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We’ve had 13 rounds of exciting racing in this new era of Formula 1 hardware, but what are the strengths and weaknesses of each team’s cars? F1 technical expert Mark Hughes weighs up the pros and cons of the 10 cars on the 2022 grid, from the Red Bull RB18 to the Williams FW44.
1. Red Bull
Strengths: Race day speed, consistency and reliability. In Verstappen’s hands, the RB18 is a devastating weapon, quick on every type of circuit and responsive to aerodynamic advances.
Weaknesses: It was a late car, so it had a few early-season reliability issues. The Ferrari’s explosiveness lacks qualifying pace and the tight front-end balance required to get the best out of Verstappen took almost a third of the season. An occasional rear tire problem like in Austria.
Read more: Analyzing Red Bull’s radical updates for the British Grand Prix
2. Ferrari
Strengths: The fastest car of the era, as evidenced by Charles Leclerc’s impressive pole position. Leclerc has a chassis balance that allows him to get the most out of a qualifying round – a better natural balance than the Red Bull in that regard. It’s extremely strong under acceleration and produces plenty of downforce.
Weaknesses: Ferrari has made big power unit advances since 2021 and banked the power gains without fully addressing safety issues – hence a string of grid penalties possibly down the road. Front-restricted tracks bring some vulnerability to overworking the outer front tire.
Read more: Could this 2022 F1 design trend explain those strange spins for Leclerc and Verstappen?
3. Mercedes
Strengths: As long as the track is smooth, it produces good downforce in high-speed corners that is fully competitive with the Ferrari in such territory. Despite its dynamic issues, it still manages to get out of the midfield very well and is very good in its tire use during the race, better than Red Bull or Ferrari, although it’s often a long way off.
Weaknesses: A very narrow setup window, even after the post-Baku hype/shock issues are tamed. It still treats very weak bumps and bruises. It struggles to get the most out of the tires in a single lap, severely affecting qualifying performance.
Read more: The problem is that Mercedes attacked their Silverstone upgrade package
4. Alpine
Strengths: It has proven to have a strong aerodynamic platform that allows constant improvement at low power without upsetting the balance. It’s reasonably good through a wide range of cornering speeds. The new split turbo PU was well proven and although reliability was not perfect, it was better than the Ferrari in this regard. Good tire usage in the races.
Weaknesses: Still, compared to the top three teams, the last one is underpowered. Reliability in Alonso’s car was particularly poor.
5. McLaren
Strengths: It seems to have as good aero performance as its predecessor on low power type tracks. It is immune to most porpoises. It’s great for getting heat into the tires, so helping qualifying at tracks where that’s an issue and masking the aero-poor front end at places like Monaco.
Weaknesses: Poor front end overall, on braking and corner entry, especially slower corners. Tire use in racing is not very good. High fuel and old tires can look mediocre. It’s not an easy drive, so it’s not consistent.
Read more: Why gearbox positioning could be the key to solving the nasty mystery.
6. Alfa Romeo
Strengths: He is a versatile performer capable of being the ‘best of the rest’ around the opposing interests of Miami and Barcelona. The Ferrari power unit gives it a performance edge in the middle of the field. Initially, it had a weight advantage over its competitors.
Weaknesses. That same Ferrari PU also gives it a reliability test. The team’s actions in practice cost them a lot of track time, often affecting the entire weekend. Some put weight on development like shaving.
Head-to-head: How do F1 teammates bond over the summer break?
7. Hass
Strengths: Ferrari PU and good high-speed downforce performance make this a fast mid-ranger.
Weaknesses: It’s less convincing in low-speed corners than in the top and there was zero performance growth until Hungary, leaving it a bit behind.
See: Big updates for Haas in Hungary
8. AlphaTauri
Strengths: Slow corner performance is not bad. The mechanical grip gives it a good showing at tracks like Monaco and Baku (it’s the best of all the others). Honda PU powerful and reliable.
Weaknesses: This car airline is not as competitive as the last two seasons. It lacks low-end power at high speeds, especially up front, and can be difficult to place in the set-up sweet spot. A lack of development as far as France has played its part in its gradual fall to the grid.
Read more: Our writers pick their top three drivers, best performances and biggest shocks of the 2022 season so far
9. Aston Martin
Strengths: There were glimmers of hope from the car after receiving the main update in Spain. It was briefly a low Q3 qualifier, but operational problems, particularly in Montreal, made it look like that. The new smart power wing introduced in Hungary is very effective.
Weaknesses: The car was heavily underpowered in its original guise and suffered from Porpoise. It improved with Red Bull-like improvements but after further improvements at Silverstone, the team looked to have taken a wrong turn as they struggled to get out of Q1.
Read more: The man behind the race – Lawrence Barretto getting to know the real Sebastian Vettel
10. Williams
Strengths: Extensive Silverstone aero upgrades have resulted in faster cornering performance. In Austria she qualified 1% faster than the average up to that point. Generates tire heat quickly, especially helpful in wet/mixed track conditions.
Weaknesses: The original Zero Gonpod concept didn’t work. It was underpowered, the balance was poor and the mechanical aspects created additional limitations. The car’s ride quality should now improve to take full advantage of the aero improvements.
Analysis: Why Williams and Albon are stuck for 2023 and beyond
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