The six F1 drivers with the most to prove in 2022

Daniel Ricciardo

Only 12 months ago, Daniel Ricciardo was widely regarded as the third or fourth-best driver on the grid after a fine final season with Renault. Many expected his switch to McLaren to be a fruitful one with Ricciardo tipped to lead the Woking-based outfit’s continued resurgence in 2021. 

It quickly became apparent that the McLaren MCL35M’s unique handling style was going to make it a tricky first half of the season. Conversely, teammate Lando Norris was in his third year with the team and dialled into the McLaren, knowing its strengths and weaknesses. 

Ricciardo’s poor early season form was exacerbated when put in direct comparison to Norris. Outside of Max Verstappen, Norris was the star of the first half of the season with three podium finishes, putting him third in the drivers’ championship ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez going into the summer break.

Ricciardo did improve in the second half of the campaign as he opportunistically returned to the top step at Monza to deliver McLaren’s first victory since 2012. However, Ricciardo was comprehensively beaten in the standings by his teammate and a big factor in McLaren losing third in the championship to Ferrari.

He’s on big money and he has to show why he warrants it in 2022.

Yuki Tsunoda

Things were looking good for Yuki Tsunoda after his starring debut drive under the lights in Bahrain. Including an impressive overtake on childhood hero Fernando Alonso, Tsunoda scored points on his first F1 outing, leading F1 boss Ross Brawn to hail Tsunoda as "F1's best rookie for years".

Tsunoda then crashed in qualifying at Imola and his Q1 exit in Barcelona led to a remarkable accusation that he didn’t have the same car as AlphaTauri teammate Pierre Gasly. The Japanese rookie’s shunts continued in Baku and Paul Ricard, but at least he returned to the points in Azerbaijan.

During this period, Red Bull’s management with AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost moved Tsunoda to live near the team’s base in Faenza. While the progress wasn’t immediate, Tsunoda’s end of season form was encouraging with six Q3 appearances in the final seven races, although he only converted those good grid positions into one points finish.

Like in Bahrain, Tsunoda showed his true potential as he out-qualified Gasly in Abu Dhabi, eventually finishing fourth. His improvement was apparent towards the end of the season but there’s still a long way to go if he is to remain with the team beyond 2022.

Guanyu Zhou

After a strong third season in Formula 2, Guanyu Zhou makes the step up to F1 with Alfa Romeo. Immediately, Zhou will have a lot to prove given his ‘pay driver’ tag and the fact that F2 champion Oscar Piastri missed out on the Alfa drive at Zhou’s expense.

Zhou will have a good benchmark in the form of Valtteri Bottas, who on average got within a tenth or two of Lewis Hamilton during his five years with Mercedes. The good news for Zhou is that in one sense the pressure won’t necessarily be on him as Bottas is the team leader and will be expected to dominate.

However, Zhou will want to be a mainstay on the F1 grid and with Sauber academy driver Theo Pourchaire waiting in the wings, there will be pressure right from the off to be within touching distance of his more experienced teammate.

Alexander Albon

Albon makes his return to F1 as George Russell’s replacement at Williams. The Thai driver was dropped by Red Bull at the end of 2020 and was forced to sit on the sidelines the following year.

It wasn’t a completely wasted year for Albon as he competed in DTM alongside his Red Bull reserve and test driver commitments. Red Bull sang Albon’s praises for his work in the simulator while Perez thanked him for his openness before the season in explaining the potential troubles the Mexican was going to face during his first year with the team. 

Alongside Nicholas Latifi in 2022, Albon has the perfect opportunity to rebuild his F1 career. The majority of the field wouldn’t fare too well alongside Verstappen so let’s not write him off too soon, however, Albon has to demonstrate why he warrants a seat on the F1 grid and to continue to guide Williams up the pecking order.

While Williams often didn’t have the eighth quickest car in 2021, the brilliance of Russell - and credit to Latifi as well in Hungary - ensured it beat Alfa Romeo in the final constructors’ champions. Williams will be relying on Albon to do the same and put in those Russell-like performances.

Albon has been handed a rare second chance to shine. It is one he must grab should he want a long career in F1.

Sergio Perez

While Red Bull missed out on the 2021 constructors’ championship, Perez was crucial in Verstappen beating Hamilton to the drivers’ crown. Making up for a lack of outright performance in qualifying, Perez’s defensive masterclasses in Turkey and particularly, Abu Dhabi, went some way in helping Verstappen claim the title.

Putting aside his impressive defensive displays, Perez’s form was generally underwhelming with just five podium finishes in 22 races. His Sundays were often made harder by his displays in qualifying - an average qualifying position of 6.41 - compare that to Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes (3.77) or Verstappen (2.82).

Perez was out-qualified on eight occasions by Pierre Gasly in the AlphaTauri - whether Red Bull would take Gasly back for 2023 is another story entirely but his impressive form last season is too good to ignore. With the 2022 regulations likely to even the playing field, or at least, Red Bull and Mercedes are unlikely to hold a significant advantage over the rest of the field, Perez’s poor qualifying showings could result in an even lower average grid position.

However, with another year under his belt at Red Bull and the 2022 regulations expected to make racing easier on Sundays, Perez’s poor one-lap performance could prove to be inconsequential given his superior racecraft. 

George Russell

After three years with Williams, Russell earned a well-deserved promotion to Mercedes alongside childhood hero and seven-time champion Hamilton. No doubt, Russell has proved that he’s worthy of a shot at a front-running team but whether he is truly a future world champion - in the ilk of Verstappen - remains to be seen.

Russell will go up against F1’s greatest driver - statistically at least - in Hamilton, with him going into 2022 on the back of a controversial title defeat to Verstappen. Bruised and wounded, he will be hungry to secure that eighth title to move clear of Michael Schumacher. 

Russell’s raw speed shouldn’t be in question given his consistently strong qualifying form at Williams, while his one-off appearance at the Sakhir Grand Prix showed that given the right car, he’s capable of challenging for grands prix victories. The 23-year-old’s mentality and other skills such as race pace, tyre management and consistency will be tested to the maximum against Hamilton.

Will Russell be able to wrestle the direction of the team of Hamilton as Charles Leclerc did with Sebastian Vettel in 2019? It’s unlikely given that Hamilton remains at the peak of his powers with his form in the latter part of 2021 exemplary. 

Russell will likely prove to be an upgrade on his predecessor but questions about whether he’s the man to lead Mercedes post-Hamilton will be answered this year.