2022 Formula 1 grid preview: teams, drivers and cars

Red Bull

Team principal: Christian Horner

Key staff: Jonathan Wheatley, Adrian Newey, Dr Helmut Marko

Max Verstappen

Car No 1

Age 24

Wins 20

Poles 13

2021 position 1st

Aim in 2022 Simple: to defend his Formula 1 crown

Sergio Perez

Car No 11

Age 32

Wins 2

Fastest laps 6

2021 position 4th

Aim in 2022 To get closer to Verstappen’s pace

Mercedes

W13 E-Performance

Team principal: Toto Wolff

Key staff: Hywel Thomas, Mike Elliott, James Vowles, Ron Meadows

Lewis Hamilton

Car No 44

Age 37

Wins 103

Poles 103

2021 position 2nd

Aim in 2022 Win a record eighth drivers’ world title

George Russell

Car No 63

Age 24

Podiums 1

Fastest laps 1

2021 position 15th

Aim in 2022 Reduce gap to Hamilton in a way Bottas never could

Ferrari

F1-75

Team principal: Mattia Binotto

Key staff: Laurent Mekies, Enrico Cardile

Charles Leclerc

Car No 16

Age 24

Wins 2

Poles 9

2021 position 7th

Aim in 2022 Reassert team leader role over Carlos Sainz Jr

Carlos Sainz

Car No 55

Age 27

Podiums 6

Fastest laps 1

2021 position 5th

Aim in 2022 His first F1 drive was in 2015, so a first win is long overdue

McLaren

MCL36

Team principal: Andreas Seidl

Key staff: Zak Brown, Andrea Stella, James Key

Lando Norris

Car No 4

Age 23

Poles 1

Fastest laps 3

2021 position 6th

Aim in 2022 Securing a maiden F1 win (perhaps on home turf: Monaco)

Daniel Ricciardo

Car No 3

Age 32

Wins 8

Podiums 32

2021 position 8th

Aim in 2022 Find his missing pace; quicken up relative to Norris

Alpine

A522

Team principal: Otmar Szafnauer

Key staff: Laurent Rossi, Bruno Famin, Davide Brivio

Fernando Alonso

Car No 14

Age 40

Wins 32

Poles 22

2021 position 10th

Aim in 2022 Fight for podiums; he’s had just one in since 2014

Esteban Ocon

Car No 31

Age 25

Wins 1

Podiums 2

2021 position 11th

Aim in 2022 Beat Alonso regularly and find some consistency

AlphaTauri

AT03

Team principal: Franz Tost

Key staff: Jody Egginton

Pierre Gasly

Car No 10

Age 25

Wins 1

Fastest laps 3

2021 position 9th

Aim in 2022 Get among the front runners and take points more regularly

Yuki Tsunoda

Car No 22

Age 21

Best F1 finish 4th

Career points 32

2021 position 14th

Aim in 2022 To become much more consistent

Aston Martin

AMR22

Team principal: Mike Krack

Key staff: Andrew Green, Dan Fallows

Sebastian Vettel

Car No 5

Age 34

Wins 53

Poles 57

2021 position 12th

Aim in 2022 The four-time winner needs to out-score Stroll emphatically

Lance Stroll

Car No 18

Age 23

Podiums 3

Poles 1

2021 position 13th

Aim in 2022 Finish races ahead of Vettel – which he’s capable of on his day

Williams

FW44

Team principal: Jost Capito

Key staff: François-Xavier Demaison

Nicholas Latifi

Car No 6

Age 26

Career points 7

Best F1 finish 7th

2021 position 17th

Aim in 2022 Avoid the mistakes that led to retirements in 2021

Alexander Albon

Car No 23

Age 25

Podiums 2

Career points 197

2021 position N/A

Aim in 2022 Beat Latifi – as Russell did

Alfa Romeo

C42

Team principal: Fred Vasseur

Key staff: Jan Monchaux

Valterri Bottas

Car No 77

Age 32

Wins 10

Podiums 67

2021 position 3rd

Aim in 2022 Score points and dominate newcomer Zhou Guanyu

Zhou Guanyu

Car No 24

Age 22

Formula 2 career starts 68

F2 wins 5

2021 F2 position 3rd

Aim in 2022 The first Chinese F1 driver needs to keep on track and close to Bottas

Haas

VF-22

Team principal: Guenther Steiner

Key staff: Simone Resta

Mick Schumacher

Car No 57

Age 22

F1 starts 22

Best F1 finish 12th

2021 position 19th

Aim in 2022 Maintain his advantage over Nikita Mazepin

Nikita Mazepin

Car No 9

Age 22

F1 starts 21

Best F1 finish 14th

2021 F2 position 21st

Aim in 2022 Get closer to Schumacher and earn a point or two