Bitcar Original On the weekend of March 20, 2022, the F1 World Championship kicked off the new season. In the blink of an eye, the weekend of November 20 is coming, 8 months later, 2022 The F1 World Championship has also moved from the opening station to the final station. Before the start of this weekend's final Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, let me take you to review some of the classic scenes in the first half of this year's F1 season.
●Winter test: Mercedes surprises
Due to the changes in F1 rules for the new season, the car designs of each team this year are quite different from last year. Red Bull, with the "genius" Newey, naturally does not tolerate these changes in rules. Ferrari's performance in winter testing It also gives car fans something to look forward to. Of course, the key point here is the Mercedes-AMG team. The B version of the car they presented in Bahrain has an extremely radical sidepod design, which is different from all other teams. Although the performance of the car was average at the beginning of the season, this This kind of innovation is also what F1 needs.
●The first three stops: "Wofa Heliumane"
After the winter test, this year's F1 opening station started in Bahrain on March 20. Leclerc and Verstappen, who started in the front row, staged offensive and defensive battles many times during the game. Near the end of the game, the two Red Bull cars After a series of car failures and retirements, Ferrari won both the first and second place in the Bahrain Grand Prix. This was also their first race championship and first and second place finish since the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix. Our Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu also finished tenth in the opening race and gained his first career points.
Of course, the performance at this station alone may not make the fans sigh. The second race was held in Saudi Arabia. Although Verstappen won, he only crossed the finish line 0.5 seconds ahead of Leclerc. Another Ferrari driver, Sainz, won the third place, helping the team win a double award. tower. Then in the third race in Australia, Leclerc was once again the first to greet the checkered flag and won his first Grand Slam: Pole to Win + leading every lap + fastest lap of the race; while Verstappen, Retired again due to car failure.
After the first three races, Leclerc has dominated the driver standings, and Ferrari is also significantly ahead of Mercedes and Red Bull in the team standings. I believe all the "Iron Buddha Temple" people will think Ferrari when they see this start. To be able to continue such a strong state in subsequent races, the Red Bull fans on the other side have completely opposite feelings. But who would have thought that Ferrari would still be the same Ferrari.
●A Stupid Spin
For the fourth stop, F1 came to Imola, which is considered Ferrari’s home ground. Return to F1 version since 2020Behind the picture, Ferrari has not yet been on the podium here, and the team's desire for victory at Imola is self-evident. However, in the race, a Spin by Leclerc cost him his hope of getting on the podium at Imola, as well as his state and luck. Red Bull and Verstappen launched a counterattack at Imola. The team won the championship and runner-up for the first time since Malaysia in 2016, and Verstappen personally won the Grand Slam. It is also worth mentioning that McLaren's "Lando brother" won his first podium in 2021 at Imola, and he also stood on the podium at Imola in 2022, which also reflects his poor early season form. Good teams take some of the pressure off points.
Verstappen's form was out of control after his victory at Imola, and he won the championship in the subsequent Miami Station and Spanish Station, achieving his first three consecutive championships this season. Especially in the Spanish Grand Prix, even when the car ran out of the track and the DRS of the car was going up and down, he was still able to regain the leading group and won the championship with the help of his teammates. Leclerc, who started from the pole position at this station, retired due to a car failure. After the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen overtook Leclerc in the driver standings to reach the top spot.
●Perez reaches the top of Monaco
Is there a track more difficult to run than Monaco? Yes, it’s rainy Monaco. This year’s Monaco race was postponed for more than an hour due to heavy rain. In qualifying, the two Ferrari drivers occupied the front row, and the two Red Bull drivers were in the second row. However, through the tire change strategy in the race, the two Red Bull drivers surpassed the Ferrari driver, and finally Perret started third. He reached the top of Monaco, with Verstappen third. After winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Perez also received a contract extension from Red Bull Racing. The Mexican will stay with the team until the 2024 season. At Ferrari on the other side, Leclerc, who once again started from pole position, only finished fourth due to the team's strategy, although this was the first time in his career that he finished at his home stadium.
After this year's Brazilian Grand Prix, Perez's mistake in hitting the wall in the third qualifying session at Monaco was revealed to be "deliberate" in order to rank ahead of teammate Verstappen. I can't comment on this. I can only say that as Verstappen's teammate, it is understandable to want to gain more team resources. Of course, the more important thing is that we cannot confirm whether Perez did it on purpose.
●Red Bull Racing wins six consecutive victories
After Monaco, F1 came to Azerbaijan, and Leclerc once again won the pole position. However, in the race, two Ferrari drivers retired due to power unit problems before the halfway mark of the race. This was the first time since the Australian Grand Prix in 2009 that two Ferrari cars retired due to stability issues. The Red Bull Racing Team naturally did not miss this opportunity. Verstappen and Perez won the championship and runner-up. In addition to the two Ferrari drivers, the other two drivers using Ferrari power units, Magnussen andZhou Guanyu also retired from the race due to a car failure, and the reliability of Ferrari's power unit was questioned.
A week later, F1 returned to Montreal, Canada, where it had been away for three years. Verstappen, who started from the pole position, successfully won the Canadian Grand Prix, helping Red Bull Racing win its sixth consecutive season victory since 2013. Leclerc was punished for starting a new power unit from 19th place, and eventually finished fifth and won the title of best driver of the station. However, the gap with Verstappen in the standings widened further. It is worth mentioning that Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu ranked eighth in the Canadian Grand Prix, which is his best ranking so far, bringing back 4 points for himself and the team.
●Ferrari is recovering
How long has it been since we saw a Ferrari driver on the top podium? The answer before the British Grand Prix was 83 days. Since the Australian Grand Prix on April 10, Ferrari has become a green leaf for Red Bull. However, at the British Grand Prix on July 3, the Ferrari driver finally won, but it was not Leclerc, but his teammate Sainz. Sainz also became the 11th driver among active drivers to win the championship. Of course, what impressed us most in the British Grand Prix was Zhou Guanyu’s crash at the start. The “flip-flops” introduced in 2018 worked again, and Zhou Guanyu’s health was not serious. In fact, at the same time as Zhou Guanyu's accident, Williams driver Albon was also involved in another collision. Fortunately, he himself was fine.
A week later at the Austrian Grand Prix, Verstappen won his second sprint championship of the season, but the race championship belonged to Leclerc. After the race, Red Bull Racing stated that the car encountered the problem of excessive tire decay. Of course, it was not all smooth sailing for Ferrari. Leclerc encountered a problem with the accelerator pedal during the race, and Sainz retired due to power unit failure again. In addition, in this race, Mick Schumacher finished sixth, which is his current personal best result.
Editor’s comments:
Okay, I’ll finish the first half of this year’s F1 review here. Some friends may say that F1’s summer break will be after the Hungarian Grand Prix? Yes, but starting from the French Grand Prix, Verstappen won five consecutive championships. I want to write about these stops together. Throughout the first half of the season, the "red" and "bull" battle between Ferrari and Red Bull was the main theme. However, after a near-perfect start, Ferrari's team, car, and driver conditions frequently appeared, and it was in the driver and team standings with Red Bull. The convoy drifted away.
This weekend is the finale of this year’s F1 World Championship. Although the driver and team champions already have their answers, in the driver standings, Leclerc and Perez have a total of 290 points. The annual driver runner-up will be in this weekend. One weekend will determine the outcome; in addition, in the team standings, Mercedes and Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine,The points difference between Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo can be tied or overtaken in one game, and the finale is worth looking forward to for all fans. I will also bring you the second half of this year’s F1 World Championship review next week. This year’s F1 is indeed worth recalling. (Note: The picture comes from the F1 World Championship)
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