Mercedes' W13 Is put to the test at pre-season tests at Bahrain with Lewis Hamilton and new teammate George Russell behind the wheel. However, the car exhibits an incredibly unpleasant drive with an excessive amount of porpoising. The team has noticed the issue and plans to work on it before further tests commence. However, for Mercedes, the issue seems to remain unfixed. Indeed, the issues are present coming to the races at Imola, Spain, and Monaco, before arriving at the Baku City Circuit for Azerbaijan. Lewis' back starts to exhibit pain as he goes down the straights of Baku as Max Verstappen takes home the victory with Lewis taking fourth. After the race, the team principals convene for a meeting, where Toto Wolff of Mercedes expresses his dismay and concern about the safety of the drivers. The Silverstone round, which also coincided with Zhou Guanyu's big crash coming into Abbey, finishes with Lewis Hamilton taking third place and Carlos Sainz Jr. taking his first career victory in Formula One. Lewis, having questioned the possibilities of retirement following the 2021 season, announces he is here to stay with Mercedes.
Offering unprecedented access, Season 5 will once again take fans behind the scenes, to witness first-hand how the drivers and teams prepare to battle it out for victory in one of the sport’s most dramatic seasons to date. The first episode begins with a recap of the closing laps of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix controversy. After showing how important the relationship is between Guenther Steiner and Mattia Binotto for their respective teams, the 2022 Formula 1 season opens with pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The teams and drivers all prepare their cars for the upcoming races. This year also marks the largest changes to the cars in many years. Controversy arises when Haas F1 Team drops its major sponsor Uralkali along with its sponsored driver Nikita Mazepin due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Haas brings back Kevin Magnussen after he was let go from the team back in 2020. Current World Champion Max Verstappen finally makes an appearance on the show after having declined to appear in previous seasons. In the early races many teams, especially the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, have to deal with issues of porpoising, a potential problem related to Ground Effect, which returned after having been banned in 1982. The first race, the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix, is shown with both of the Red Bull cars losing power, Scuderia Ferrari achieving their first win in 910 days with their drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. taking first and second place respectively and Kevin Magnussen achieving fifth place on his first outing back at Haas.
Since the Silverstone GP, it's just gone up and up and up. For Max Verstappen, is kind of do or die. Only a few races remain, and for drivers desperate for any advantage they can get their hands on, the gloves are officially off.
(Click CC for subtitles) Rumors fly about whether an up-and-coming driver will join Hamilton on team Mercedes, potentially leaving Valtteri Bottas without a seat. Seemingly permanently stuck in the crisis of a one-year contract running out, this time Bottas has Mercedes golden boy George Russell breathing down his neck. The young Brit desperately wants Bottas’ seat, and things come to a head when the two collide at Imola. Scandalous. Bottas can’t resist the inevitable though, and after Russell puts the F1 on the front row at Spa, whilst the Finn can only manage eighth, it looks to be all over. Thus follows a scene of Russell being told he has the Mercedes seat by Wolff in a scene which looks so staged it would make even cringe.
They have the raw talent, but can they handle the pressure? Now Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon must sink or swim in the rough waters of Formula 1. Yuki Tsunoda had to move from Tokyo to Milton Keynes and F1 cars are proving a bit more difficult to wield than the F2 machine in which he won races. Esteban Ocon is part of the all-French attack (from Enstone) in the shape of Alpine, soaking up the pressure to win the Hungarian GP.
The Silverstone round, which also coincided with Zhou Guanyu's big crash coming into Abbey, finishes with Lewis Hamilton taking third place and Carlos Sainz Jr. taking his first career victory in Formula One. Lewis, having questioned the possibilities of retirement following the 2021 season, announces he is here to stay with Mercedes.