How to Lose a Formula 1 Championship, As Told by Ferrari

Photo: Rudy Carezzevoli (Getty Images)

Heading into the final race of 2022, Leclerc and Red Bull’s Perez were tied in the Drivers’ Championship, and Mercedes was still within reach to snag the Constructors’ Championship from the Italian outfit. Most teams opted to split tire strategy between drivers, making for an interesting race — the end of which saw Ferrari cling to second in both the WDC and WCC. 

Final Results: 2nd (Leclerc), 4th (Sainz Jr.)Drivers’ Championship Standings: 2nd (Leclerc), 5th (Sainz Jr.)Constructors’ Championship Standings: 2nd (554 points)

Was Ferrari’s 2022 season an abject failure? Not by any means — for the first time in years, the Prancing Horse has looked both impressive and competitive, but it’s clear that there’s still far more work to be done if it wants to actively contend for a Championship in the near future. The team’s early season confidence is hard to look at in retrospect, knowing how quickly Ferrari bungled its own lead through odd strategy, poor pit stops, or unreliability.

The dust has only just settled on the 2022 F1 season, so it’s far too early to start making calls on how things will look for 2023. But if history has shown us one thing, it’s that the Championship-winning team in the first year of a new set of technical regulations tends to maintain that dominance going forward. Ferrari’s mistakes paved the way for Red Bull’s easy ride — but Red Bull, with its penalties for overspending the series cost cap, isn’t guaranteed a 2023 win just yet. If Ferrari can learn from its mistakes, it could just find itself en route to victory.