Why F1 2022's biggest political fight may not be at the front

OPINION: The wait for the 2022 Formula 1 season to get underway is almost over. Much has been said about the rivalries between the top teams, but it may well be that the biggest rumble this season is instead focused entirely on what again looks like a tight midfield fight

The focus for the majority of Formula 1 teams so far this winter has been on getting their 2022 cars out of the factory door, out on track and as ready as they can be for the start of the season. Amid the intensity of making sure testing has given teams the answers they need about themselves, and the guessing games on what rivals are up to, the reality of the competitive situation hasn't hit home yet.

But don't think for a second that this state of affairs will last long. Because once the tyre blankets come off in anger this weekend and cars are finally fully unleashed, that will trigger full-scale battles both on and off track.

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Author Jonathan Noble

Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.

Jonathan has won multiple awards for journalism - in 1991 he was the winner of the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Sir William Lyons’ Award for young journalists, in 2010 he was awarded the Outstanding Individual accolade for consumer journalism in the Haymarket wards, in 2011 he won Haymarket’s Scoop of the Year, and in 2018 he was awarded a prestigious Medaglia d’Oro at the Lorenzo Bandini Awards for his contribution to F1 journalism.