SUTTON
Can Mercedes recover enough to battle Red Bull for honours?
Mercedes suffered its worst Formula 1 campaign since 2012 this year. It’s well-known that the new ground-effects regulations caught out the Silver Arrows, despite impressive downforce numbers on paper, but there were signs of recovery in the final months of the season.
There’s still a way to go to challenge Red Bull, but there are plenty of reasons to think Mercedes could be the team to take the fight to Max Verstappen and co in 2023. The key figures certainly believe so, as Matt Kew discovers in this week’s cover feature (page 16).
It’s important for F1 and neutrals that Mercedes does recover quickly. With the big three still clear of the rest, Ferrari still unproven in a championship fight and the disruption that Mattia Binotto’s departure will surely create, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell could be the only drivers with a chance to stop the Verstappen steamroller in 2023.
Verstappen and Red Bull were two of your big achievers at the Autosport Awards last Sunday (p36). They were undoubtedly worthy winners, while other highlights included appearances from American motorsport legend Roger Penske and outgoing four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel – both picked up special awards.
The final winner of a star-studded evening was Luke Browning, who became the 2022 winner of the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award – and received his prize from Vettel (p52). Congratulations to all and thank you to all those who voted.
Kevin Turner Chief Editor kevin.turner@autosport.com
NEXT WEEK 15 DECEMBER F1 season review All the action, tech, stories
and politics from the 2022 season, plus our
top 10 drivers
COVER IMAGES Sam Bloxham/Glenn Dunbar/ Motorsport Images
PIT & PADDOCK 4 DTM uncertainty as promoter disbands 6 Grosjean joins Lambo LMDh line-up 8 Chadwick heads for IndyCar supports 10 Obituary: Patrick Tambay 13 Opinion: Alex Kalinauckas 14 Guest column: Phil Hanson 15 Feedback: your letters
INSIGHT 16 Mercedes’ F1 comeback and 2023 24 BRM’s rollercoaster road to F1 success 32 Top 10 BRM F1 drivers
AUTOSPORT AWARDS 36 All the 2022 winners you voted for 52 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award 54 Christmas gi guide
RACE CENTRE 59 World of Sport: Australian Supercars; S5000 Tasman Series
CLUB AUTOSPORT 67 Elite to race McLaren Arturas in Euro GT4 68 Britcar to run new Prototype series 70 Obituary: Charles Barter 71 Opinion: Stephen Lickorish 72 The state of club racing in 2022
FINISHING STRAIGHT 80 What’s on this week 82 My favourite team-mate: Christian Fittipaldi
SUBSCRIPTION OFFER 66 Special deals for Autosport
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8 DECEMBER 2022 AUTOSPORT.COM 3
