The 022 was designed by Harvey Postlethwaite, succeeding the Mike Coughlan-designed Tyrrell 021 that had failed to score any championship points in 1993. The Yamaha OX10B engine continued as the team's power unit, part of an ongoing partnership between the historically significant British constructor and the Japanese manufacturer. For 1994 Tyrrell paired returning driver Ukyo Katayama, a Japanese racing talent competing in his second season with the outfit, with British driver Mark Blundell, who joined after a season at Ligier.
The 1994 Formula One season was one of the most turbulent in the sport's history, marked by the tragic deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the San Marino Grand Prix. Against this backdrop, the Tyrrell 022 struggled for outright pace against the leading teams, as was common for a mid-field constructor running customer engines.
The season's defining moment for the team came at the Spanish Grand Prix, where Mark Blundell drove to a podium finish — the final time Tyrrell would stand on the Formula One podium. This result was a significant achievement for a team operating on limited resources and underlined Blundell's ability to extract the maximum from the available machinery.
Ukyo Katayama had earlier missed the San Marino Grand Prix due to injury following a crash in practice. Despite that setback, the Japanese driver continued to develop as a Formula One competitor over the course of the season.
The 022 retained the principal sponsors that had backed Tyrrell in 1993, including Autodesk, BP, Calbee, and Club Angle. A notable addition to the livery was the Mild Seven branding from Japan Tobacco, replacing the Cabin cigarette brand that had appeared on the previous car. Due to tobacco advertising bans in certain countries, the Mild Seven logos were absent from the car at the French, British, and German Grands Prix.
Long after its active racing life, at least one example of the Tyrrell 022 found further competition use. In 2009, one of the chassis was entered in the US BOSS Championship, providing the car with a second chapter in historic and continuation racing.
The Tyrrell 022 holds a melancholy distinction as the car with which one of Formula One's most storied constructors achieved its last podium result. Tyrrell, founded by Ken Tyrrell and once a championship-winning team with Jackie Stewart, was by 1994 deep into a period of decline that would eventually see the team sold and rebranded as British American Racing ahead of the 1999 season. The final podium achieved by Mark Blundell in Spain remains a fitting, if bittersweet, milestone in the team's long history. The 022 was replaced the following year by the Tyrrell 023.