Cloudy. Dry. Air +20С, route +30…31
In the 2022 season, the Austrian Grand Prix concluded the first half of the season. Max Verstappen came to the team’s home circuit as the championship leader with a 34-point lead over his teammate and 43 points over the opposing team’s closest rival, Charles Leclerc.
There were no empty seats in the orange-clad stands. 303,000 viewers over the weekend – a new record for Spielberg. Fans only expected victories from Verstappen – and until Sunday he didn’t seem to notice his rivals. Max set the fastest time in Friday practice, took pole position in qualifying and won Saturday’s sprint without any problems.
In the sprint, the power ratio has not changed much. Sergio Perez recovered from an unusual penalty and Alonso became the biggest loser – his car’s electricity went out five minutes before the start. It was not possible to revive it even when the car was returned to the pits, but at the start of the race, which the Spaniard started last, Alpine replaced all wiring, electronics and engine. Bottas started the race from the pit lane after switching the power plant and violating the conditions of the closed park.
It rained on Sunday evening and in the morning. The Formula 3 race that opened the day was held on a wet track and turned out to be very interesting, the Formula 2 racers switched to slicks during the race and the tarmac was completely dry at the start of the Grand Prix.
Pirelli brought the softest compositions to the stage – C3, C4 and C5 in the role of Hard, Medium and Soft. Zhou, Tsunoda, Vettel and Alonso chose Hard for the first stint of the race, the rest started on Medium.
Verstappen and Leclerc started the race from the front row, Sainz and Russell from second, Perez and Ocon from third.
Verstappen kept the lead at the start. Russell attacked Sainz then defended against Perez – the cars collided and Sergio flew into the gravel and went into the pits, changing tyres. Russell was given a five-second penalty.
Top ten in round 2: Verstappen – Leclerc – Sainz – Russell – Ocon – Magnussen – Hamilton – Schumacher – Riccardo – Norris.
Max couldn’t get away as fast as the day before, he and Leclerc exchanged the best laps, the break didn’t last more than a second.
On lap 5 Schumacher passed Hamilton. Norris was for Riccardo.
On lap 7, Bottas switched tires. Russell gathered behind a group of riders who were on the “DRS train”, the same group gathered behind Norris and Tsunoda. No one could fight for the position.
On lap 10, Leclerc attacked Verstappen for the lead, but Max stayed ahead.
On lap 12, Leclerc overtook Verstappen on the brakes in Turn 4 to take the lead. Russell pitted, served a fine, changed tires and nose cone. Albon made a pit stop.
On lap 13, Ricciardo, Gasly, Latifi and Verstappen switched tires. Max came back in eighth.
On lap 15 Hamilton had Schumacher and Magnussen ahead. Norris made a pit stop.
On lap 16 Magnussen changed tires, Verstappen overtook Schumacher.
On lap 17, Ocon and Schumacher made a pit stop.
Perez was warned with a black and white flag for repeatedly going off the track.
On lap 19, Verstappen moved ahead of Hamilton to move into third.
On lap 20, Okon overtook Vettel for ninth.
Top ten in round 21: Leclerc – Sainz – Verstappen – Hamilton – Stroll – Tsunoda – Zhou – Alonso – Okon – Magnussen.
On lap 21 Vettel switched tires.
Alonso missed Ocon – and Esteban on fresher tires was ahead of Zhou, then Tsunoda, and climbed up to sixth.
Magnussen and Norris overtook Alonso and Zhou. Gasly was warned with a black and white flag for repeated off-track trips.
On lap 26, Schumacher overtook Alonso. Perez stopped the car in the pits and retired.
On lap 27, race leader Leclerc switched tires and returned to the track in third, seven seconds behind Verstappen. Tsunoda made a pit stop. Norris caught up with Alonso.
On lap 28 Sainz switched tires and returned to the track in fourth. Verstappen led the race. Alonso made a pit stop.
On lap 29 Hamilton made a pit stop – there was a hitch when attaching the right front wheel, on 30th – Stroll. Hamilton returned to the track and overtook Ocon in the battle for fourth.
On lap 31, Russell overtook Ricciardo for ninth.
Gasley and Norris were given five-second penalties for repeatedly breaking the track boundaries.
Leclerc gradually closed the gap on Verstappen and took the lead on lap 32, led the race – and immediately pulled away.
On lap 34, Schumacher overtook Magnussen for sixth.
Top ten in round 35: Leclerc – Verstappen – Sainz – Hamilton – Ocon – Schumacher – Magnussen – Norris – Russell – Ricciardo.
On lap 35, Alonso overtook Tsunoda for 16th.
On lap 36 Sainz overtook Verstappen and was about to attack, but Max returned to the pits, changed tires and returned in third, 25 seconds behind Leclerc.
Sainz and Zhou were warned with a black and white flag for repeatedly breaking the lane.
On lap 40, in a fight with Gasly, Vettel flew into the gravel in corner 4 but was able to continue. Gasly was given a five-second penalty. Bottas switched tires.
On lap 41 Russell and Gasley pitted, Norris overtook Magnussen for seventh.
On lap 43 Magnussen and Albon made a pit stop.
Hamilton was warned with a black and white flag for repeated trespassing.
On lap 44 Schumacher and Norris switched tires, on lap 45 Ocon and Ricciardo.
On lap 45, Russell was ahead of Stroll.
Top ten in round 46: Leclerc – Sainz – Verstappen – Hamilton – Alonso – Ocon – Russell – Stroll – Schumacher – Magnussen.
On lap 47, Norris overtook Tsunoda for 12th.
On the 48th, Zhou and Tsunoda switched bands. Schumacher and Magnussen overtook Stroll.
On lap 50 Leclerc and Stroll made a pit stop. Charles returned to the track in third, three seconds behind Verstappen. On lap 51 Sainz got new tires. Verstappen led the race.
Latifi complained of steering problems, returned to the pits on lap 51 and retired.
On lap 52 Hamilton switched tires.
On lap 53, Leclerc overtook Verstappen to lead the race – and immediately drove away.
Schumacher was warned with a black and white flag for repeatedly breaking the track’s boundaries.
On lap 55, Russell overtook Alonso for sixth.
On lap 57 Sainz caught up and was about to attack Verstappen when the car suddenly lost speed. Carlos stopped on the side of the road, the car caught fire and rolled backwards, but the fire brigade arrived in time. The Race Directorate has announced a virtual safety car mode.
Leclerc, Verstappen and Alonso entered the pits and switched tires.
Top ten in round 59: Leclerc – Verstappen – Hamilton – Windows – Russell – Schumacher – Magnussen – Norris – Alonso – Ricciardo.
On lap 59 Alonso turned back into the pits – with the last set there was a shake.
In the 60th lap, a restart was announced. Leclerc led by four seconds ahead of Verstappen, but Max picked up the pace and slowly got closer – Charles attacked in response. There were ten laps to the finish.
On lap 62 Russell overtook Okon for fourth.
On lap 63 Norris overtook Magnussen for seventh.
On lap 67, Bottas overtook Albon for tenth. On lap 69, Alonso Elbon was ahead.
.jpg "Charles Leclerc wins the Austrian Grand Prix for his third win of the season and fifth of his career")
Charles Leclerc won the Austrian Grand Prix, scored his third win of the season and fifth of his career, and moved up Sergio Pérez in the individual standings to move up to second place.
Max Verstappen finished second, leaving behind the best lap of the race. Lewis Hamilton climbed to the third step of the podium.
For the second time this season, Haas scored F1 points with two cars, with the best result in 2022 and for AlphaTauri in the Constructors’ Championship.
The battle in France will continue in two weeks.
Race results
| pilot | Team | Time | Speed | Piet |
| 1. Sh.Lecler | Ferrari | 1:24:24.312 | 217,843 | 3 |
| 2. Mr Verstappen | Red Bull | +1,532 | 217,777 | 3 |
| 3. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | +41.217 | 216,084 | 2 |
| 4. D. Russell | Mercedes | +58.972 | 215.335 | 2 |
| 5. E. Okon | alpine | +68.436 | 214,938 | 2 |
| 6. M. Schumacher | hare | +1 circle | 214.549 | 2 |
| 7. L. Norris | McLaren | +1 circle | 214,426 | 2 |
| 8. K. Magnussen | hare | +1 circle | 214.282 | 2 |
| 9. D. Riccardo | McLaren | +1 circle | 214.083 | 2 |
| 10. F. Alonso | alpine | +1 circle | 213,995 | 3 |
| 11. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +1 circle | 213,930 | 2 |
| 12. A. Albon | Williams | +1 circle | 213,736 | 2 |
| 13. L. Walk | Aston Martin | +1 circle | 213.531 | 2 |
| 14. G. Zhou’ | Alfa Romeo | +1 circle | 213.458 | 2 |
| 15. P. Gasly * | AlphaTauri | +1 circle | 213.157 | 2 |
| 16. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +1 circle | 213,085 | 2 |
| 17. S. Vettel** | Aston Martin | +1 circle | 213.014 | 2 |
*Added five seconds for the Vettel incident
** added five seconds for repeated violation of lane boundaries
best lap: Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) – 1:07.275 (lap 62, 231,063 km/h)
Reasons for leaving
| pilot | Team | circles | Cause |
| S.Perez | Red Bull | 24 | mechanical problems |
| N. Latifi | Williams | 48 | send |
| C. Sainz | Ferrari | 56 | Power Point |
Championship position : Individual
Championship position : Constructors’ Championship
| Team | engine | Glasses | |
| † | 1 Red Bull Racing | Red Bull powertrains | 359 |
| † | 2 Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 303 |
| † | 3. Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team | Mercedes | 237 |
| † | 4 McLaren Racing | Mercedes | 81 |
| † | 5 Alpine F1 Team | Renault | 81 |
| † | 6. Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN | Ferrari | 51 |
 |
7 Haas F1 Team | Ferrari | 34 |
 |
8 Scuderia Alpha Tauri | Red Bull powertrains | 27 |
| † | 9. Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | Mercedes | eighteen |
| † | 10 Williams Racing | Mercedes | 3 |
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
