Best race of all F1 drivers in the 2022 season

The 2022 F1 season marked the end of the illustrious career of Sebastian Vettel, who announced his retirement in July. Drivers like Mick Schumacher, Daniel Ricciardo, and Nicholas Latifi fell out of favor with their respective teams and will be sitting out next year as well.

While 2022 has been a tumultuous year for many F1 drivers, in this article, we will take a look at the best race weekend for every driver. So, without further ado, let's get straight to it.

Every F1 driver's best race weekend in 2022

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton (F1 Hungarian GP)

2022 was not a vintage year for Lewis Hamilton, who had his worst statistical season in F1. However, the race in Hungary showed a glimpse of what Hamilton at his best is capable of.

The seven-time world champion was compromised by a poor starting position due to an issue in qualifying, just like Max Verstappen in the same race. However, Lewis Hamilton made his way through the field, jumping drivers like Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and teammate George Russell to finish second. This was pure racecraft accompanied by relentless speed in one of the better drives by anyone all season.

George Russell (F1 Brazilian GP)

It's not too hard to choose the young Mercedes driver's best race. Russell won the sprint race by overtaking Max Verstappen on Saturday and then managed to fend off his teammate in the late stages of the race.

Considering the fact that his teammate is a seven-time champion, that was an impressive all-around performance by Russell. He achieved his first F1 win in Sao Paulo.

Red Bull

Max Verstappen (F1 Belgian GP)

Max Verstappen could have started the race at Spa 15 seconds after everyone else and even then he would have won it (okay, that's hyperbole, but you get what we mean). Such was his domination that weekend that he was able to make his way through the field with ease.

If there was any one race that highlighted his true dominance this season, then it was the Belgian GP.

Sergio Perez (F1 Singapore GP)

Treacherous conditions in Singapore, a fast-charging Charles Leclerc behind him and to top it all off, multiple safety car intrusions. Sergio Perez had a lot going on during the race in Singapore and even then, the driver was able to hold on to the lead and win the race. In an added twist to the drama, Perez was even given a post-race penalty and still kept the win.

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc (F1 Bahrain GP)

It highlights the trajectory of Leclerc's year that the first race of the season was his best one. Unfortunately, for Leclerc, after a stunning start to the season, he could not keep up that momentum and lost out to Max Verstappen.

Having said that, the first race of the season was one that gave Ferrari fans and Charles Leclerc a lot of confidence. In a straight fight, he beat Verstappen to pole position on Saturday and then once again on Sunday.

Carlos Sainz (F1 British GP)

A first-ever pole position and first-ever win for Sainz paints a slightly deceptive picture of the British GP. Between the two, there were a lot of things that could have derailed Sainz's path. Verstappen got the jump on him but lost out because of damage; Leclerc got the jump on him as well but the late race safety car destroyed his race.

Sainz kept his nose clean and did the job that he was supposed to do. As a result, he scored his first career win in the sport.

McLaren

Lando Norris (F1 Imola GP)

In retrospect, being the only driver outside the top 3 teams to score a podium is a very impressive feat.

Norris did some mind-blowing things this season, but the limitations of his machinery stymied the kind of results that the driver could pull off. At Imola, however, everything was just perfect. Mercedes were on the back foot, Leclerc made a mistake and Lando scored a podium as a result.

Daniel Ricciardo (F1 Mexican GP)

There weren't many races out of which Daniel Ricciardo came out smiling this year. The race in Mexico, however, was one of them. His alternate strategy of using soft tires in the latter stages gave him the opportunity to steamroll through the midfield and secure the best possible result for the team, a seventh place finish.

Alpine

Fernando Alonso (F1 Brazilian GP)

If you've marched your way through the field one by one and have the ability and acumen to use an alternate strategy that helps you overtake Red Bull's Sergio Perez on the track, it means you're doing an astounding job. That was exactly what Alonso did in Sau Paulo this season as he finished fifth ahead of both Red Bull drivers.

Esteban Ocon (F1 Japanse GP)

Keeping seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton behind for a significant duration, that too in wet weather conditions, beating both Mercedes and McLaren, and ultimately securing a P4 finish in the Alpine; what Ocon did in Suzuka that weekend was far too brilliant to go unnoticed. One of the better race weekends all season.

AlphaTauri

Pierre Gasly (F1 Azerbaijan GP)

Pierre Gasly was lost for most of the 2022 season. The car was nowhere near good enough and the French driver was finding it hard to stay motivated and keep extracting results from it.

In Baku, however, AlphaTauri rose to the occasion. The fastest midfield car that weekend, AlphaTauri gave Gasly the confidence a driver needs to secure a strong result. The French driver duly responded and finished P5 in that race.

Yuki Tsunoda (F1 Imola GP)

Tsunoda had a very impressive run at the start of the season. He was more than a match for Gasly and at the race in Imola, the Japanese driver was able to stay sharp as he pushed at the right moments to extract the best out of the car. As a result, Tsunoda scored his best result of the season, P7 at Imola this year.

Aston Martin

Sebastian Vettel (F1 Imola GP)

To understand how good Vettel's weekend was in Imola, it's important to consider the context. In the three previous races, Aston Martin recorded disappointing results. Vettel's first race back after suffering from COVID was a disaster as he was clearly not race-fit at the time.

In Imola, however, Vettel turned things around. In a car that had struggled at the back of the grid, Vettel qualified inside the top 10 in the rain. During the race, the German helped the team score its first points of the season with truly elite driving. The weekend served as a reminder of Vettel's unquestionable quality.

Lance Stroll (F1 Singapore GP)

While there was an element of luck which worked in Stroll's favor during the safety car period, it must be acknowledged that his drive through the field to finish 6th was brilliant. Stroll did a fabulous job during the race and secured a strong result for the team.

Alfa Romeo

Valtteri Bottas (F1 Spanish GP)

This was a time when Alfa Romeo were in their groove. The team had strong pace in midfield and Bottas used it to his advantage. The Finnish driver dominated the midfield in this race and was a step ahead of everyone else. He finished sixth ahead of Ocon and Norris.

Zhou Guanyu (F1 Canadian GP)

There is an argument to be made that Zhou was the quicker Alfa Romeo driver in Canada and if it was not for strategy/bad luck he would have finished ahead of Bottas. Regardless, this was one of the more complete weekends for Zhou. The Chinese driver did not have too many of them this season, but this race certainly proved his credentials as he finished eighth.

Haas F1

Kevin Magnussen (F1 Bahrain GP)

Magnussen started the year brilliantly with a stunning race in Bahrain. The most impressive thing was that on his return, it felt like Magnussen had never left the sport. In the very first race back for the team, Kevin scored a P5 result, and as Guenther Steiner said, "That was some ***** Viking comeback."

Mick Schumacher (F1 Austrian GP)

If there is a race weekend that Mick Schumacher would want to emulate throughout an entire season, then it has to be the one in Austria. The Haas driver not only scored points for the team, but he was also much quicker than his teammate and showed impressive racecraft while defending against Lewis Hamilton early in the race.

Williams

Alex Albon (F1 Australian GP)

It was the race in Australia where Albon made the team believe that they could score points this season. In a race where overtaking was not the easiest, the Williams driver pulled off a stunner in terms of tire management as he ran all but a couple of laps on the same tire.

He sneaked a P10 result with his brilliant performance.

Nicholas Latifi (F1 Japanese GP)

Latifi has always been quite impressive in wet weather and it was not a surprise to see him pull off his best result of the season in those conditions. The Canadian driver used the weather to his advantage and scored points in the torrential conditions of Suzuka.