Formula 1: 3 things to watch for as the season winds down

3 things to watch before 2022 ends: No. 2 – Team battles to be settled

With Max Verstappen and Red Bull already having been crowned champions, there’s not a battle for the top that rivals last year’s thriller. With that being said, there is certainly a lot that has not yet been settled.

The battle for second place is still up for grabs between Ferrari and Mercedes. Ferrari are currently holding on to a 67-point advantage over the Silver Arrows, but a slew of mistakes this season has kept Mercedes within striking distance.

All eyes continue to be on the Ferrari pit wall, where there has been increased scrutiny following questionable calls that have allowed Red Bull to pull away from the Scuderia.

Moving down the rankings, Alpine and McLaren have been neck and neck all season long. Alpine are just 11 points ahead of McLaren in fourth place with three races left. Both teams are essentially fighting for the title of the “best of the rest”, as the top three teams of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes have stormed ahead of the others.

All eyes will be on the four drivers who make up these two teams. Lando Norris has proven to be the most reliable driver of the four, sitting in seventh place in the driver standings with a 31-point cushion ahead of Esteban Ocon in eighth.

However, teammate Daniel Ricciardo has hampered the team’s scoring ability with a lackluster season thus far. Meanwhile, a more even battle between Ocon and Fernando Alonso has kept Alpine close to McLaren up to this point.

In a less exciting yet noteworthy update, only 17 points separate sixth place Alfa Romeo with ninth place AlphaTauri. More interestingly, AlphaTauri trail Haas by a single point for eighth.

Considering the fact that each position in the constructor standings is a difference of millions of dollars, each team is scrambling to score as many points as possible before the season is over.