Having rolled into 2022, will we see any change to the challenges and circumstances the global motorsport community has faced in 2021? It has been a tough two years of change and adaption so what is there to expect in the next 12 months?
First of all, let’s just say expect more of the same. That is, more of the uncertainty of running and participating in motorsport events whether it is domestically or internationally. While we are in a better shape as a Kiwi nation heading into 2022 with increasingly high vaccination rates, Covid and its variants are not going away just yet.
More cancellations?
Yes, it will be a season of change so let’s roll with it and take any opportunity that comes along and not put it off for another day.
More importantly, Who will beat Verstappen?
I have to agree with Ross MacKay in his column on a couple of week’s ago (He/they did what? My ‘Worst of’ of motorsport in 2021) with his comparison of Verstappen’s on-track behaviour in 2012 at the World KZ7 Cup meeting at Sarno in Italy and the type of behaviour we see from him on the F1 grid.
There is no doubt that his talent is phenomenal, yet I think it almost borders on a bully-boy mentality. I just think that he has always pushed the letter of the law in many questionable moves and overtakes. This comment is not new, having been raised by many F1 commentators. I wouldn’t be surprised if a number of drivers on the grid just don’t want to mix it with him as they know there is a great chance of coming off second best.
The British Grand Prix at Silverstone was one in which we saw Hamilton take a stand and say, ‘I’m not going to be intimidated by you,’ with the resulting clash in which Verstappen came off second best and, ended up with a trip to the hospital.
Again, I cannot disagree with MacKay’s description of a Verstappen being a ‘whiney, spoiled little wannabe.’ Harsh? Yes! While Verstappen complained about Hamilton’s lack of respect for his rival in hospital while celebrating a win on home soil, an Autosport.com podcast pointed out that they wouldn’t expect anything different from Max if the shoe was on the other foot and he was celebrating winning the Dutch Grand Prix with Hamilton in hospital.
He has an extraordinary talent. Almost with a preparedness to win at all costs and not to dissimilar to the great Michael Schumacher and Aryton Senna. Something which I find quite unattractive and maybe the reason for not being a great fan of either of the three. Maybe this is what sets Hamilton apart from them in that he has a dignity, a quality that is rare in many great sports people.
So, once Hamilton departs the grid into retirement, who and what will it take to beat Verstappen, preferably with equal machinery.
We have hope that George Russell will give both Hamilton and Verstappen a run for their money in 2022 with his move from Williams to Mercedes. Charles Leclerc seems capable if Ferrari give him the right machinery as does McLaren’s Lando Norris. Will Liam Lawson, when he finally takes his F1 seat, have the ability and confidence to take on not just Verstappen but also Russell, Leclerc and Norris?
Which leads us to Liam Lawson and his program this season. 2022 may well be a prelude season to his F1 debut. Nothing is certain other than it looks like he may be groomed for a drive in the very near future.
Expect more F1 for Liam
Nothing has been announced but I bet it has already been arranged for Liam Lawson. First we are yet to hear which team he will be racing for in the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship. Odds are that it will be a top one. While 2021 wasn’t the best season, points wise, Lawson impressed enough of the pit-lane with a number of top performances and particularly some outstanding passing. Remember Monaco?
There will be no last-minute DTM deals this season as we expect his focus to be on F1. Will we see him as a Red Bull F1 reserve driver and maybe a couple of Friday practice sessions?

More of the Shane!
There is no doubt that Kiwi driver Shane van Gisbergen was the one to beat in the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship. He continues to be head and shoulders above the rest of the competition and there is no reason why we won’t see more of this in 2022.
Van Gisbergen has always been world-class and unfortunately for Supercars, one has to question how good the new emerging talent is on the grid this coming season. I have always had a question mark over young drivers who have the sole aim in their career path to get a full-time drive in Supercars. Van Gisbergen was never any different in that while he showed so much potential in a single seater, he was never interested in pursuing this category and was always itching to get across to Australia to the main-game.
The problem is that the new talent comes through a now traditional Australia career path of Formula Ford, Carrera Cup and the Dunlop Super2 series’. Toyota 86 and TCR could also be added to this mix.
This approach is all in house, so to speak. Drivers are competing on the same circuits, often against the same competition, moving through the categories. Where is the overseas experience in other categories, teams, cultures, environments and particularly circuits?
Yes there is true world class Aussie talent out there but can you recall when current FIA Formula 2 champ Oscar Piastri last raced in Australia? Alex Peroni has spent a number of seasons competing in European single seater categories and moved to the US for Indy Lights last year. Now we have a young James Wharton who will compete with Prema Powerteam in the 2022 Italian F4 champs. Imagine if some of this talent took to the Supercars grid?
Supercars has been a top category for many years with some outstanding talent. It now is in danger of becoming a great marketing machine lacking real depth, so it will be more of the Shane in 2022.

WRC’s dramatic new-generation Rally1
The traditional Rallye Monte Carlo opening event of the World Rally Championship calendar set to go 20-23 January, 2022 will see the first competition of the new plug-in hybrid Rally1 cars from Toyota GAZOO Racing, Hyundai Motorsport and M-Sport Ford.
It’s all part of the FIA’s move to a greener future (if motorsport can truly achieve this) with the Rally1 cars offering a 100kW electric motor coupled to a 2.9kWh battery in conjunction with a 1.6 litre turbocharged petrol engine producing more than 500hp (while reducing harmful emissions).
These cars should still be pretty spectacular and let’s hope reliability isn’t an issue with all three manufacturers in a race to develop and test their new cars in time for the competition season. Overall it should be something to look forward to.

Some of the best local enduro racing
This should have happened in 2021 but the Auckland lockdown put paid to that. With some outstanding GT3 machinery ready to take to the grid of the Carter’s Tyre Service South Island Endurance Series, the last lock down saw a change of racing dates and then both cars and personnel stuck in Auckland. Let’s hope the new ‘traffic-light’ system allows for both the North and South Island series’ to take place. Plus, who knows what other cool endurance cars may also land on our shores in time for this season of endurance racing.
The NZ rally season
While we all want Hayden Paddon to be competing overseas and preferably in the WRC, we don’t mind at all having him compete here at home. He has a passion for the sport and is just fantastic to watch (live) while bringing in the crowds of fans to all sorts of corners and valleys all over the countryside. What he has unconsciously done for the domestic competition is immeasurable. Rallying is on a high here in NZ and a key factor would have to be Paddon’s influence, even when he was competing so much overseas. Unfortunately the summer series of domestic circuit racing has been hit hard by the Auckland lockdown and (again) no Toyota Racing Series. It looks like we will have a full rally season so bring it on.
On the international stage, one to look forward to is Emma Gilmour who will compete in the 2022 Extreme E Series for McLaren Racing. Gilmour is the first female to drive for McLaren so when she takes to the start line at the end of February in Saudia Arabia, we will be watching this momentous occasion.
WRC here in NZ
No man is an island and this applies to New Zealand. We have to open our borders for people to come and go and it seems, fingers crossed, the the Government is heading that way in their policies for reopening. Omnicron isn’t helping the situation and who knows what other variant will come along. The announcement of a WRC round here in 2022 was a most welcome surprise and we still have time for policies and arrangements to take place for the show to hit town here in late September. If we can get this show on the road then it bodes well for other international motorsport events taking place, especially the 2023 Toyota Racing Series.
So hold on, 2022 could be a rough and challenging ride. While some may look back on 2021 as a dismal year, we had one of the best Formula One seasons ever which re-emphasises that real gems can be found out there in any situation. Take the opportunities that come along to compete, volunteer or spectate as we just don’t know what is around the corner.
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