Charles Leclerc took his third grand prix victory of the 2022 Formula 1 season in Spielberg, heading home Max Verstappen at the chequered flag.
Ferrari was on course to score a 1-2 finish with Carlos Sainz in second place, however in the final stages of the race, the Spaniard retired after his Power Unit failed and caught fire.
Leclerc passed Verstappen on the road on three occasions during the grand prix, the first of which occurred on lap 12.
Verstappen pitted soon after the overtake while Leclerc stayed out for several laps longer – after the Ferrari driver made his first stop, he once again closed up behind Verstappen and moved in front of the reigning World Champion.
Verstappen changed his tyres again on lap 36, while Leclerc waited until lap 49 for his second pit stop. With his superior tyre advantage, Leclerc eased ahead of the Red Bull driver for the lead once more.
Sainz then launched an attack on Verstappen but before he could overtake, his Power Unit gave way and he was forced to pull to one side.
Lewis Hamilton took his third consecutive podium finish as he crossed the line in third place, ahead of team-mate George Russell.
Russell was involved in an opening lap collision with the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, with the Mexican driver retiring later in the race due to the damage he sustained in the clash.
Esteban Ocon was fifth on the road, while Haas’ Mick Schumacher secured the best result of his career to date in sixth place.
His team-mate Kevin Magnussen bagged a double-points finish for the Haas team, as he took the chequered flag in eighth place, behind the McLaren of Lando Norris.
McLaren too had both of its cars inside the top 10, as Daniel Ricciardo came home in ninth.
Fernando Alonso took the final point on offer in 10th place after making a late overtake on Valtteri Bottas. Both drivers got ahead of Alexander Albon late on, who was shuffled back to 12th at the chequered flag.
Nicholas Latifi was the third retirement in the race, joining Perez and Sainz on the sidelines.
Formula 1 will return in two weeks’ time for the French Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
[motorsport_result id=’88404′]
Discussion about this post