Lewis Hamilton walked past Max Verstappen’s car in Barcelona, giving it a glance ahead of the first day of pre-season testing.
Pre-season testing in Barcelona is finally under way. F1 teams are testing out their 2022 challengers, something that they’ve been working on over the last few months.
This season’s testing has drawn in more interest than usual for several reasons. Massive regulation changes are expected to shake the field up, and have also made the new cars look radically different from it’s predecessors.
On top of that, there is a lot of excitement surrounding Ferrari’s upcoming campaign. Many people are tipping them off as a potential title challenger this year. As a result, fans are keeping a close eye on the Italian team’s timings on the chart.
Charles Leclerc finishes on top for the morning session of running with a time of 1:20.165! ⏱#F1 @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/w10kRpdGHY
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 23, 2022
Another reason for widespread anticipation has been Lewis Hamilton’s presence on the paddock. After his heartbreaking loss to Verstappen last December, rumors surfaced about Hamilton retiring from F1.
A few weeks ago, he broke silence on social media and announced that he won’t leave the sport. Fans are glad to have him back in the paddock, and expect him to go all out, in his bid to win his eighth World Title.
Another Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen duel in 2022?
On the first day of F1 pre-season testing in Barcelona, Hamilton spent a lot of time walking around the pitlane before getting behind the W13’s wheel.
He also put in a quick glance towards Max Verstappen’s car, that had the number 1 on it’s front when he passed the Red Bull garage. Despite the massive regulation changes, many team bosses feel that Red Bull and Mercedes will continue to fight at the front.
Lewis giving the Red Bull garage a visit…
📸 [@AlbertFabrega] pic.twitter.com/vYP9Z8LSlJ
— formularacers (@formularacers_) February 23, 2022
Verstappen for one, hopes that the 2022 Title fight is not as intense as last year’s. The Dutchman insists that winning multiple Championships involves a fair share of good luck. He went on to say that if every year in F1 is as stressful as the 2021 season, he wouldn’t last long.
Other than the anticipation surrounding a Hamilton Verstappen duel, Ferrari are the team to watch out for in 2022. After making amends on their disastrous 2020 campaign last year, the Maranello based team aim to compete for race wins once again this year.
Also read: What do we know about the new F1 2022 cars following the testing in Barcelona?
