HistoryData
sports2022

2022 Formula One World Championship — 73rd running of the Formula One World Championship

January 1, 2022

Max Verstappen claimed his second F1 title as ground-effect aerodynamics returned for the first time since 1982, reshaping the competitive order.

Quick Facts

Year
2022
Category
sports

Key Facts

Season races
22 Grands Prix
Championship running
73rd edition
Drivers' Champion
Max Verstappen (2nd title)
Constructors' Champion
Red Bull Racing (5th title)
Last ground effect use
1982 (40-year gap)
Vettel retirement
Final season for 4-time champion

By the Numbers

22
Season races
73
Championship running
2
Drivers' Champion
5
Constructors' Champion

Cause → Event → Consequence

Cause

Technical regulation changes introducing ground-effect aerodynamics, originally planned for 2021, were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. These sweeping changes aimed to produce closer racing by reducing aerodynamic turbulence and were the most significant overhaul of F1's technical rules in the turbo-hybrid era.

Event

The 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship ran across 22 Grands Prix worldwide. Max Verstappen won his second Drivers' Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix, and Red Bull Racing secured their fifth Constructors' title at the United States Grand Prix, ending Mercedes' dominance of the turbo-hybrid era.

Consequence

Red Bull Racing became the first constructor other than Mercedes to win the Constructors' Championship in the turbo-hybrid era. Mercedes fell to third, winning only one race, while Sebastian Vettel retired from Formula One and Lewis Hamilton failed to win a race or pole for the first time since his 2007 debut.

Timeline Context

Timeline around 202220222019202020212023202420252022 FIFA World Cup — 22nd FIFA World Cup2022 Winter Olympics — 24th edition of Winter Olympics, in Beijing, ChinaEurovision Song Contest 2022 — 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest2021 Africa Cup of Nations — 2021 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations2022 Kazakh unrest — series of protests in Kazakhstan that began on 2 January 2022 after an LPG price increaseMahsa Amini protests — Iranian protest movement in 2022–2023Deaths in 2022 — list of notable deaths in 20222022–2023 mpox outbreak — outbreak of viral disease2022-formula-one-world-championship-73rd-running-of-the-fo-2022