The announcement that Guanyu Zhou will race for Alfa Romeo in the 2022 Formula One (F1) season has completed the grid for the next campaign. Out of the 10 teams that will line up on the grid, a few have opted to stick with their existing driver line-ups while others will have fresh faces on board.
Ferrari, Red Bull, Alpine, Haas, Alpha Tauri, Aston Martin and McLaren will have the same lineup as the 2021 F1 season, while Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, and Williams are all set to welcome new drivers.
The Mercedes lineup for the 2022 F1 season will comprise Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, with the latter moving up from the Williams F1 team. Current Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas will join Alfa Romeo, where he will partner with newly signed rookie Guanyu Zhou.
The Williams driver lineup will comprise Nicholas Latifi and the returning Alexander Albon. While Albon raced with Red Bull in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Latifi is in his second season with the Grove-based team.
Seven teams will continue with their existing driver lineup for the 2022 F1 season
Ferrari's line up for the 2022 F1 season will comprise Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, while Red Bull have retained Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. McLaren have opted to stick with Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris, while Aston Martin will continue with Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll for the 2022 season.
The Alpine team have retained both Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon for the 2022 F1 season, while Alpha Tauri will continue with drivers Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda. Haas, who have failed to secure a single point in the 2021 season, will continue with Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin next year.
When compared to the 2021 season, which was widely considered a transition year, there has not been much of a shuffle in the grid for next season. Hiring in 2021 was mainly done with a view to give drivers a year to settle into their new surroundings before the new rules are implemented for the 2022 season.
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