The off-track dramas that added spice to F1 2022

By:

Luke Smith

Dec 19, 2022, 12:02 PM

Who thought that once the fallout from Abu Dhabi 2021 was out of the way F1 could just get on with racing? That proved a forlorn hope, as once again political drama abounded in 2022. Here's how the year's biggest controversies played out

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“The higher you rise, the sharper the knives. The quickest way to become unpopular in this paddock is to win consistently.”

Christian Horner is no stranger to Formula 1’s political jousting. During his 17-year stint as Red Bull’s team principal, he has outlasted and often outfoxed his competitors. But even he conceded that 2022 had proven to be one of the toughest seasons yet off-track through the various political battles.

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Luke Smith

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Luke Smith is Autosport’s Formula 1 reporter. Luke has been working in F1 as a journalist since 2013, initially alongside a History degree at University College London. Luke served as the lead F1 writer at American broadcaster NBC Sports from 2013-17 before spending two years as the F1 Editor for Crash.net. Luke joined Autosport for the 2020 season.

Luke is also a contributor to The New York Times for its F1 special reports, and has previously worked with Al Jazeera and CNBC, as well as hosting FIA press conferences. Outside of F1, Luke is a fan of sports and music, with an ever-growing vinyl collection, and has being bitten by the running bug in recent years. He also runs a surprisingly popular blog reviewing the often-terrible media centre coffee from his F1 travels.