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The British F1 heritage has been one of the greatest in the history of the sport. Having said that, it's hard to deny that the British F1 is going through a golden period right now. A seven-time world champion from Britain is on the grid and he's accompanied by two young upstarts who seem destined to carry Lewis Hamilton's legacy within the sport.
With Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and Lando Norris, Britain has three drivers that would easily rank in the top five list of any fan. Having said that, when there are three drivers from this small piece of land across the globe, comparisons are inevitable. In terms of all-time achievements, it's hard to put together a comparison between the three. Hamilton has won more races than either of the two drivers have even competed in.
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However, there is one comparison that could be made, and that comparison is in terms of how each driver fared in the 2022 F1 season. In essence, what we are trying to find out is who is the best F1 driver from Britain. So without further ado, let's get straight to it.
Ranking the best British F1 drivers on the grid
Lando Norris
What worked?
For the 2022 F1 season? One could say everything worked for Norris. His stock has now hit an all-time high as the driver spent pretty much an entire season faultless. Norris was the only driver outside of the top three teams who was able to score a podium this season.
It could be a fair judgment that Daniel Ricciardo's extensive struggles in understanding the McLaren machinery helped Norris but then at the same time, Norris quite convincingly beat both Alpine drivers, albeit in a worse machinery. Norris is taking up the role that Max Verstappen has at the front of the grid and is in a class of his own in the midfield.
What didn't?
It would leave everyone befuddled that Norris has declined a drive for Red Bull all these years and every time he ends up extending his deal with McLaren even more. One of the biggest drawbacks of Norris' F1 season is the fact that he's not fighting at the front of the grid.
It's often said that the closer you get to the front of the grid, the rarer the air. Until he gets to rub shoulders consistently against the frontrunners, there will still be an inkling of doubt over how Norris is perceived in the F1 community.
George Russell
What worked
How about the fact that Russell outscored a seven-time world champion in his prime in the same car? How about the fact that he did this in his very first year with the team? Or that he was the one who secured the team's only win or pole position of the season?
George Russell was good, but nobody could say for sure that he was this good. This was a season where he showed that he can be a frontrunner and even challenge for the F1 title in the right car. Of course, he also beat Lewis Hamilton!
What didn't?
It might be a bit harsh to say this, but Russell did get a little exposed when Hamilton finally figured out how to drive the Mercedes last season. The middle part of the season saw Russell being second best to his teammate on a consistent basis and what became evident was that Russell simply could not match Hamilton's peaks. He outscored his teammate and he did it on consistency. If Lewis gets his consistency back, Russell might struggle to keep up.
Lewis Hamilton
What worked?
Arguably the brightest part has to be the run that Lewis went on from Canada onwards until Hungary. The Mercedes driver scored a podium every time he sat in the car and had clearly found something in the car that was missing earlier in the season. Lewis did get outscored by Russell but if we try to dig deeper then it is clear as day that the veteran clearly held an advantage in peak performance over the season.
What didn't?
Well, he was outscored by his teammate. A teammate that is young, ambitious, and wants to take his spot as the team leader. In terms of peak performance, Lewis held an advantage but a season is won or lost on points, Russell accumulated more of them and beat his illustrious teammate.
Heading into the 2023 F1 season, that could be a concern for Hamilton.
Conclusion
There is no empirical method to compare Lando Norris's season with what the two Mercedes drivers did in 2022. Having said that, if we compare Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, it's safe to say Russell was the better of the two.
If we compare the seasons put together by Russell and Norris, while Russell did outscore Lewis, there was a dip in his performances midseason. Norris, on the other hand, remained consistent and there was no noticeable dip all season from the McLaren driver. Sure, having Daniel Ricciardo as a teammate does flatter Norris' case, but even then, a 20-2 qualifying record against your teammate shows how consistent you were all season.
If we have to pick who was the better F1 driver out of the two in 2022, we're going with Lando Norris and he will be anointed as the best British driver of the 2022 F1 season.
