a disaster for the red and yellow as Verstappen went unchallenged to capture the checkered flag with Leclerc placing sixth and Sainz bowing out on the opening lap.

Leclerc said he got overly greedy battling Perez for second late in the race, spinning out and causing him to drop three additional spots.

“It is a shame, it is seven points that are valuable at the end of the championship for sure and this shouldn’t happen again,” he said.

Things shifted stateside two weeks later for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. One of the most anticipated races in recent memory due to F1’s increasing popularity in North America, tickets never actually went on sale to the general public due to severe early demand.

The 85,000-plus packed into the area around Hard Rock Stadium were treated to yet another Verstappen show as the Dutchman passed Leclerc early on and never looked back to win for the second straight time and third straight in a race he finished. But due to those previous two retirements, Leclerc, who was second in Miami, still led by 19 points in the standings.

Verstappen would move into the points lead in Spain as Leclerc retired due to a power failure. Perez may have won his first race of the season but was ordered out of Verstappen’s way so the defending champion could reclaim his spot atop the points.

“He is a great teammate,” Verstappen said after his fourth consecutive win. Though Perez was less enthused, calling it “unfair.”

“I am happy for the team, but we need to speak later,” Perez told his team over radio.

Things seemed to work out as Perez crossed the finish line first in Monaco, spoiling pole position and a homecoming for Leclerc. The 24-year-old Monegasque finished fourth – by far his best finish on home soil after an 18th-place showing in 2018, a DNF in 2019 and a DNS last year – but Verstappen still picked up ground with a third-place result.

“It was a freaking disaster today,” Leclerc said.

That brings us to this past weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where another disaster popped up. This time for both Ferrari drivers.

The duo were each forced to retire – Leclerc with engine failure and Sainz to a hydraulic issue – while Red Bull took full advantage to win their fifth in a row. Verstappen crossed first for the fourth time in five races and Perez finished second to vault into No. 2 in drivers’ standings.

Meanwhile, Mercedes had their best result in weeks, with Russell finishing third and Hamilton working his way up from seventh to place fourth. Hamilton said after the race he was battling back issues due to his car’s tendency to bounce at high speeds and was hopeful the team would have things figured out by Montreal.

“Let’s definitely make some changes,” he said over radio Sunday.

This week’s Canadian GP will be a homecoming for a pair of Canadians.

Lance Stroll scored his first F1 points in Montreal with a ninth-place finish in 2017 and told TSN’s Tim Hauraney he couldn’t be happier to return to racing at home for the first time in three years. 

“I’ve missed the races in Montreal, great memories racing there in the past. You know, it hasn’t been the same, a season in Formula One without the Canadian Grand Prix, it’s just not the same. So, really looking forward to it,” he said.

Stroll is 17th in points this season and coming off a DNF in Baku.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Latifi, who was born in Montreal but raised in Toronto, is in his third season in F1 but has not yet raced at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Without a point yet, it has not been a great start to the season for him, but he is excited to finally get the chance to race close to home.

“Most drivers would have got an introduction to what a home Grand Prix would feel like on race weekend whereas that’s not the case here for me. So, it’ll feel like even more special because of that. I can only imagine what that extra buzz and excitement is going to feel like,” he said.