One reason to root for every Formula One driver and team in 2022

Struggling with whom to support in Formula One this year? This is the guide for you.

In compiling this list, it’s striking how difficult it is to remember another time Formula One had the depth of talent it does right now. There’s a combined 14 championships on the grid and five or six drivers who look more than capable of establishing themselves as F1’s biggest star in the next few seasons.

There’s plenty of candidates for your favourite team or driver in 2022. Here we run down all of them.

The season begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, live on ESPN (10.55 a.m. Eastern time).

TV scheduleb

Mercedes

Mercedes is the benchmark against which success is measured in F1 right now. Sometimes it’s easier to root against the dominant force but Mercedes have made winning races an art form since 2014 and it is genuinely remarkable how it has continued to raise its own bar in that time. If Mercedes stays on top or remains competitive through another big rule change (it did the same thing in 2018) there would be no denying that this is the greatest F1 dynasty we’ve ever seen.

44. Lewis Hamilton

Fans of Lewis Hamilton have seen him rewrite F1’s history books again and again in recent years and he goes into this year trying to win an unprecedented eighth championship. He was controversially denied that record last year and comes into this season with a score to settle, which is often when he races at his absolute best (see last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix).

Hamilton, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in December, is a spectacular racing driver. He’s amazingly fast, while his smart race craft and brilliant tyre management often open up strategy options for Mercedes that would not exist for most…