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The 2021 F1 season saw six different race winners, with the two title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the top with several race wins. Esteban Ocon took his maiden race win at the Hungarian Grand Prix, while Daniel Ricciardo took his first for McLaren at Monza. Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas also each took a race win and significantly contributed points to their teams for the constructors' championship.
A few drivers, however, were awfully close to clinching their first F1 race win in 2021 and will be determined to finally achieve it this season. With a slight shake-up in team orders given the change in regulations, one can expect several surprise wins and tons of drama all year long.
Here are 5 F1 drivers who could take their maiden race win in 2022
#1 Carlos Sainz
Ever since he joined McLaren in 2019, Carlos Sainz has had an impressive upward trend in F1. In his very first year at Ferrari in 2021, the Spaniard displayed consistency whilst almost always matching his teammate's race pace. With four podium finishes last year, he certainly proved himself on track. He subsequently finished ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in the drivers' standings at the end of the season. He currently holds a three-consecutive podium finishing streak and an unbelievable seventeen consecutive race point-finishing streak, a testament to his talent.
There have been several moments such as at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix when the 27-year-old came extremely close to his maiden F1 race win and maiden pole position. Ferrari seem to have a car that has the potential to fight for championships this year, so this should definitely allow Sainz to achieve his F1 dreams. While he has started the season on a slightly weaker note than his teammate, there are still a whopping 21 races to go.
#2 George Russell
George Russell moved to eight-time world champion Mercedes this season after three years at Williams. The Briton had his best F1 season so far in 2021, taking his maiden podium for the team at Spa, where he just about missed out on a win to reigning world champion Max Verstappen. The first time that Russell ever truly got to take his maiden win was at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix when he stepped into the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who was down with COVID-19.
Russell drove a phenomenal race, taking the lead from pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas on the opening lap itself. He looked like he was at home in the car and was on track to win the race until everything started to go wrong for the 24-year-old and the team at large. For no fault of his own, Russell devastatingly watched his maiden race win slip through his fingers due to a tire mix-up at the pitstop. Fans, however, expect him to be back stronger than ever before in 2022. While Mercedes are certainly struggling this season, all cars are expected to undergo major developments over the year. This could increase the possibility of seeing George Russell, who out-performed his teammate in the last race, on the top step of the podium.
#3 Lando Norris
Behind Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll, Lando Norris became the third-youngest podium-finisher in the history of F1 at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix. He went on to have a glorious 2021 season with four podium finishes and his maiden pole position at the Russian Grand Prix. He, however, heartbreakingly lost the opportunity to win his first F1 race because of a poorly timed decision to change his tires at the rain-ridden Sochi Autodrom. Before disaster struck, he had bravely held off seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton for several laps. At the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, McLaren achieved the season's only 1-2 finish, another race where Norris had the pace to potentially win the race.
Lando Norris has proven himself to be a future championship contender. Consequently, McLaren have shown continued faith in the 22-year-old with a whopping £80 million contract to keep him in the team for at least another four years. A maiden race win has been a long time coming for the Briton, so 2022 may just be the year he has been waiting for.
#4 Kevin Magnussen
Kevin Magnussen returned to F1 after a year on the sidelines to replace Nikita Mazepin at Haas for the 2022 season and has gotten off to an exceptional start. Haas took home no points last year. This year, however, the team has already found itself fifth in the contractors' standings this season with a total of 12 points. All of this thanks to the Dane and the improvements within the car and team. He achieved a top-five finish in his very first race of the season and even finished the second in the points.
If Magnussen manages to keep up the pace and improve week-after-week with the help of car development over the year, he can definitely expect his maiden race win this season.
#5 Mick Schumacher
Mick Schumacher, who has never scored a point in F1, could potentially be the big surprise race winner of the 2022 season. Haas have seen unbelievable growth and improvement over the last two years and have given their drivers a car that has the potential to fight for podiums and wins, given the right circumstances. While this may seem a little far-fetched, this is the first time Schumacher will be driving an F1 car that could potentially fight for the top of the midfield, opening up possibilities for the German to achieve a lot of firsts this year.
