Who will be F1's breakout star of 2022?

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were in a league of their own last year during an incredible title battle - partly helped by their Mercedes and Red Bull cars being so much faster than the rest.

But with new rules set to shake up the sport and close up the pack, there are plenty of drivers lining up to be known as F1's next big star.

Who will we be thinking of one of F1's elite come the end of 2022? Let's look at the contenders...

Age: 24. Races: 60. Teams: Williams, Mercedes. Wins: 0. Poles: 0. Podiums: 1. Points: 19. Best qualifying: 2nd (x2). Best race: 2nd (x1)

Nobody has a better chance to rise - both up the grid and in fans' estimations - than George Russell this year.

Despite spending his first three seasons at the back with Williams, Russell has to many displayed the makings of a future world champion during his F1 career, consistently extracting the maximum out of his car - particularly in qualifying where he has a quite incredible record - while also showing maturity beyond his years.

It has been obvious for a while that it was a matter of when and not if Mercedes decided to end his 'loan' at Williams and pair him up with Lewis Hamilton, and Russell now gets his big chance in 2022.

He is verging on the complete package for Mercedes. Still young but with F1 experience, extremely successful when also taking into his junior career into account, and also as much a proven commodity as the team could hope for given he shone when stepping in for Hamilton back in Bahrain two years ago.

This, meanwhile, is not just a golden ticket for Russell in terms of landing with the sport's eight-time world champions, it is also a win-win as not many will expect him to defeat Hamilton in his first season. Beat F1's most