F1: 5 biggest disappointments in the first half of the 2022 season

• The first half of Formula One is over, with thirteen already races gone down 
• Formula One remains with only nine races to call it a season
• However, Fans have witnessed some of the biggest disappointments in the concluded first half

Formula One fans witnessed biggest disappointments in the first half of the 2022 season. In society, when the smartest, boldest, and ultimately the fastest individuals and no longer the wealthiest rise to the top, there is little room for error and even less room to hide when things go wrong.

Disappointment is to be expected, as it has been throughout the first half of the 2022 season.

The following are five instances where expectations were not met.

Aston Martin

Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin. Photo/Sky Sports

Aston Martin’s 2022 campaign has been lacklustre so far for a team whose owner expects to contend for World Championships soon.

Some would always follow the new rules better. After investing, Aston’s fall from fourth to ninth in the rankings is frightening.

Some of their big-name new hires arrived too late to influence AMR22. Poor performance persists.

Q1 exits are the team’s Achilles heel, leading to Sebastian Vettel’s P6 in Azerbaijan as he and Lance Stroll produced one comeback drive after another.

Vettel’s tears are overflowing. Fernando Alonso, his ‘young’ replacement in 2023 Mercedes, needs better luck.

Eight-time Constructors’ champions Mercedes were “not a guarantee” to be competitive this season, according to team principal Toto Wolff

ALSO READ: Ranking best Formula One drivers so far this season

Mercedes

Mercedes poor perfomance during the first half season is among the biggest disappointments in F1.

The team seemed capable of mastering the new rules and designing a best-in-class car. According to wind tunnel results, their zero-pod W13 could be a second faster than the rest of the field.

The reverse was true. When Lewis Hamilton departed Q1 at the second race in Saudi Arabia on pace and ended 13th at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, everyone questioned how Mercedes could go so wrong.

Wolff and co. have proved their quality by maximising what they had – the vehicle is reliable enough to take advantage of others’ misfortunes – strengthening the W13 by reducing porpoising to keep Ferrari in sight in the Constructors’ Championship.

 Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo. Photo: Getty Images

Regarding the drivers, Ricciardo is among the biggest disappointments. Most drivers have done as expected, although it is doubtful Pierre Gasly or Yuki Tsunoda will have many good memories of the first 13 races for AlphaTauri.

Ricciardo’s second season with McLaren was supposed to be considerably more fruitful, but it has yielded disappointing results so far.

There has been no indication that Ricciardo will be able to close the internal deficit with an MCL36 that was new to both him and Lando Norris. 

Unfortunately, besides his excellent performance in his home race in Australia and his narrow victory over Norris in Baku, Ricciardo has shown no signs of being anything more than a dwindling force.

A poor performance in the Hungarian Grand Prix, followed by a time penalty that cost finishing positions for triggering a crash, appears to have been the final straw for McLaren, and his reported exit after the season has now been formalised.

Ferrari strategists

Perhaps it was too much to hope that Ferrari, who had spent the better two years mired in mediocrity, would suddenly replace Mercedes as Red Bull’s primary opponent for the World Championship.

Ferrari’s strategists failed Charles Leclerc in Monaco, Great Britain, and Hungary. Despite his superior performance, he did not earn a podium result at any Grand Prix events.

On the other hand, his teammate, Carlos Sainz, has occasionally tried to impose his own plan on him in the middle of a race.

Regrettably, a number of Ferrari-related issues are preventing a more exciting championship showdown. The planning and strategy part is the least forgivable.Biggest disappointments perhaps

Only two teams have been victorious

RedBull is the most victorious team so far. Photo: Gett Images

That is a letdown, no doubt about it. Even though it’s not shocking, more evidence would have been welcome.

According to industry experts, this is the most significant change to the sport’s technical regulations in 40 years. Admittedly, hoping for a Brawn-Esque rise from the sport’s depths to its top, as happened in 2009, may have been asking for too much.

As in 2021, Red Bull has been locked in a close battle with a single another team at the front, this time with an error-prone Ferrari in place of the rock-solid Mercedes.

Is there a way to find out the results? Nine victories for Red Bull, four for Ferrari, and none for the other teams.

The top two drivers should have a more even advantage, but after Hamilton’s win at the British Grand Prix, no one else has come close to taking the top spot.

With Mercedes out of the picture, it seems even less likely to happen in the remaining nine races. To rectify that, we need another one of those rare days, like when Gasly won at Monza, or Esteban Ocon won in Hungary.