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The 2022 F1 season is the start of an entirely new era. An era where cars are expected to be much closer to each other in terms of pace, making it easier to follow other cars. Most importantly, it's an era where the sport is a much better spectacle.
Concurrently, the start of a new era is exactly the time when any driver or team can stamp its authority on the regulations and gain a headstart. Famously, before Pirelli had even started supplying tires to F1 in 2011, Sebastian Vettel was the only driver to visit the factory of the tire supplier to understand better how they planned to approach the challenge of supplying tires in F1.
As a result, Vettel always had an ace up his sleeve in 2011 when it came to tire preparation (sure, the machinery also helped). For the 2022 F1 season, every driver will have a pre-season target in place to achieve for the season, and in this piece, we try to look at what could be the pre-season target for all these drivers.
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Red Bull
Max Verstappen
Target: Retain his title
For Max Verstappen, the 2021 F1 season was one of the most consistent seasons we've seen in the history of the sport. The driver never finished below 2nd in an uncompromised race and he kept it up over a stretch of 22 races. For the 2022 F1 season, the Red Bull driver will be aiming to repeat what he did last season and defend his title (hopefully before the last lap).
Sergio Perez
Target: More consistent and competitive with his teammate
For Sergio Perez, last season was all about adaptation. The Mexican driver was able to get more comfortable with the Red Bull by the end of the season and played a crucial role in the championship battle.
Overall, however, it could be considered that the 2021 F1 season could have gone a bit better for Checo. The Mexican will look to be more consistent in his results and closer to Verstappen in terms of pace.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton
Target: Regain the Drivers' title
For Lewis Hamilton, it's all about getting back what was taken from him. In what is an historic pursuit of an eighth world championship, the Mercedes driver will be looking to beat Max Verstappen to win his eighth world title this season.
George Russell
Target: Be as close as possible Hamilton in terms of performance
George Russell is in a great situation at Mercedes. He's teaming up with Hamilton and no one expects him to beat his compatriot throughout the season. The British driver, however, will be looking to prove himself in the German team. The 23-year-old will be trying to stay close to Hamilton in terms of pace throughout the season and, possibly, beat him in a few races to boost his confidence.
McLaren
Lando Norris
Target: Keep improving and cutting out the rough edges
For Lando Norris, every season has had a similar mantra — Learn from the previous season and get better for this one. This is the same mantra he needs to follow this time as well as he will try to carry forward last season's positives in terms of consistency and relentless pressure into this season.
Simultaneously, he will try to improve on the shortcomings of last season, like the instance where communication between him and his team broke down at the Russian GP, costing him a win.
Daniel Ricciardo
Target: Beat Lando Norris
For Daniel Ricciardo, the 2022 F1 season's target is pretty simple. He needs to beat his teammate Lando Norris. The Briton outperformed the Australian to such an extent that the gulf between the two drivers was quite visible throughout the season. For a seasoned top-quality driver like Ricciardo, something like this is not easy to digest and he will be trying to right that wrong.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc
Target: Establish himself as the top driver at Ferrari
For Charles Leclerc, the 2022 F1 pre-season target would be rectifying the shortcomings of the previous season. 2021 saw Leclerc outscored by his teammate Carlos Sainz, which does not look good if you are supposed to be the leading driver for the team. This might have had an impact on the dynamics between the drivers and the team.
For this season, Leclerc needs to assert his dominance on the team as the lead driver early in the season and then take it from there in the championship.
Carlos Sainz
Target: Build on the momentum from the 2021 F1 season
For Carlos Sainz, it was a mission accomplished in 2021. The driver went to a team that had been notorious for not treating its number-two drivers in the best of ways. Yet the Spanish driver made his mark with the team and, to the surprise of everyone, ended up outscoring Leclerc at the end of the season. For the 2022 F1 season, Sainz will be looking to do more of the same at Ferrari as he builds on his performances from last season.
Alpine F1
Fernando Alonso
Target: Position himself for championship contention in the near future
For Fernando Alonso, the 2022 F1 season could be a clear indication of whether he will ever challenge for an F1 title again in his career. At 40 years of age, the Spaniard doesn't have too many years left in the game and he certainly would not want to spend them driving a midfield car.
For Alonso, the target for this season would be to assess where his team and his own driving standards are as compared to the rest of the grid. Should there be evidence that the Alpine-Alonso duo can challenge for the title in the near future then one could see the Spaniard extend his contract with the team. If, however, the prospects are not that bright, then Alonso could be positioning himself for a move to a team with a better short-term future.
Esteban Ocon
Target: Beat Fernando Alonso
For Esteban Ocon, the 2021 F1 season had both good and bad moments. The driver was able to pick up his first F1 win on one hand, but on the other, he suffered from a lack of consistency. Once the season was done, his team-mate did appear to be the overall better driver throughout it.
For the 2022 F1 season, the target for Ocon is pretty simple. He needs to establish himself as a leader within the team. To do that, he needs to beat Fernando Alonso fair and square in the same car (which sounds simpler than it is).
Alpha Tauri
Pierre Gasly
Target: Secure future with a top team
For Pierre Gasly, the 2022 F1 season is going to be pivotal for his future. It's highly unlikely that the French driver will get another opportunity at the senior Red Bull team. What that means is Gasly might have to follow the same route that Carlos Sainz took and look for options outside the Red Bull umbrella.
For Gasly, the target for this season has to be a move from Alpha Tauri to a top team. If that is not the case, then he can hope that Red Bull feels he would be a suitable replacement for Perez in the senior team.
Yuki Tsunoda
Target: Add more consistency to his results
Yuki Tsunoda had a great first race and last race of the season in 2021. In between, the Japanese driver went missing as he found it hard to adapt to life in F1. One of the few drivers making it to F1 only on the basis of his talent, the Japanese driver admitted to being lazy in his first season in the sport.
After a breakthrough in terms of performance late last season, Tsunoda will be looking to carry that performance into 2022 to try to match and beat Gasly.
Aston Martin
Sebastian Vettel
Target: Cut out the mistakes from the previous season
For Sebastian Vettel, the performance targets were outlined in the last race of the 2021 season by the German himself. The Aston Martin driver felt he had not been as consistent as he should have been throughout the season and was unable to maintain his peaks for a sustained duration.
For the 2022 season, if we see a consistent Vettel throughout the season then there will not be any room for criticism against the German.
Lance Stroll
Target: Try to match Vettel as often as possible
Lance Stroll is driving for a team that is owned by his father. While that does mean that the Canadian driver will be part of the team as long as his father owns it, it doesn't shield the Canadian from criticism because of his performance standards.
Vettel, despite having a sub-par season and a second-place taken away from him, was able to beat Stroll in 2021. For 2022, the Canadian driver will be looking to match and beat his German team-mate as often as possible.
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas
Target: Consistently fight for points
It would take Valtteri Bottas some time to acclimate himself to life at Alfa Romeo after the highs of Mercedes. In his new team, Bottas will be looking to establish himself as the team leader and be the guiding force for the progress that the Hinwil-based outfit needs to make.
More importantly, he has to help the team in the championship by consistently fighting for points.
Guanyu Zhou
Target: Cut down on errors and stay close to Bottas
For Zhou, the task sheet for his rookie season is quite simple. Keep the car away from the barriers, keep the nose clean, and try to match his more experienced teammate more often. If he's able to do that, the Chinese driver will be more than happy with his season.
Williams
Alex Albon
Target: Establish himself as the top driver at Williams
The F1 2022 season is going to be crucial for Alex Albon. He's filling the shoes of George Russell, who had utterly dominated his team-mate during his stay with the team. For the 2022 season, Albon will need to establish himself as the quicker driver at Williams as soon as possible, keeping him in outside contention for that seat at Red Bull.
Nicholas Latifi
Target: Prove that he's more than a supposed "pay driver"
The 2022 F1 season could be the one where Nicholas Latifi proves himself as a driver. After a partnership with Russell where the Canadian was well and truly beaten by the now Mercedes driver, Latifi will be looking to take the lead at Williams this season.
For Latifi, the pre-season target for the F1 2022 season will be to take the initiative in the intra-team rivalry with Albon and not let him run away with it.
Haas
Mick Schumacher
Target: Cut down on the crashes and score points consistently
After a decent rookie season, the 2022 season could be the showcase season for the German. Haas should ideally provide Mick Schumacher with a car that is more competitive than what he had in 2021, leading to more point-scoring possibilities.
For Schumacher, in the F1 2022 season, he needs to show more consistency in his driving while maintaining a decent buffer against his team-mate. More importantly, though, he needs to cut down on some of the huge shunts he had last season.
Nikita Mazepin
Target: Keep the nose clean and stay consistent
The 2021 F1 season was a baptism of fire for Nikita Mazepin. The Russian driver was bashed left, right, and center for his driving throughout the season. For the 2022 season, equipped with more competitive machinery, Mazepin would be focusing on becoming a consistent points scorer for his team and proving himself on the grid, and of course, staying out of trouble as often as possible.
