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Charles Leclerc picked up a surprise but welcome win at the 2022 F1 Austrian GP after holding off a late charge from Max Verstappen. In a race that featured far more than what was anticipated, there was wheel-to-wheel action, there was drama, there was heartbreak, and there were some great drives as well. All that, however, was capped off by the final shootout between Verstappen and Leclerc for the win.
In a race where Leclerc clearly had a much better car as compared to Verstappen, the Ferrari driver suffered from a late-race throttle problem and then did just enough to secure his first win since the 2022 F1 Australian GP.
Behind the two frontrunners was Lewis Hamilton, who secured a surprise third position while his teammate was fourth. Alpine's Esteban Ocon completed the top 5 as the French driver secured an impressive result for the team. So, in case you missed the race, here's what happened.
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#1 Charles Leclerc beats Max Verstappen to win the 2022 F1 Austrian GP as Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez DNF
"We will get them tomorrow" was what Charles Leclerc said after the 2022 F1 Austrian GP Sprint race. This was something that had left even Martin Brundle puzzled. On Sunday, that was exactly what the Ferrari driver did. After the first few laps, Max Verstappen started encountering tire deg issues that allowed Leclerc to close the gap and pass the Red Bull driver.
After the first stint, it was all but obvious that Ferrari was kinder to its tires as compared to Red Bull and the reigning champion was a sitting duck for Leclerc. Things did, however, get interesting as, after Carlos Sainz's DNF induced a VSC, Leclerc encountered issues with his throttle. The Ferrari driver managed to work through the issues and keep Verstappen at bay in the end to win the race.
Meanwhile, the 2022 F1 Austrian GP was a race to forget for both Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz as both suffered DNFs in the race. For Perez, it was the first lap collision with Russell that ended all hopes for a strong result. For Sainz, it was the unexpected PU failure that forced him out of the race.
#2 Lewis Hamilton secures his third podium in a row
Lewis Hamilton was the benefactor of attrition as with one Red Bull and Ferrari driver each out of the race, it opened up a spot on the podium. With teammate George Russell facing front wing damage and a 5-second penalty, the seven-time world champion only had to make his way through the midfield drivers, which he did very well early in the race.
Speaking of Mercedes' speed, even though the track did not feature too many bumps or porpoising on the W13, the car was still nowhere close to either Red Bull or Ferrari. A rather humbling experience for the Brackley-based outfit this one.
#3 Mick Schumacher puts together his best-ever F1 weekend
Mick Schumacher was adjudged the Driver of the Day by fans and it has to be said that he fully deserved it. The Haas driver was very angry at his team for not letting him get ahead of his teammate Kevin Magnussen during the 2022 F1 Austrian GP sprint. As it turned out, he was in a similar position on Sunday as well as he was stuck behind his slower teammate.
This time around, though, Schumacher got his wish and duly pulled away from Magnussen to secure a career-best P6 finish. The German is gaining confidence now and it will be interesting to see how high his ceiling is.
#4 Penalties Galore!
It was a weird race in terms of punishments as throughout the race there were a plethora of 5-second time penalties and black and white flags for track limit infringements.
During the 2022 F1 Austrian GP weekend, the Stewards had made it clear that there would be a stricter implementation of track limits during the race. This enforcement saw drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris receiving a black and white flag, while later in the race Sebastian Vettel and Lando Norris received a 5-second time penalty each.
The penalties were not limited to track limit infringements only as drivers like George Russell and Pierre Gasly were penalized for bumping cars off the track. It was a novelty to see this many drivers under investigation and getting penalized for various reasons.
#5 Alpine fails to capitalize against McLaren
The 2022 F1 Austrian GP was expected to be the weekend where Alpine capitalized and pulled away from McLaren. The French outfit's car was easily the best of the rest as was demonstrated by its drivers Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso throughout the weekend. Once again, though, Alpine was its own worst enemy.
While Ocon suffered a DNF at the 2022 F1 British GP, this time around it was Alonso's turn. After the electric issue that ruined his sprint and ruled him out of contention, the race saw poor pitstop strategy and execution that left Alonso only 10th in the race. Alpine might rue letting McLaren off the hook at the 2022 F1 Austrian GP.
