FORMULA ONE · 2022
The 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars , which was the 73rd running of the Formula One World Championship . It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motor
Throughout the season, each team had to field a driver in one of the first two free practice sessions who had not competed in more than two races, on two occasions, once for each car. The following drivers were entered at selected events to drive in free practice:
Kimi Räikkönen retired following the conclusion of the 2021 championship; Räikkönen won 21 races, and the 2007 World Drivers' Championship across a 19-season Formula career. Räikkönen's seat at Alfa Romeo was filled by fellow countryman Valtteri Bottas , who left Mercedes after 5 seasons. George Russell replaced Bottas, vacating the seat that he had held for the past 3 seasons at Williams . Russell was replaced by former Red Bull Racing driver Alex Albon after competi... Zhou Guanyu , who finished third in the 2021 Formula 2 Championship , joined Alfa Romeo, in place of Antonio Giovinazzi , who had been at the team since 2019. Zhou became the first Chinese driver to compete in Formula One. Nikita Mazepin was originally contracted to compete for Haas , as part of a multi-year contract that started in 2021. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resultant cancellation of Uralkali 's title sponsorship of Haas, his contract was terminated. He was replaced by Kevin Magnussen , who had last competed in 2020 with the same team.
Ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix , Sebastian Vettel tested positive for coronavirus . He was replaced at the event, and the subsequent Saudi Arabian Grand Prix by Aston Martin by reserve driver Nico Hülkenberg , who last raced at the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix , driving for former team Racing Point . During the Italian Grand Prix weekend, Alex Albon suffered from appendicitis . He was replaced at Williams by the Mercedes reserve driver 2020–21 Formula E and 2019 Formula 2 Champion Nyck de Vries , who made his Formula One race debut.
Michael Masi , who had served as race director since the death of Charlie Whiting in 2019 , was removed from the role of race director after an inquiry into the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix . As part of a restructuring of race control, Masi was replaced by former DTM race director Niels Wittich and World Endurance Championship race director Eduardo Freitas . The pair assumed the role on an alternating basis. Herbie Blash , Whiting's former deputy, was appointed as permanent senior advisor to the ra... The FIA also introduced a new virtual race control system, much like the video assistant referee in football, as well as a ban on team communications that lobby race officials. Radio between teams and FIA officials also is no longer broadcast on television in order to protect race officials. Unlapping procedures were reassessed by the Formula One Sporting Advisory Committee following the controversy of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and presented prior to the start of the season. [ ... Prior to the United States Grand Prix , the FIA abandoned the idea of rotating race directors, leaving Niels Wittich as the sole serving race director for the final four rounds of the championship. The rotation policy was not met with favourable reviews from drivers, as well as being in response to criticism of Eduardo Freitas's performance as race director at the Japanese Grand Prix .
Teams have been further restricted in the number of aerodynamic upgrades they can introduce to the car, both over the course of a race weekend and over the course of the championship. These rules were introduced to further cut the costs of competing. Following the decision to delay the 2021 regulations to 2022, aerodynamic development of the cars was banned from 28 March 2020 to the end of 2020. In 2021, the championship introduced a sliding scale system to regulate aerodynamic testing. Under this system, the least successful teams in the previous year's World Constructors' Championship standings would be given additional time for aerodynamic testing. Conversely, the most successful teams would be given less time to complete testing. The system was trialled in 2021 with the results used to create a more formal, structured and steeper model for the 2022 championship. The system of categorising parts was introduced to allow for design freedom as the overhaul to the aerodynamic regulations was highly prescriptive.
The introduction of ground effect meant that cars that ride high off the ground get less benefit from aerodynamic ground effects, which translates to slower speed on the track. Conversely, cars that run low to the ground gain maximum speed and benefits from this effect, but only up to the point where airflow under the car is interrupted. When ground effect is interrupted, a car experiences an aerodynamic stall, and the car lifts from the track surface. When airflow re-establishes, the car... By June 2022, several drivers had raised concerns about the effects of both of these problems. Haas 's Kevin Magnussen had complained of nerve issues, and both of Mercedes 's drivers had complained of back pain. As a result, the FIA decided that from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards a technical directive would be introduced to prevent cars from porpoising and bottoming out to an unsafe level following safety and legality concerns in the first half of the season. The FIA's proposal was for a...
Discussions over the 2022 engine regulations began in 2017 and were finalised in May 2018. The proposed regulations involved removing the motor generator unit–heat ( MGU-H ) to simplify the technology used in the engine whilst raising the maximum rev limit by 3,000 rpm . Further proposals dubbed "plug-and-play" would see engine suppliers bound by the regulations to make individual engine components universally compatible, allowing teams to source their components from multip... The quota system of power unit components was continued in 2022, with teams given a limited number of individual components that can be used before incurring a penalty.
Wheel diameter increased from 13 inches (33 cm) to 18 inches (46 cm). The 18-inch wheels were introduced into the Formula 2 Championship in 2020 to test changes in tyre behaviour. It was originally proposed that the use of tyre warmers—electric blankets designed to keep the tyres at the optimal operating temperature when not in use—would be banned, although this decision was later reversed after opposition from the tyre supplier Pirelli . The temperature of the tyre blank...