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.

(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.

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.

As another fierce season comes to a close, Mercedes and Red Bull face off in what may be the biggest winner-takes-all race of a generation.

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.

The first outing of the Miami Grand Prix is starting, and Ferrari looks to continue their successful streak starting from Bahrain and Australia into Miami. Ferrari's two drivers Charles Leclerc - who is leading the Drivers' Championship coming into the race - and Carlos Sainz Jr. lock out the first two rows of the grid. In the race, Verstappen immediately takes second from Sainz, and would take the lead by the ninth lap. Soon, McLaren's Lando Norris makes contact with Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri, bringing out the safety car. Leclerc's old tires soon give him a disadvantage, which Verstappen exploits in his first victory in Miami. Leclerc finishes second ahead of his teammate.
As the season continues, Ferrari continues to make errors that end up costing their drivers the win; in Monaco, Leclerc leads the race as Sainz is brought in - but Leclerc, having been told to come in too, follows Sainz into the pits - only being told to stay out after he had already came in for his stop - handing Red Bull's Sergio Pérez the victory as Leclerc finishes fourth; in Baku, both Ferraris - Leclerc leading - retire due to mechanical failure with Verstappen winning; and in Canada, both Ferraris stay out again and are inconvenienced by their old rubber, handing Verstappen the win once again.
At a rainy Silverstone qualification, Sainz scores his first pole position in his career, and Leclerc, having spun earlier in quali, takes third. The race starts with a big crash for Zhou Guanyu, red-flagging the race. The race starts with Sainz, having retained his grid position, getting a good start; by lap ten, Sainz continues to control the field, but makes an error, allowing Verstappen to take the lead. However, the Red Bull driver reports a puncture and pits, allowing Sainz to take the lead again with Leclerc behind. Soon, the Ferrari pit wall tells Sainz to give the position to Leclerc as Esteban Ocon retires due to mechanical issues, bringing out a safety car. As Leclerc is told to stay out on his old tires, Sainz is brought in for fresh rubber. The race restarts and Sainz overtakes his struggling teammate for first, going on to win his first race in his career. Mattia Binotto, acknowledging the strategical errors made throughout the season thus far, resolves to fix them in the following races.