F1 2022: Predicting 5 shocking developments during the season

#3 Fernando Alonso retires from the sport

Fernando Alonso is in the last year of his contract in F1. As a driver, if there were any question marks around him, they got answered last season. Alonso not only scored more points than his team-mate, he also produced some special performances. Of note is his podium in Qatar – a thing of beauty, as well as his drive in Hungary to hold off Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso, however, has not made his way back into the sport to compete in midfield. He had done that in his previous stint and it was the disappointment from that which drove him away from the sport. What brought the Spaniard back to F1 was the possibility of being able to fight for a world title once again.

Looking at where Alonso finds himself right now, it's hard to say that he's in the perfect position to challenge for the title, or even fight at the sharp end of the grid. Alpine, as a team, has been a bit of a disappointment ever since it made its way back into F1, taking over Renault. If we look at the way the top management is being reshuffled, the team looks like an unsettled unit as of now.

Will they be challenging upfront for the title in F1 2022? This is one prediction that is very hard to make. The team doesn't inspire much confidence in its ability to contend for titles right now. The reason being the way they have performed over the last two seasons (Mclaren has jumped them convincingly) and how unsettled they are at the top.

In the next 2 to 3 years, will Alpine be a front-running contender? Maybe that's still a possibility. Having said that, though, will Alonso be able to stick around for that long in F1? At 40 years of age, it's hard to accept that he would do that. To add to this, neither Mercedes, Red Bull, nor Ferrari are going to pick him up at this stage of his career which leaves him with no other option but to retire from F1.

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#4 Daniel Ricciardo moves on from McLaren

Lando Norris has just signed an extension with McLaren which confirms that he will stay with the team until the 2025 F1 season. That is a good thing for McLaren, however, as they secure the services of the young driver for a long period of time. It is, however, not a positive sign for Daniel Ricciardo as he sees his team secure the services of his team-mate and invest in the latter for the long run.

The journey at the Woking-based outfit has not been ideal for Ricciardo so far. The Australian he has seen himself get completely outclassed by Norris in their first season together (115-160 on points). Last season, the Briton leveled up significantly and Ricciardo, who himself was facing so many issues adapting to the car, just could not keep up.

It does appear that confidence in Norris was bolstered as McLaren secured him for the long term. Ricciardo, however, came in on a three-year deal with McLaren which is rumored to be a two-year contract plus a one-year extension.

If the 2022 F1 season follows the same trend as last season, there could be a scenario where McLaren start looking at Norris as their future with the team leaning towards him. Should that happen, Ricciardo will be left in an uncomfortable position at McLaren as he will be forced to play a supporting role for Norris.

If the situation reaches that stage it's fair to say that Ricciardo, whose contract does run out at the end of the season, will be looking at other options in the market. If there is a favorable one available, the Aussie is expected to make the jump. For the 2022 F1 season, we predict Ricciardo will sign with another team for next season and terminate his contract with McLaren.

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#5 Mick Schumacher scores a podium for Haas

Mick Schumacher was certainly impressive in spots in his rookie season. Getting through to Q2 in a year-old Haas in Turkey is no joke and it takes a certain level of driving skills to get that done.

Haas has been working on the F1 2022 challenger for far too long. Their focus probably switched at the earliest to this year's car, bringing a sense of optimism around the car that the outfit will produce. To add to this, the improved performance of the Ferrari power unit should help the team as well.

It's hard to predict upfront whether Haas will be a regular podium contender. Will the new Haas challenger be a midfield contender? Now that's a comparatively safe prediction considering the team allocated all of its resources to the new car.

In a new set of regulations where the probability of a freak result is possibly high, is it too big a stretch to expect a podium from Mick Schumacher? It doesn't seem that way and because of this, we're predicting a return of the famed 'Schumacher' name on the podium.