Formula 1: good month, bad month — October 2022

Good month

Alonso’s Machiavellian moves
If you’re going to waste your talent in the midfield, do it with as many zeros on your contract as possible, and an iconic car brand like Aston Martin.

Winning machine
Though possibly the ultimate anti-hero F1 combo, Verstappen and Red Bull are currently crushing the opposition – full respect.

Piranha Club
Whoever thought F1’s off-season was going to be boring? The machinations of the Piranha Club and Piastri’s Alpine desertion have brought more entertainment than Schumacher-era F1 races.

Holy fail
One of the most cherished aspects of any new F1 era is the possibility of even the best cars breaking down randomly – 2022 has been generous.

Russell’s scintillating lap
Nothing short of brilliance from Russell to vanquish the Ferraris in Budapest qualifying – simply lovely.

Bad month

Not-Mar Szafnauer
First Lawrence Stroll rejected him. Then Alonso. Now Piastri! Poor Otmar, at least Laurent Rossi loves you (maybe).

Planet Ferrari
Ferrari might be looking ready to lose both titles in operatic fashion, but Binotto’s assertion that “There’s nothing to change” seems outside the realms of the wildest dramatic narrative.

Check on Checo
Sergio’s season is slowly slipping away after Red Bull tweaked the RB18 to suit Max – ah well, lie back and think of the pesos.

Last-corner Latifi
After leading FP3 with a late lap, Latifi then stunned everyone by setting the fastest first sector in Hungary Q1, before fluffing the final corner – typical.

Mixed messages
Sky F1 weirdly beaming in world champion pundit Nico Rosberg’s talking head from wherever he is on the planet really isn’t working.