Final battles of 2022: Alfa, Alpha, Haas and Aston battle for cash

With two Grands Prix to go, the 2022 Formula 1 season is almost over. The battle for the world title is over, but there are still some interesting battles in the background. GPblog looks ahead to the duel for P6 and P8 among the constructors.

Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo battle for P6

In the battle for sixth place among the constructors are Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin. Alfa Romeo has been firmly in this spot all year, but the team fell away in the second half of the season. In Mexico and Italy, the team scored one point twice and before that, the last points date back to the Austrian Grand Prix.

It is a big contrast to Aston Martin. The British racing team started the season dramatically with the first three races without points. Through the year, though, the AMR22 developed well, with Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll accumulating more and more points in the second half of the season. Thus, AlphaTauri and Haas were already passed and Alfa Romeo seems to be the next target.

The Swiss racing team still has a four-point lead over Aston Martin. In Mexico, it did become clear that the AMR22 is not so good at altitude, as the British team's drivers finished P14 and P15 there. Interlagos is lower than the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, but still higher than many other circuits. So the chances are that both teams will not score any points in Brazil.

In Abu Dhabi, then, it has to happen for the British team. That is where everything comes together and, given Alfa Romeo's form, they need not expect too much resistance from there. The aim should be to finish in the points with both drivers and score at least five points, or more if Alfa Romeo unexpectedly does score a point. Aston Martin are the clear favourites in this duel, but will Vettel and Stroll drag out the result? They will have to, given the team's budget and resources.

Haas versus AlphaTauri for P8

Haas and AlphaTauri can still finish sixth in theory, but in practice it will be difficult to really bridge a gap of 17 or 18 points. For the two teams, it will mainly be for the eighth spot and that will be exciting enough.

Haas currently holds the lead, even if it is only one point. Like Alfa Romeo (and, to a lesser extent, Ferrari), Haas has also produced lesser performances after the summer break. It scored 34 points before the break, only two after. Those two points were scored by Kevin Magnussen in America, after which the team had nothing at all to contribute at altitude in Mexico.

AlphaTauri continues to perform erratically. Throughout the season, it has yet to finish in the points with both cars, but its performance has been consistent. The outlier of fifth place in Azerbaijan is unlikely to be surpassed again, but even after the summer break, the Italian racing stable still scored points four times. In Mexico, it was close but Yuki Tsunoda was denied a chance of points by Daniel Ricciardo.

The chances of Haas scoring any more points are extremely slim. The pace has not been there since the summer break, the team is not making any updates and Abu Dhabi is not a place where crazy things happen. Brazil could still be successful, especially with the predicted rain, but then it remains to be seen whether Magnussen and Mick Schumacher manage to take advantage of it. Besides, the VF-22 proved to be totally out of tune in Mexico.

AlphaTauri has the better chances on paper in that respect. It was close in Mexico and scored points in Belgium, Italy and America on power circuits similar to Abu Dhabi. The problem is that the AT03 is on the brink of scoring points. If points are scored at all, they are not many. AlphaTauri needs at least two points to grab P8. The sprint race in Brazil could help with that, as there are extra points to be earned for the team there.