3 F1 drivers that could surprise this season

The 2022 F1 season is just around the corner now. The new cars look great and it will be interesting to see how they behave on track. Before the season has even begun, there is quite a bit of anticipation around a few drivers already. There are question marks around how Lewis Hamilton will fare this season. Experts will also be keeping a keen eye on Max Verstappen and how he goes about his title defense.

Then there is the anticipation surrounding Daniel Ricciardo and how he performs at McLaren this season. Yet, amongst all of this, some drivers have not hogged the limelight like others. These are the dark horses of the season — drivers who have not made a breakthrough of sorts in the sport, but have immense potential and can surprise with their performances. In this piece, we will be looking at the three drivers that could be the surprise of the season.

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#3 Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)

When Guanyu was signed by Alfa Romeo, he was given a preference over the reigning F2 champion Oscar Piastri. This was simply done keeping in mind the money that the Chinese driver brought in terms of sponsorship to the team.

As a result, even before Guanyu made his F1 debut, he had been tagged a "pay-driver". Technically, that might be true, but there's a lot more to him than just the moolah.

He may not have a stellar record in the junior category but the Chinese driver was more than a handful in F2. He competed for the title against Oscar Piastri in 2021 and, even though he fell short in the process, he did pick up four wins — a commendable achievement by all means.

The former UNI-Virtuosi Racing driver has shown that he certainly has the pace to compete in F1, although he lacked consistency in junior categories. In F1, with Valtteri Bottas as his teammate, fans might be surprised by Guanyu's turn of speed, especially if they see him as nothing but a pay driver.

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#2 Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)

In Bahrain, Yuki Tsunoda had, in the words of Ross Brawn, one of the best debut races in F1 in a long time. The young Japanese driver was phenomenal on his debut as he scored points in his very first race. Subsequently, however, things took a turn for the worse. The driver made too many mistakes and was just not on the level of his team-mate Pierre Gasly.

The situation was so bad that when Red Bull announced that they had given Tsunoda an extension on his contract, even he himself was surprised by the decision. Later in the season, however, he started putting together the pieces of the puzzle and became more competitive.

Tsunoda's performance in the last race of the season slipped under the radar for many. He out-qualified Gasly and just barely missed out on a podium, finishing fourth in the race.

Before the season has even begun, there are already talks concerning Gasly's future at Alpha Tauri. It's almost a foregone conclusion that the Frenchman will beat Tsunoda again this season.

The Japanese driver, however, has shown a remarkable learning curve in motorsports as he has climbed through the ranks to reach F1. At the young age of just 20, he has to his credit 3 race wins and a P3 finish in the F2 drivers' championship. Tsunoda has the potential to match up well against Gasly this season and if he does end up getting the better of him, that would surely turn a few heads in the paddock.

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#1 Mick Schumacher (Haas F1)

Mick Schumacher had a somewhat subdued rookie season in F1. It's hardly his fault as the Haas that he had at his disposal was not only the slowest car on the grid by some distance, it wasn't even getting developed throughout the season. For Schumacher, the pre-season target would have been to beat his team-mate convincingly.

Although he was able to do that, one cannot rush to make judgments. Mazepin is probably not the sharpest tool in the shed as an F1 driver, and Schumacher rarely had the opportunity to compete with anyone else on the grid.

So while there is certainly hype around some of the other young drivers like Lando Norris, George Russell and Charles Leclerc on the grid, expectations from Schumacher are rather muted. Armed with a Haas that could be a lot more competitive than the previous season, the German is expected to have the opportunity to compete with some of the other drivers on the grid. As a former F2 and F3 champion, Mick could surprise quite a few people with his performances.