
Top 50 Drivers of 2022
Autosport 2022 Top 50: #4 Lewis Hamilton
6th in Formula 1 World Championship


Hamilton needed time to clear his head away from the fallout from the 2021 Abu Dhabi Formula 1 title decider. But when he emerged from a winter silence to dismiss rumours that he might call time on his frontline career, the seven-time champion declared: “I’m putting every ounce of my energy and time into making sure that I’m the best you’ve ever seen.” But that promising level wasn’t quite what fans were treated to.
Hamilton has not long finished his first winless F1 season after 16 years in the top flight. Neither did he notch a pole position, while new team-mate George Russell achieved both. Those raw facts contribute to him falling to fourth in the Top 50 after five editions in a row at the very top. Of course, though, he was plying his trade in the Mercedes W13, which will likely go down as the worst car of his career, despite his efforts to troubleshoot and tame it.
Where it is possible to set the bad machinery fully to one side, Hamilton admits he didn’t quite hit the heights. “Not as many as in the past,” is his response when asked how many races he might have won this term should he have had a more competitive car.
But he still turned in plenty of standout drives. Guiding the bouncing and draggy W13 to a podium in the Bahrain opener once the Red Bulls retired was superb in the context of the rubbish ride. His qualifying speed and mastery of the Pirellis in France to clock second place was archetypal of what had previously delivered him 103 poles and grand prix wins.
It is the final Mercedes upgrade package of the season, rather than recency bias, that keeps him in fourth on our list. The tweaked aerodynamics and fortunate circumstances (Max Verstappen’s bad pitstop at Austin and the drag-mitigating altitude of Mexico City) enabled Hamilton to excel at the end of a difficult term. In North America, he was twice a genuine threat for victory before his new team-mate did the job in Brazil.
Why Hamilton gets the nod over victorious team-mate Russell
The case for George Russell outperforming his Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate in 2022 is both compelling and touted by many a fan and motorsport commentator. Including sprint races, the former Williams driver beat his seven-time champion colleague on 15 out of 25 occasions and ended the Silver Arrows dry spell by chalking victory in Brazil having already stuck it on pole in Hungary.

Hamilton and Russell were well-matched team-mates at Mercedes in 2022
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
However, when it soon struck that the W13 was a turkey, it was Hamilton who was quick to sacrifice his weekends to sort it. Mercedes admits sending its driver out with “dangerous” set-ups just so it could understand and try to resolve the returning porpoising sensation. This meant, from one practice run to the next, Hamilton could be circulating with the rideheight raised as high as it would go and then attempting to hang onto a car that was slammed into the ground.
PLUS: Why Mercedes believes it can make the step F1 needs to fight Red Bull
It was his experience, his ability to have “constructive arguments” with the engineers and the fact that an eighth title very quickly looked well out of reach that meant Hamilton was willing to sacrifice sessions and a huge chunk of his season. It wasn’t Russell’s fault that he was the newcomer, but he didn’t face this problem-solving obstacle as much when he ran to top-five finishes in the opening nine rounds.
As for Brazil, there is no doubt that Russell thrived. He nursed the soft tyres wonderfully and raced fiercely to depose Max Verstappen in the sprint before controlling two safety car restarts to lead the grand prix fairly serenely to victory. However, that was predicated on qualifying third, which was the somewhat fortunate by-product of him ditching the W13 into the gravel early into Q3 to allow rain to arrive. No matter how brilliant Russell was for the rest of the weekend, it is important to look beyond the headline result and acknowledge the touch of good fortune that came his way.
All that said, picking between Russell and Hamilton was an immensely tough call. That is reflected in the fact that no driver from F1 or any other series has split them in our Top 50 ranking. But, when push came to shove, it was the elder statesman who just got the nod.

Hamilton pips Russell in Autosport's Top 50 this year - but only just
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Related video

Autosport 2022 Top 50: #3 Kalle Rovanpera
Autosport 2022 Top 50: #5 George Russell

Latest news
Why the time was right for Ford's F1 return with Red Bull
Some 22 years after pulling the plug out of Jaguar and handing the keys to a certain Dietrich Mateschitz, the paths of Ford and Red Bull have crossed again. And their 2026 Formula 1 alliance makes sense for both parties.
Vandoorne joins Peugeot WEC team as reserve driver
Reigning Formula E champion Stoffel Vandoorne will serve as Peugeot’s official reserve driver in its first full season in the World Endurance Championship in 2023.
Red Bull duo say Ricciardo F1 sim input will be a boost
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez reckon Red Bull will gain significantly from Daniel Ricciardo working in its simulator on Formula 1 weekends as part of his new third driver role.
Who needs a big year in MotoGP in 2023?
The beginning of the new season provides many with a fresh start, and for a few MotoGP contenders this applies for different reasons. From fighting to stay on the grid to battling for even bigger prizes beyond trophies, here’s five figures in need of a massive 2023
The 2022 Autosport Awards winner using Esports as a launchpad
A trail blazed in Esports has inspired a revamp of the annual prize that aims to discover the best young engineering talent. Autosport met Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future winner Michael Preston
The plug in and play stand-ins who got their timing just right
Nyck de Vries’s Italian GP exploits weren’t the first post-eleventh-hour call-up in motorsport history, and won’t be the last either. Here are some offbeat tales from the past
Porsche’s hopeful Le Mans future meets its illustrious past
Rising sportscar star Adam Smalley had to pinch himself when offered the chance to drive the car that won the world’s most famous enduro in 1987
Why romanticism isn't the key factor in Lola’s racing return
The iconic Lola name is being relaunched after it was taken over by new ownership. Part of that reboot is a planned return to racing, though the exact details of this are still to be finalised - though its new owner does have a desire to bring the brand back to the Le Mans 24 Hours. But romanticism doesn't appear to be the driving force behind this renewed project...
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Autosport has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The hidden racing gem attracting ex-F1 heroes
It’s rarely mentioned when it comes to assessing the best national contests, but the Brazilian Stock Car series that reaches its climax this weekend has an ever-growing appeal. Its expanding roster of ex-Formula 1 names has helped to draw in new fans, but it's the closeness of competition that keeps them watching
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.