The British Grand Prix always lives up to its hype and with wet qualifying conditions, the race just got interesting. The 2022 British Grand Prix had plenty of action right from Red Flags to plenty of overtakes in the later stages of the race that include some stunning comebacks and intense battles for the podium places. Here are the winners and losers from the tenth round of the F1 2022 season:
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Carlos Sainz converted his first Formula 1 pole position into his first F1 victory in an action-packed British Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit. Long-time race leader Charles Leclerc who stayed out on used Hards during the late safety car while his teammate and several other drivers made switch to Softs. He had it coming! Sainz pounced on his Ferrari teammate to move into the lead with a massive gap between him and the remaining podium positions as he became the 40th Ferrari driver and only the second Spaniard to win a Grand Prix winner.
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The turn 1 incident from the 2022 British GP proves how dangerous the sport is, but it also proves that FIA are doing everything to ensure drivers safety and this time it was the Halo working miracles again. Zhou Gyanyu’s Alfa Romeo car flipped upside down after it made contact with Russell’s Mercedes and launched over the tyre barrier, into the fencing. Zhou then lodged between the barrier and the fence before being extracted and brought to the medical center for evaluation. After a complete check, Zhou was discharged from the facility with no injuries and said, “The Halo saved me today, and it goes to show that every step we take in improving our cars has real, valuable results”
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Sergio Perez went in for an early pitstop after damaging his front wing dropped him to last but the Mexican made an excellent recovery by finishing P2. Perez was probably settling for a P4 finish until a late safety car fell into his favor. It gave him an opportunity to go at Hamilton and Leclerc on the way to the podium and that’s what the Red Bull driver did! Perez wasted little time in passing Hamilton but the Brit did not give up, he fought back but Perez came out victorious in the battle. While he had little chance of catching Sainz, Perez overtook Leclerc and contributed to a damage limitation for his teammate Max Verstappen.
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We had this one coming! Mick Schumacher, after ten rounds of the 2022 F1 Season finally bags his first points finish in Formula 1. Starting 16th on the track, Schumacher’s Haas never looked competitive at Silverstone but a chaotic race start set the throne for a dramatic grand prix. A few times this season, Schumacher has been quick and competitive but something or the other pulled him out of points but that wasn’t the case at Silverstone. In the end, Schumacher crossed the line P8, which will be an enormous confidence boost to his Formula 1 career.
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For a brief part of the race, it looked like Leclerc could take 20 points off Verstappen in the championship but it was only six instead. Leclerc and his difficult run of races continued as he pulled out of his podium spot in the later stages of the race with Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton both overtaking him on fresher tyres. And once again, it was a strategy blunder from Ferrari that cost Leclerc his race and crucial points in the championship battle.
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After taking P2 in qualifying, Verstappen looked hungry for the race win. The Dutchman took the lead of the race from the start but a red flag going into turn 1 meant that he would have to do it again. Sainz was prepared this time as he blocked Verstappen going into turn 1, but the Dutchman came back flying to take the lead. Things were going well for the defending world champion but he took a damage to his RB18 floor that saw a drop in downforce and had to pit early, giving away the lead. In the end, the best Verstappen could do was a P7 finish which is a poor finish considering his standards.
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The AlphaTauri’s of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda weren’t at their best heading into the Silverstone weekend but the turn 1 chaos allowed them to rise to a promising P7 and P8 finish; at least until Tsunoda’s clumsy move that sent them tumbling down the order. Tsunoda’s attempt to pass Pierre Gasly after the restart wrecked both their races with Tsunoda finishing last and Gasly ending his race with a DNF.
Shashank Iyer