2022 British Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:United Kingdom
Grand Prix:British
Previous Round:2022 Canadian Grand Prix
Next Round:2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Image Link:Silverstone Circuit 2020.png
Image-Size:200px
Year:2022
Official Name:Formula 1 Lenovo British Grand Prix 2022
Race No:10
Season No:22
Location:Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone, United Kingdom
Course:Permanent racing facility
Course Mi:3.660
Course Km:5.891
Weather:Partly cloudy
Attendance:401,000[1]
Pole Driver:Carlos Sainz Jr.
Pole Country:ESP
Pole Team:Ferrari
Pole Time:1:40.983
Fast Driver:Lewis Hamilton
Fast Country:GBR
Fast Team:Mercedes
Fast Time:1:30.510
Fast Lap:52
First Driver:Carlos Sainz Jr.
First Country:ESP
First Team:Ferrari
Second Driver:Sergio Pérez
Second Country:MEX
Second Team:Red Bull Racing-RBPT
Third Driver:Lewis Hamilton
Third Country:GBR
Third Team:Mercedes
Distance Km:306.198
Distance Laps:52
Distance Mi:190.263

The 2022 British Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Lenovo British Grand Prix 2022) was a Formula One motor race held on 3 July 2022 at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England.

Carlos Sainz Jr. took both his first pole position and Formula One victory, ahead of Sergio Pérez and Lewis Hamilton. Sainz became the first Spanish driver to win a race since Fernando Alonso won the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix. Championship leader Max Verstappen finished seventh after acquiring car damage early in the race. A multi-car crash occurred on the opening lap, in which Zhou Guanyu's car flipped over the tyre wall marking the circuit boundaries.

Background

The event was held across the weekend of the 1–3 July. It was the tenth round of the 2022 Formula One World Championship. It was the 73rd time the British Grand Prix has been held and the race took place two weeks after the Canadian Grand Prix and preceded the Austrian Grand Prix.[2]

Championship standings before the race

Following the Canadian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship by 46 points from teammate Sergio Pérez, with Charles Leclerc third, a further three points behind. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship, leading Ferrari by 74 points. Mercedes were in third place, trailing Ferrari by 40 points.[3]

Entrants

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.[4] It was the 150th race start for Carlos Sainz Jr.[5]

Tyre choices

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.[6]

Practice

The weekend had three practice sessions, each lasting one hour. The first session took place on 1 July and started at 13:00 local time . There was rain before and during the session,[7] with teams deciding not to go on track as much as they normally would have, due to dry weather predicted for the rest of the weekend.[8] Towards the end of the session the weather cleared and the track began to dry. A number of drivers attempted to drive the track on slick tyres, including Lance Stroll, who spun at turn 9, getting stuck in the gravel.[9] The session was red flagged and not resumed. Valtteri Bottas was fastest, with Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz Jr. in second and third respectively.[10]

The second session took place on 1 July and started at 16:00 local time. The session was conducted in dry conditions. No major incidents meant the whole session was under green flag conditions. The Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel picked up some floor damage in the session, but he made it back to the pits.[11] Sainz was fastest, with Hamilton and Lando Norris in second and third respectively.[12]

The third practice session started at 12:00 local time on 2 July.[13] There were no major incidents and so the whole session was under green flag conditions. Max Verstappen was fastest, with Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc in second and third respectively.[14]

Qualifying

Qualifying started at 15:00 local time on 2 July, and lasted for one hour.[13] The session was held in wet conditions and ended with Carlos Sainz Jr. claiming his maiden pole position. Max Verstappen's final qualifying attempt was interrupted by yellow flags, after Charles Leclerc spun.[15]

Qualifying classification

DriverConstructor
Q1Q2Q3
155data-sort-value="sai" Carlos Sainz Jr.Ferrari1:40.1901:41.6021:40.9831
21data-sort-value="ver" Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-RBPT1:39.1291:40.6551:41.0552
316data-sort-value="lec" Charles LeclercFerrari1:39.8461:41.2471:41.2983
411data-sort-value="per" Sergio PérezRed Bull Racing-RBPT1:40.5211:42.5131:41.6164
544data-sort-value="ham" Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:40.4281:41.0621:41.9955
64data-sort-value="nor" Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes1:41.5151:41.8211:42.0846
714data-sort-value="alo" Fernando AlonsoAlpine-Renault1:41.5981:42.2091:42.1167
863data-sort-value="rus" George RussellMercedes1:40.0281:41.7251:42.1618
924data-sort-value="zho" Zhou Guanyu1:40.7911:42.6401:42.7199
106data-sort-value="lat" Nicholas LatifiWilliams-Mercedes1:41.9981:43.2732:03.09510
1110data-sort-value="gas" Pierre GaslyAlphaTauri-RBPT1:41.6801:43.702data-sort-value="11" align="center" style="background: silver" N/A11
1277data-sort-value="bot" Valtteri BottasAlfa Romeo-Ferrari1:41.3961:44.232data-sort-value="12" align="center" style="background: silver" N/A12
1322data-sort-value="tsu" Yuki TsunodaAlphaTauri-RBPT1:41.8931:44.311data-sort-value="13" align="center" style="background: silver" N/A13
143data-sort-value="ric" Daniel RicciardoMcLaren-Mercedes1:41.9331:44.355data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" N/A14
1531data-sort-value="oco" Esteban OconAlpine-Renault1:41.7301:45.190data-sort-value="15" align="center" style="background: silver" N/A15
1623data-sort-value="alb" Alexander AlbonWilliams-Mercedes1:42.078data-sort-value="16" align="center" style="background: silver" N/Adata-sort-value="16" align="center" style="background: silver" N/A16
1720data-sort-value="mag" Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari1:42.159data-sort-value="17" align="center" style="background: silver" N/Adata-sort-value="17" align="center" style="background: silver" N/A17
185data-sort-value="vet" Sebastian Vettel1:42.666data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" N/Adata-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" N/A18
1947data-sort-value="sch" Haas-Ferrari1:42.708data-sort-value="19" align="center" style="background: silver" N/Adata-sort-value="19" align="center" style="background: silver" N/A19
2018data-sort-value="str" Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco-Mercedes1:43.430data-sort-value="20" align="center" style="background: silver" N/Adata-sort-value="20" align="center" style="background: silver" N/A20
107% time

1:46.068

Source:[16] [17]

Race

Race report

The race started at 15:00 local time on 3 July.[18] Max Verstappen took the lead at the start from Carlos Sainz Jr., while Lewis Hamilton moved up to third. George Russell had a bad start and was passed by Nicholas Latifi, and Zhou Guanyu pulled alongside him leaving a large gap between them. Pierre Gasly attempted to pass between Zhou and Russell, but Russell moved to the left too late to close the gap causing his left rear tyre to make contact with Gasly's right front. Gasly backed out but the impact pointed Russell's car to the left shooting him across the track and directly into the side of Zhou's car. The impact launched Zhou's car into the air. He landed upside down, skidding down the track, then skipping and bouncing across the long gravel trap at the end of the straight, all while barely slowing and turning sideways. The inverted car suddenly dug into the gravel carrying sufficient speed and momentum to launch it over the tire barrier, rotating 540 degrees on its axis before hitting the catch fencing sideways facing up just a few feet from the front row of the grandstand. It then dropped 8 feet and landed wedged into the small gap between the fence and tire barrier, stopping on its side with the cockpit up against the backside of the tire barrier.[19] As a result of the incident, Valtteri Bottas slowed slightly, which caused Alexander Albon to also slow. Sebastian Vettel attempted to brake, but was too close to Albon and hit him. Albon spun into the concrete pit wall, rebounded back on the track and was hit by Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon, damaging both of their cars. Tsunoda and Ocon both returned to the pit lane for repairs, but Albon was unable to continue.[20] Russell, who had spun, stopped to help the marshalls with Zhou's flipped car. When he returned to his car it was not running so he could not continue.[21]

Race control red-flagged the race due to both crashes. Zhou was extracted from his Alfa Romeo and stretchered to an ambulance where he was taken to the race medical centre. Albon was also taken to the race medical centre but was later transferred by helicopter to Coventry Hospital for observations. Both were later released.[22]

The order for the race restart was set to the grid order, as not all the cars had passed the second safety car line before the race was red-flagged, meaning it was not possible to accurately determine the running order at the time of the red flag.[23] The race restarted at 15:56 local time and Sainz retained the lead at the restart, before being passed by Verstappen once DRS was enabled. Verstappen later ran over debris, that resulted in a loss of pace. Verstappen misjudged that the loss of pace was a puncture and came into the pit for new tyres. Red Bull later realised it was floor damage that caused the pace loss.[24]

The two AlphaTauri cars collided on lap 14, both continued initially but Gasly later retired due to the collision damage.[25]

Bottas pitted and retired on lap 21 due to a gearbox issue and on lap 39, Ocon suffered a fuel pump problem and stopped on track,[26] [27] causing a safety car. The safety car allowed everyone to pit. Charles Leclerc was one of a few drivers not to pit, being told to stay out by his Ferrari team.[28] Leclerc led the restart but was quickly passed by teammate Sainz. Leclerc subsequently defended from Sergio Pérez, which allowed Hamilton to pass them both on the exit of the last corner.[29] Once Pérez passed Leclerc, he re-overtook Hamilton for second. Sainz won his first Formula One race, becoming the 112th winner in the history of the championship, the second Spaniard to win a Formula One race after Fernando Alonso, and being the first Spaniard to win a race since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix,[30] and the first driver who had his maiden win at the British Grand Prix since Johnny Herbert in 1995. Pérez was in second and Hamilton third, also setting the fastest lap. Leclerc managed to stay ahead of Alonso for fourth, as the latter finished fifth, ahead of Lando Norris. Despite a last lap battle, Verstappen held off Mick Schumacher for seventh. Schumacher finished inside the points for the first time in his Formula One career.[31] Sebastian Vettel was ninth and Kevin Magnussen was tenth.

Attempted race disruption

During the race suspension, a group of Just Stop Oil supporters walked onto the track and sat down on the tarmac. They were later arrested by police. The protestors' cause was supported by drivers Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, and Carlos Sainz, though all three drivers said that these people should not have put themselves at risk of physical harm. F1 president Stefano Domenicali also criticized the protesting method.[32] Before the race, Northamptonshire Police warned they had "creditable intelligence" that a group of protesters were planning to disrupt the race and potentially attempt a track invasion, and that the protest would be related to environmental issues, but the warning did not mention Just Stop Oil by name.[33]

Post race

After the race, Russell stated that lessons needed to be learned from Zhou's crash, after rescue teams struggled to extract him from his car, which was in a narrow gap between the tyre barrier and the catch fencing, stating "[there was] nothing [Zhou] could have done". Russell went on to say that "We need think to avoid a car being stuck in such a fine gap."[34] Concern was also raised surrounding the failure of the roll-hoop, designed to stop the driver's head hitting the ground in the event of a car being upside-down. Although Zhou's head was still protected by the halo (which he credited with saving his life), the roll-hoop failure would have trapped Zhou in his car had the car stopped upside-down.[35] The FIA launched an investigation into the crash.

Race classification

DriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredPoints
155data-sort-value="sai" Carlos Sainz Jr.Ferrari522:17:50.311125
data-sort-value="20"211data-sort-value="per" Sergio PérezRed Bull Racing-RBPT52+3.779418
344data-sort-value="ham" Lewis HamiltonMercedes52+6.225516
416data-sort-value="lec" Charles LeclercFerrari52+8.546312
514data-sort-value="alo" Fernando AlonsoAlpine-Renault52+9.571710
64data-sort-value="nor" Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes52+11.94368
71data-sort-value="ver" Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-RBPT52+18.77726
847data-sort-value="msc" Haas-Ferrari52+18.995194
95data-sort-value="vet" Sebastian Vettel52+22.356182
1020data-sort-value="mag" Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari52+24.590171
1118data-sort-value="str" Lance Stroll52+26.14720
126data-sort-value="lat" Nicholas LatifiWilliams-Mercedes52+32.51110
133data-sort-value="ric" Daniel RicciardoMcLaren-Mercedes52+32.81714
1422data-sort-value="tsu" Yuki TsunodaAlphaTauri-RBPT52+40.91013
Ret31data-sort-value="oco" Esteban OconAlpine-Renault37Fuel pump15
Ret10data-sort-value="gas" AlphaTauri-RBPT2611
Ret77data-sort-value="bot" Valtteri BottasAlfa Romeo-Ferrari21Gearbox12
Ret63data-sort-value="rus" George RussellMercedes0Collision8
Ret24data-sort-value="zho" Zhou GuanyuAlfa Romeo-Ferrari0Collision9
Ret23data-sort-value="alb" Alexander AlbonWilliams-Mercedes0Collision16
Fastest lap

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 1:30.510 (lap 52)

Source:[36] [37]
Notes

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
DriverPoints
1 Max Verstappen181
2 Sergio Pérez147
3 Charles Leclerc138
14 Carlos Sainz Jr.127
15 George Russell111
Source:[38]
Constructors' Championship standings
ConstructorPoints
1 Red Bull Racing-RBPT328
2 Ferrari265
3 Mercedes204
4 McLaren-Mercedes73
5 Alpine-Renault67
Source:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ranked: The Top Attended Formula 1 Races in 2023. f1destinations.com. 1 December 2023. 1 December 2023.
  2. Web site: F1 CALENDAR 2022 . 1 July 2022 . F1 Calendar.
  3. Web site: Canada 2022 - Championship . 20 June 2022 . www.statsf1.com . en.
  4. Web site: 2022 British Grand Prix – Entry List. FIA. 1 July 2022. 1 July 2022.
  5. Web site: 3 July 2022 . Sainz hails "very special day" after finally taking first win at 150th attempt . 7 July 2022 . RaceFans . en-GB.
  6. Web site: What tyres will the teams and drivers have for the 2022 British Grand Prix? . 29 June 2022 . Formula1.com . en.
  7. Web site: White . Megan . 1 July 2022 . F1 British GP: Bottas leads rain-hit, red-flagged Silverstone FP1 . 1 July 2022 . Autosport . en.
  8. Web site: Meens . Stefan . 1 July 2022 . Rain rules out competitive running in Silverstone FP1 . 1 July 2022 . news.verstappen.com.
  9. Web site: 2022 British GP FP1: Stroll slides into the gravel at Silverstone . 1 July 2022 . Formula 1.
  10. Web site: FP1 report & highlights from the 2022 British Grand Prix: Alfa Romeo's Bottas leads Hamilton in rain-affected first practice at Silverstone. 1 July 2022 . Formula 1.
  11. Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team . Aston Martin in Formula One . AstonMartinF1 . 1542897105232166914 . Update: Sebastian was held in the garage after some minor damage was detected on the floor of his AMR22. Thanks to some quick work from the team, he is now in the car and back on track. . 3 July 2022 .
  12. Web site: FP2 report & highlights for the 2022 British Grand Prix: Sainz leads British duo of Hamilton and Norris in second practice at Silverstone . 1 July 2022 . Formula 1.
  13. News: 30 June 2022 . British Grand Prix 2022: Silverstone race and qualifying start times, how to watch on TV and latest odds . en-GB . The Telegraph . 30 June 2022 . 0307-1235.
  14. Web site: 2 July 2022 . British GP: Red Bull to the fore in FP3 as Verstappen goes quickest from Perez . 2 July 2022 . GiveMeSport . en-GB.
  15. News: Sainz pips Verstappen to take maiden pole in wet British Grand Prix qualifying. 2 July 2022. 3 July 2022. Formula1.
  16. Web site: Formula 1 Lenovo British Grand Prix 2022 – Qualifying. Formula1.com. 2 July 2022. 2 July 2022.
  17. Web site: Formula 1 Lenovo British Grand Prix 2022 – Starting Grid. Formula1.com . 2 July 2022. 2 July 2022.
  18. News: 30 June 2022 . British Grand Prix 2022: Silverstone race and qualifying start times, how to watch on TV and latest odds . en-GB . The Telegraph . 30 June 2022 . 0307-1235.
  19. Web site: 2022 British Grand Prix: Zhou Guanyu conscious but taken away in an ambulance following the huge but remarkably came away unscathed. . 5 July 2022 . Formula 1 . en.
  20. Web site: Albon released from hospital after British GP F1 crash . 5 July 2022 . www.motorsport.com . 3 July 2022 . en.
  21. Web site: 'I wanted to see if I could help' – Russell on his post-Zhou crash reaction, and why he was frustrated not to take the restart. 5 July 2022 . formula1.
  22. Web site: Albon released from hospital after Lap 1 crash at Silverstone . 4 July 2022 . F1.
  23. Web site: Kalinauckas . Alex . F1 British GP: Sainz takes maiden win in dramatic race as title challengers struggle . 4 July 2022 . autosport. 3 July 2022 .
  24. Web site: Verstappen reveals part of floor was 'completely destroyed' by debris after lowly P7 finish at Silverstone. 5 July 2022 . formula1.
  25. Web site: 3 July 2022 . 2022 British GP: Race. 5 July 2022 . Scuderia AlphaTauri.
  26. Web site: 3 July 2022 . British Grand Prix: Valtteri Bottas reveals gearbox issue behind Silverstone retirement . 5 July 2022 . GiveMeSport . en-GB.
  27. Web site: 3 July 2022 . Ocon deprived of a '6th or 7th' place by a fuel pump problem . 5 July 2022 . France Detail Zero . en-us.
  28. Web site: Ferrari explains decision not to pit Leclerc under late British GP safety car . 5 July 2022 . www.autosport.com . 3 July 2022 . en.
  29. Web site: Epic battle between Leclerc, Perez and Hamilton in final stage of race . 5 July 2022 . www.gpblog.com . en.
  30. Web site: 4 July 2022 . Spain's Carlos Sainz earns his first F1 victory at the British Grand Prix . 5 July 2022 . Sur in English . en.
  31. Web site: 4 July 2022 . Mick Schumacher scores first F1 points: "Really happy" . 5 July 2022 . motorlat.com . en . 4 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220704104848/https://www.motorlat.com/notas/f1/26119/f1-british-gp-mick-schumacher-scores-first-f1-points-really-happy-quot . dead .
  32. News: Andrew Benson . 3 July 2022 . British Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton backs protests but Mercedes question methods . . live . 4 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220704042451/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/62030105 . 4 July 2022.
  33. News: 2022-07-01 . British Grand Prix: 'Credible intelligence' of Silverstone F1 protests . en-GB . BBC News . 2022-10-23.
  34. News: Benson . Andrew . 3 July 2022 . F1 must learn from Zhou crash - Russell . . 5 July 2022.
  35. Web site: Edmondson . Laurence . 4 July 2022 . Halo saved Zhou, but crash raised two new safety concerns . 5 July 2022 . ESPN.
  36. Web site: Formula 1 Lenovo British Grand Prix 2022 – Race Result. Formula1.com. 3 July 2022. 3 July 2022.
  37. Web site: Formula 1 Lenovo British Grand Prix 2022 – Fastest Laps. Formula1.com. 3 July 2022. 3 July 2022.
  38. Web site: Collantine. Keith. 3 July 2022 . 2022 British Grand Prix championship points · RaceFans . 4 July 2022 . RaceFans . en-GB.