Race weekend review
The iconic British GP in Silverstone has always been one of entertainment; from winning the race with only three wheels to a heavy crash at Copse. This weekend was no different.
Many stars filled the paddock once again, from YouTube, Hollywood and football— everyone wanted to know, who would it be this year? Sir Lewis? Looking for a record breaking victory? Or Max Verstappen? Aiming to keep his mighty championship hunt going.
Practice
The weather conditions made it tricky to assume anything all weekend. FP1 saw rain, and lots of it, so there was minimal running on the track. At a later stage, it began to dry out and certain drivers changed for slick tyres.
Valterri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz ended the session as the top three, while Lance Stroll ended up on the gravel with only a few seconds to spare, ending the session early.
No more rain for FP2 meant that drivers could finally go out on track to get the data they needed. Some teams were collecting data from new upgrades —Williams and Aston Martin being two of them.
Carlos Sainz finished the session on top, followed by Hamilton and Norris. Championship rivals Verstappen and Leclerc were P4 and P5 respectively.
Red Bull came back on a charge in FP3, displaying their recent domination in full effect. Verstappen took P1 and Perez P2, ahead of the Ferrari of Leclerc and both Mercedes, who had been showing great pace throughout the weekend.
Qualifying
Some rain fell just before the session began so everyone was on intermediate tyres, ready to go as soon as the lights turned green.
Verstappen, who was ahead for the majority of the session, set a time that would keep him ahead of Leclerc. Surprisingly, the heavily upgraded Williams was the one eliminated in Q1, Albon not happy about the strategy the team used in the session. Both Haas and Aston Martin lost both of their drivers in the first round of qualifying.
Eliminated in Q1: Albon, Magnussen, Vettel, Schumacher, Stroll
Even more rain came down as we edged further into the session, causing all sorts of problems for drivers who didn’t get an early lap in.
A still struggling Ricciardo didn’t set a time fast enough to help him escape elimination, along with Ocon too who was in P15. AlphaTauri lost both drivers but considering it had been a difficult weekend for them, it seemed like it would be just fine.
For the first time ever, Latifi had made it to the top 10 shootout in Q3.
Eliminated in Q2: Gasly, Bottas, Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Ocon
While out in Q3, in the midst of setting a flying lap time like he had been doing, Verstappen spun coming out of Stowe but his composure allowed him to keep control and managed that 360 degree turn beautifully.
It looked like Verstappen had it in the bag, with Hamilton and Leclerc behind him but just as the clock hit zero, Sainz set a stunning lap time to put him first for Ferrari— A Leclerc spin would solidify a first pole position for the Spaniard as the Monegasque and Dutch ended the laps they were on.
It was a first for Sainz, finally a pole sitter in Formula 1. He would start alongside Verstappen and in front of his teammate Leclerc.
Top 10: Sainz, Verstappen, Leclerc, Perez, Hamilton, Norris, Alonso, Russell, Zhou and Latifi
Race Report
Silverstone 2022 was without a doubt one of the most memorable races so far this season. We saw a returning star on the podium as well as a new race winner, and plenty of action inbetween.
After taking pole position on Saturday, Carlos Sainz was able to take his first win in Formula One, a monumental moment which will not be forgotten. However, another incident in the series of Ferrari’s issues meant that teammate Charles Leclerc was only able to finish in fourth, on a day when he should have been able to achieve much more.
It was a good day for Red Bull in comparison, with Mexican Sergio Perez finishing in second place, despite an early tussle with Charles Leclerc. However, teammate and championship leader Max Verstappen was only able to finish in seventh place after sustaining damage from debris on track. Despite this, the team lost minimal points in the championship battle.
Returning to the podium was home hero Lewis Hamilton in third place, much to the delight of the Mercedes team. However, George Russell’s home race was ended just as it began following a heavy and serious crash with Zhou Guanyu which resulted in a lengthy red flag.
This was only the start of Alfa Romeo’s issues on Sunday – Zhou’s crash left the Chinese driver in the medical centre and unable to capitalise on what could have been an excellent race for him, whereas Valtteri Bottas retired from the race due to a gearbox issue.
It was an equally disappointing day for the Alpha Tauri team, with Pierre Gasly having to retire from the race following contact between the two teammates, and Yuki Tsunoda only able to finish in fourteenth, despite avoiding severe damage at the first race start.
It was a much better afternoon for the McLaren team, with Lando Norris finishing in sixth place at his home race in front of an adoring crowd. However, it was another struggle of a race for Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian driver only able to finish the race in thirteenth place.
An excellent start to the race for Nicholas Latifi saw him battling the faster cars on the grid in the Williams, eventually finishing in twelfth place. The team was, although, unable to test the new upgrades they had brought along as Alex Albon was another victim of the first lap contacts, resulting in a DNF and hospital trip for the Thai/British driver. We hope for a speedy recovery, Alex!
An excellent weekend for Haas saw both drivers finish in the points for the first time in a long time – after an excellent on track battle with Max Verstappen, Mick Schumacher was able to finish in eighth place, the highest of his career, with Kevin Magnussen in tenth place.
Join us this weekend to follow the Austrian GP in Spielberg to see who comes out on top! Catch everything on The Fastest Sector social media!
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