By Jack Broughton — Correspondent

Following the release of all the team’s cars for the 2022 Formula 1 season the teams met up in Barcelona. The three days of pre-season running, give the teams not just a chance to grab some valuable track time, but to also see just how good the opposition is looking. Next, the teams are traveling to Bahrain to continue testing. The 2022 season takes off at the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20. Charles Leclerc got first in qualifying and then fought off Max Verstappen of Redbull for the win of the race.

Every team has off years but it’s weird to see one of the oldest teams to have one with so much success in their past, said Sharon High Senior Daniel Zagoren. “It was odd for Ferrari to have an off-year but I believe that they will be back to their old form this year. They have a good driver line-up with Carlos Sainz, one of the most consistent drivers in formula 1, and Charles Leclerc. I do feel happy for Leclerc with getting pole during qualifying and then winning the Bahrain Grand Prix.”

“I really hope that this year the races are a lot closer and you don’t have the dominant guys winning every race. Personally, I would like to see a lot more battles for the win of a race and hopefully a lot more competitive racing” added Zagoren.

With the season approaching soon the teams will have to get as many practice laps as possible before the season begins said Sharon High Senior Shane Sekuler. “With more laps the more data the teams will have to improve their cars before the season begins. Even though it’ll be the first race will show everyone where the cars and the drivers stand against each other.”

“There’s nothing to worry about from a fan’s perspective since it’s only the first race of the season. You really need to worry if nothing is fixed by the summer break. I think that next year will be very competitive since the teams will understand what works and what doesn’t.” added Sekuler.

I think it this year will be really exciting for fans to watch said Sharon High Senior Daniel Beiser.

“I was very surprised to see that Haas was in the top 5 fastest teams. I was also shocked to see the Mercedes has dropped down a few places. I was kind of expecting them to be leading the competition and be in the same spot as last year.”

Someone at Mercedes might have screwed up with the power units this year said Sharon High Senior Daniel Zagoren. “It was surprising that everyone with a Mercedes power unit ended up in the bottom 6 in the past race. I don’t believe that’s a coincidence so someone messed up. I was kind of disappointed since I’m a McLaren fan and they weren’t competitive at all, but it’s only the first race so it’s hard to tell. I just hope that for McLaren their season gets better and they can be in some races.”

“It was also heartbreaking to see what happened to both RedBull cars which had engine problems and ended up finishing the race early. Both drivers had a great race and would’ve ended up finishing second and fourth scoring points for themselves and their team,” added Zagoren.