2022 F1 British GP Qualifying: Winners and Losers

The 2022 F1 British GP qualifying ended with Carlos Sainz at the top of the timesheets (who would have thought?). It is fair to say, however, that the rain and changing conditions did catch a few people off-guard.

While the grid for the 2022 F1 British GP is more or less decided, barring the odd penalty here and there, there will be a few people like Sainz jumping up and down with joy for his maiden pole position. Others, however, might not be too happy with how the session panned out. In this feature, let's take a look at some of the winners and losers of the 2022 F1 British GP qualifying.

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Winners and losers from 2022 F1 British GP Qualifying

Winner

Carlos Sainz

It's almost laughable how many people came after Carlos Sainz's head when he messed up the start of the season with Ferrari. Ever since his debut with Toro Rosso, Sainz has shown that he is a very good driver. A championship contender? Maybe not, but he is a solid, consistent performer for sure.

After this performance, the Spaniard does not jump back into contention for a title shot. What he does show, however, is that whenever the top guys mess up, he will be there to pick up the pieces.

Congratulations Carlos! You deserve this one.

Loser

Charles Leclerc

When you're almost 50 points behind in the championship, you don't make the mistake Charles Leclerc made on his last run. It should not have been Carlos Sainz, but Leclerc starting the race on pole position for the 2022 F1 British GP. As it turns out, Leclerc's mistake means he starts the race behind Max Verstappen.

The start of the race is going to be crucial for Charles Leclerc and his championship hopes. If he does not show the intent of a driver who is challenging for the title, it would mean curtains for his 2022 title fight.

Winner

Nicholas Latifi

There cannot be a bigger winner than Nicholas Latifi this evening (ok, maybe not, Carlos Sainz is the bigger winner). The Canadian driver has been through a lot this season. He's faced abuse online for what happened in Abu Dhabi last season.

His lack of performance compared to Alex Albon has been called out numerous times. There have been rumors that he will be replaced by Williams soon, and to rub salt in the wounds, when the new upgrade was brought to the car, it was given to Albon for the 2022 F1 British GP and not Latifi.

After securing the team's best qualifying spot of the year and his first Q3 berth, Latifi will be feeling quite satisfied with his efforts for the day.

Loser

Aston Martin and Haas

It was shocking to see Aston Martin and Haas qualify in the last two rows of the grid. This, however, is the fate that befell both teams. This time around, it cannot even be put down to driver error as not one but both cars faced the same predicament.

If the early indications are correct in Aston Martin's case, this does seem like a case of wrong tire pressure once again, which is simply not acceptable. In Haas' case, it's a bit unexplainable to see the team struggle to this extent after looking pretty good early in the session.

Both teams would be very disappointed with how the session went, but they only have themselves to blame.