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The 2022 F1 regulations were supposed to make wheel-to-wheel action better by allowing cars to follow each other closer than before. It's safe to say that there has been progress this season, and F1 has moved closer to the product it desires to be.
The 2022 F1 season had several breathtaking overtakes. While there were far too many to count, like Max Verstappen's move on Charles Leclerc during the sprint race in Imola, amongst others, the following dives into five select moves made by drivers on the track was a delightful spectacle for fans.
Drivers in 2022 showed off some blistering moves
5) Daniel Ricciardo on both Alpines (2022 F1 Hungarian GP)
Ricciardo didn't have too many highlights this season, but this is something that he would be proud of. This move by the driver came just before the summer break when it was announced that Ricciardo would lose his spot to F1 rookie Oscar Piastri at McLaren.
Ricciardo was attacking Fernando Alonso at the Hungarian Grand Prix when the Spaniard was caught out by his teammate exiting the pits. Alonso's eyes lit up as he tried to pounce on Ocon and gain position. Ocon's defensive drive allowed Ricciardo to swoop through both of them and gain two positions. The timing and opportunism stood out as Ricciardo positioned his car perfectly.
4) Max Verstappen on Sebastian Vettel (2022 F1 Singapore GP)
There's hardly any overtake that we've seen in the short straight from Turn 3 to 5, especially when the tire is more or less similar. This was a weekend where Verstappen was seething after a mishap in qualifying. The Red Bull driver, trying to make his way through the field, was able to line up Sebastian Vettel on that short straight from Turn 3 to 5 and make a move.
Executing something like this in treacherous conditions was what made it even more impressive. The move was so unexpected and unlikely that it sadly did not get covered during the race.
3) Sebastian Vettel on Fernando Alonso (2022 F1 Japanese GP)
This is an example of what happens when two multiple-world champions fight over a spot. More or less, the audience gets a memorable drive. This was precisely what Vettel and Alonso put together.
In the fading laps of the race, Vettel was on excessively worn intermediates, with Alonso eating up the gap between the two like a shark. Alonso, multiple seconds quicker than Vettel at the time, closed down the gap on the last lap and made his first attempt on the German at the breaking point after the 130R.
What followed was epic wheel-to-wheel action as Vettel kept his Aston Martin side-by-side with Alonso throughout the last sector and what we had was a wheel-to-wheel drag race to the finish line.
Vettel, who had initially lost the place (momentarily) to Alonso when the Spaniard lunged down the inside, was able to out-drag the Alpine driver and beat him by a gap of .011 secs. Vettel and Alonso showed that even though the young drivers have started to take over, the old guard is still not done with the sport.
2) Sebastian Vettel on Kevin Magnussen (2022 F1 US GP)
At the start of the final lap, Sebastian Vettel made a clinical overtake on Kevin Magnussen. It was a visual treat for any F1 fan. The German, once a victim of questionable strategic decisions, was forced to make his way up the grid after a late pitstop.
In that comeback, Vettel's last target was Kevin Magnussen, notorious for being aggressive and difficult to overtake. Vettel had to overtake in the following two straights. Unfortunately, the Aston Martin driver was too far back to make any impression on the first straight and not close enough on the second straight.
However, Vettel did not give up and put up a wheel-to-wheel battle in the twisty final sector. His magnificent effort paid off with Vettel coming out on top in the last corner. The move was so impressive that even Kevin Magnussen doffed his hat for that move.
1) Charles Leclerc on Lewis Hamilton (2022 F1 British GP)
The 2022 F1 British GP had one of the best wheel-to-wheel sequences of all season after a late race safety car, and it was all made possible by one man, Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver was royally kicked to the curb by his team when he did not get the opportunity to pit for fresh tires when the safety car came out while everyone behind him did.
This left Leclerc vulnerable, and while he let his teammate Carlos Sainz go without much of a struggle, everyone else would have to pull out a few special tricks if they had to pass him. One of the more memorable sequences that followed between Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen was when Lewis jumped on both Perez and Leclerc (and David Croft shouted, through goes Hamilton).
Arguably, the F1 season's best overtake was to come later as Sergio Perez first passed Lewis Hamilton in the first sector, and then we had a battle between Lewis and Leclerc. One of the inflection points of that battle was Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc going side by side towards Copse (a flashback of what happened last season between Max and Lewis). Leclerc, in a move that could only be put down to youthful exuberance on old hard tires, went outside Hamilton and got the move done.
There aren't many moves that make you hold your breath until the move is made, but this was particularly special in that regard.
