The championship was contested over twenty-two Grands Prix, which were held around the world, and ended earlier than in recent years to avoid overlapping with the FIFA World Cup. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Pirelli, and each team was required to enter at least two drivers.
Honda initially stated that they would not supply power units beyond 2021. The company had provided power units to Scuderia AlphaTauri since 2018 and to Red Bull Racing since 2019. Red Bull Racing planned to take over Honda's engine programme and manage it in-house, under a new division called Red Bull Powertrains. This decision followed lobbying for an engine development freeze until 2025. Honda later agreed to continue supplying Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri for 2023 with engines, which were rebadged to Red Bull Powertrains. In addition to assembly and maintenance, Honda continued to provide technical and operational oversight during race weekends.
Kimi Räikkönen retired following the conclusion of the 2021 championship. Räikkönen won 21 races and the 2007 World Drivers' Championship across a 19-season Formula One career. Räikkönen's seat at Alfa Romeo was filled by Valtteri Bottas, who left Mercedes after five seasons. George Russell replaced Bottas, vacating the seat he had held for three seasons at Williams. Russell was replaced by former Red Bull Racing driver Alex Albon after competing in the 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series. Zhou Guanyu, who finished third in the 2021 Formula 2 Championship, joined Alfa Romeo, becoming the first Chinese driver to compete in Formula One. Nikita Mazepin was originally contracted to compete for Haas, but his contract was terminated following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resultant cancellation of Uralkali's title sponsorship. He was replaced by Kevin Magnussen, who had last competed in 2020 with the same team.
Ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel tested positive for coronavirus. He was replaced at the event, and the subsequent Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, by Aston Martin reserve driver Nico Hülkenberg. During the Italian Grand Prix weekend, Alex Albon suffered from appendicitis. He was replaced at Williams by Nyck de Vries, the 2020–21 Formula E and 2019 Formula 2 Champion, who made his Formula One race debut.
The 2022 World Championship saw an overhaul of the technical regulations, with ground effect aerodynamics reintroduced for the first time since 1982. These changes had been intended for 2021 but were delayed until 2022 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The FIA anticipated that the car performance deficit between the fastest and slowest teams on the grid would be cut by half compared to 2021. Drivers were consulted on developing the new technical regulations, which were deliberately written to be restrictive to prevent teams from developing radical designs that limited the ability of drivers to overtake.
Significant changes were also made to race direction following the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Michael Masi was removed from the role of race director and replaced by Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas, who assumed the role on an alternating basis. Herbie Blash was appointed as permanent senior advisor to the race director. The FIA also introduced a new virtual race control system and banned team communications that lobby race officials.
The Australian Grand Prix saw Charles Leclerc win from pole position, leading every lap. Verstappen claimed pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and won the race, with Sergio Pérez finishing second, marking Red Bull Racing's first 1–2 finish since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix. Verstappen took his fourteenth race win of the season at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Emilia Romagna, Austrian, and São Paulo Grands Prix featured the sprint format.
The Belgian Grand Prix was marked by a safety car period. At the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen secured the World Championship. The United States Grand Prix saw a collision between Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
This was the final season for four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel. The season also marked the final races for Nicholas Latifi and Mick Schumacher.
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