Sky Sports season review, F1 and W Series: Pundits on most improved drivers, best overtakes and more

After two dramatic seasons, the Sky Sports F1 pundits sat down to pick their most memorable moments from Formula 1, and W Series, in 2022. From best races to overtakes, drivers to teams, have a watch and read their selections!

Formula 1 2022

Favourite race?

Natalie Pinkham: “I have to say Silverstone, it was a brilliant race. We had high drama, a maiden win for Carlos Sainz, that massive crash at the start where Zhou Guanyu was so lucky.

“It had everything, incredible overtakes, and an amazing British crowd.

Simon Lazenby: “I was going to pick that too! It was the best race.”

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Relive some of the best races this year in Formula 1, including the Bahrain, British, Hungarian, US and Sao Paulo Grand Prix’s

Karun Chandhok: “Brazilian GP. I like seeing new drivers win in F1 and that weekend we saw George Russell win twice.

“It was a great drive and I think that last stint of the race, him and Lewis Hamilton on aged tyres in the same cars, they were really going for it. It was qualifying-level of intensity lap after lap and George didn’t buckle under pressure.

“It was a superb drive.”

David Croft: Saudi Arabia was my race of the year. There was a big change in the way Max Verstappen raced against Charles Leclerc, I thought the two of them going at it for long periods was absolutely brilliant, there was a lot of jeopardy with Safety Cars and I thought it was a fabulous race.”

Overtake of the season?

NP: “I’m going to go for a double double. Lewis on Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc at Silverstone and I’m also going for Daniel Ricciardo at Hungary, when he overtook both Alpines in one fell sweep. There must be something so satisfying in a double overtake!”

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Watch Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc produce an incredible wheel-to-wheel fight for P2 at the British Grand Prix

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Daniel Ricciardo pulls off a brilliant double overtake on the Alpines

SL: “I’m going to big up Lance Stroll. I remember having a conversation with Andy Stevenson [Aston Martin team manager] a couple of years ago and he said one of the strengths of Lance was his starts.

“In treacherous conditions at the Japanese GP, it might not have been the sweetest move, but he went from 19th, down the wall to 11th!

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Karun Chandhok talks through a chaotic start to the Japanese GP as the race is red-flagged in heavy rain

KC: “I’m going to go for Kevin Magnussen on Pierre Gasly in Saudi Arabia because it’s a really high-speed track, really narrow between the walls and K-Mag doesn’t half get his elbows out.”

DC: “Sebastian Vettel on Magnussen in Austin. Some things happen in an instant, other things take a while to set up.

“Seb had a 16-second delay to his pit-stop charging back through the field, Kevin was trying to make a contra-strategy work. Seb was 0.8s behind Kevin going into the last lap and he got him around the outside of Turn 16.

“It was a brilliantly well-thought-out move and it showed there was still life in him right towards the end of his career.”

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Take a look at some of the best overtakes from the 2022 season

Most improved driver?

NP: “I know he was a rookie this year but I’m going to say Zhou. I think to keep his head at times this season, he’s approached it really calmly and I think he really grew as a driver.”

SL: “Alex Albon. I don’t think he was ever a bad driver – the poisoned chalice that is driving alongside Max Verstappen skewed his talent.

“He came from that group who did so well in F2 together, with George and Lando Norris, and they both looked up to him from his karting days.

“He’s been a team leader and I think he’s got the potential, the talent, to drive further up the field moving forward.”

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A look back at the funniest, angriest and most emotional radio messages from 2022

KC: “Russell. We knew how good he was in a Williams but until you see a driver in a top team, taking the pressure, up against one of the greatest of all time, you don’t quite know if they’re going to make that transition.

“George rose to that challenge.”

DC: “Verstappen. I think he was a more complete driver, with less errors, than he was in 2021. I don’t really think he put a foot wrong.”

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Speaking in Sky F1’s season review, commentator David Croft says Max Verstappen raced differently against Charles Leclerc this season compared to versus Lewis Hamilton in 2021

Most improved team?

NP: Mercedes. I’m thinking about it within the confines of one season, where they started to where they finished.

“That car was bouncing around at the start of the season and we thought it was going to be a season-long struggle. But something clicked there, and they dug deep.”

KC: I’m going to say Haas, because statistically, they did improve the most from last season!

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Speaking in Sky F1’s season review, pundit Karun Chandhok says that out of every team next year, Mercedes’ car will look the most different at pre-season testing

“They had quite a turbulent off-season, they hit the ground running and finished eighth in the championship, earning them an extra £25m.”

DC: In a similar vein, the Aston Martin that finished the season compared to the one that started it… they completely changed the concept of the car.

“Alfa Romeo had a big head start on them but in the end, it took until the very last corner of the last lap of the last race to settle that battle for sixth.”

W Series 2022

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Most controversial moment? Most improved driver? Best overtake? Former W Series driver Naomi Schiff picks out the standout moments from the 2022 season

Most memorable moment?

Naomi Schiff: “My most memorable moment of the season has got to be Jess Hawkins claiming her first-ever W Series podium in Miami this year.

“I know Jess very well, she’s a lovely character. She’s done so much to get to this point and it hasn’t always worked her way. So for all her hard work to finally pay off, that was a great moment for all of us. We were all happy to see her on the podium.”

Controversial moment?

NS: “It has got to be Alice Powell clipping Emma Kimilainen on what was the penultimate or last lap of the race in Miami. That caused a little bit of upset!”

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Could former W Series and IndyCar’s Jamie Chadwick be the first female since the 1970s to compete in Formula One?

Standout performer?

NS: “Hands down, Jamie Chadwick.”

Most improved driver?

NS: “There’s a lot of them on the grid that have improved a lot this season, but I’m going to go with a bit of a plot twist and give it to Beitske Visser.

“She had a fantastic season in year one and fought for the championship but then didn’t have a great year last year. She struggled a little bit at the beginning of this season, but really managed to turn it around and end up second in the championship.”

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Watch back some of the greatest moves on track from 2022 of the W Series

Best move of the season?

NS: “It has to go to Alice Powell. That move that she made on Martha Garcia in Singapore between turns 17 and 18, she was pretty much under the bridge, under the tunnel.”

Driver to watch next season?

NS: “Although there’s a lot of talent on the grid and there’s a lot of drivers to watch out for, I’m going to give it to Chloe Chambers.

“Chloe was a rookie this season, scored points quite quickly and has shown real improvement throughout the season. So I think we’ll see some exciting stuff from her next year.”