Improvements every F1 driver has to make: Part 2

After evaluating the drivers in the bottom half of the grid last week, here’s part two of our feature pinpointing one key area for each Formula 1 driver to improve in 2022 featuring those from Alpine, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull.

Esteban Ocon: Match Alonso’s peaks

There’s a strong argument that Esteban Ocon should simply continue as he is after a season in which he survived and thrived alongside Fernando Alonso.

The Alpine pair formed one of the most productive partnerships on the 2021 grid and were equal in the qualifying head-to-head battle, but despite Ocon being the one to claim the Enstone team’s first win since 2013 it is still Alonso most expect to bring a touch of magic.

Could Esteban ever produce the kind of performance Fernando did in Qatar, for instance, transcending his machinery to such an obscene level?

If Alonso is to hit those heights with more regularity in the second season of his comeback, the onus will be on Ocon to go with him.

Fernando Alonso: Stop wasting energy

He has cut a more relaxed figure on his return to F1 – but Alonso wouldn’t be Alonso without a little friction in the air, would he?

His main source of irritation in 2021 was the stewards, whom he felt were lenient on Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc after both used the run off to pass him at Turn 1 at the start in Styria.

To test the stewards’ stance, Alonso blatantly made no attempt to take T2 in Sochi – having indicated his intention on the reconnaissance lap – and it all finally spilled over in Austin, where after forcing Kimi Raikkonen to pass him off track he gave Antonio Giovinazzi both barrels.

It was a distracted, self-sabotaging performance straight out of the McLaren-Honda years – a day when making a point took