3 reasons why the 2022 F1 season was a success

The 2022 F1 season did not have the headline-grabbing ending that its predecessor did. The level of drama that unfolded at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi was missing this year. The championship had already been decided a few weeks before the last race of the season and while there were some battles that still needed to be fought, the major bragging rights had already been resolved.

In that sense, the 2022 F1 season was not what many fans would call a blockbuster. Having said that, considering the goals that were put in place, and being the first season where the new regulations came into effect, 2022 was a success. Here are three reasons why.

#1 Cars are easier to follow

It has been a problem for decades that F1 cars cannot follow each other closely. One of the biggest reasons behind it was the aerodynamic philosophy that made the chasing cars struggle in the turbulent air of the car upfront. The new F1 regulations were supposed to cure that issue. By the looks of it, they have surely succeeded. Compared to last season, there been an impressive increase in the number of overtakes. Even on tracks like Imola and Zandvoort, the cars were able to get alongside each other and pull off overtakes.

For instance, everyone fondly remembers the valiant defense put up by Fernando Alonso against Michael Schumacher in the 2005 F1 San Marino GP in Imola and vice versa in 2006. Sadly though, one of the biggest reasons why both Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso were able to hold station was the inability of that generation of cars to follow behind each other. The same situations would probably have played out differently with these new regulation cars.

#2 One team did not run away with the Championship like Mercedes did in 2014

Now, let's explain what we mean here because Red Bull's statistic of 17 wins in 22 races is staggering, to say the least. In all probability, this should ideally mean that Red Bull and Max Verstappen just dominated from the front all season. The truth, however, is not even close. The season started with a Ferrari 1-2 in Bahrain while the second last race of the season in Brazil saw a Mercedes 1-2.

Red Bull's dominance did take center stage to an extent, for a few races after the summer break. Max Verstappen dominated in Spa and Monza. He managed the race in Zandvoort but once again we saw Mercedes and Ferrari strike back in Austin and Mexico. Ferrari was on pole position in Austin while Lewis Hamilton almost won the F1 US GP.

The results may reflect an utter Red Bull dominance in terms of pace but the fact of the matter is, the Austrian team did not win purely on pace. Their fast car did hold some advantage, but it was supplemented by an impressive strategic unit and arguably the best driver on the grid.

For the 2023 F1 season as well, we will probably see three teams very close to each in terms of performance and the variability of results might end up falling on other factors like the driver's performance and the race execution. In other terms, we could be looking at a very intense 3-way battle next season.

Importantly, there are no similarities to the 2014 F1 season when we had the last major rules change. That year, it became clear that Mercedes was going to dominate the sport for some time to come, with a car that was vastly superior to any of their rivals.

#3 The F1 pecking order reshuffle!

What was nice to see this season was a team like Haas scoring its first-ever pole position. The team spent the 2022 F1 season as a backmarker with no hope of scoring a single point. This season, the team was able to score quite a few. Even Alfa Romeo did a pretty impressive job as the team finished P6 in the championship.

In any regulations reshuffle, one of the most interesting things to watch is the pecking order getting turned on its head. This is exactly what happened this season. A team like AlphaTauri, a regular midfield points scorer, found itself finishing the season 9th in the championship while the not-so-usual suspects took its place.

Even up front, the new regulations gave a team like Ferrari the opportunity to jump to the front of the grid and upset Mercedes. The German giants had not lost a constructors championship in the Turbo Hybrid era. Alongside Red Bull, Ferrari became the first team to hand the German squad its first loss since 2013.

All in all, the 2022 F1 season was not nearly as uneventful as it may seem. Yes, it may not have had the nail-biting finish of the 2021 season, but I think we can all agree that 2021 was an anomaly as far as F1 seasons go and we will probably not see something like that for a very long time, if ever. Given how 2022 panned out for F1, there is a lot to look forward to in 2023 and all the drama and excitement it can potentially offer.