The 2022 british GP took place on Sunday (3rd of July), and it was by far one the best races of the season, yet. Firstly, F1 cannot afford any deaths or serious injuries in this hyper-sensitive era. Zhou Guanyu got out unscathed after that awful first corner incident. That was by far, the best development of the weekend.
The Race
Max jumped into the lead after passing Sainz, but damaged his car over debris – he was missing 20% of his downforce with a ruptured floor and the setup changes they made at the first stop only worsened the issue. Prior to this issue, Sainz made a poor driving error under pressure going onto the hangar’s straight and Max passed him. Good damage control to finish 7th with a car lapping 2 seconds slower than that of his teammate.
Further down the field, Leclerc was initially in third, having damaged his front wing in the first corner during an attempt to pass Perez, but somehow managed to maintain pace throughout. It was impressive to see him hounding his teammate after a few laps, despite the loss of front downforce. He was flying and was clearly faster than Sainz.
Lewis Hamilton also had an amazing first stint and managed to make up serious ground on the Ferraris following Verstappen’s issue. Ferrari were indecisive in switching the slower Sainz with Leclerc. It was Lewis pressuring the Ferraris that initially made the Ferraris swap positions. Behind the Ferraris, Norris drove a fine race, once again outperforming the struggling Ricciardo, who also had to pit due to a DRS issue. Lando lost out to Alonso during the final SC pitstop phase, where McLaren made a key strategy error (a string of errors dating back several races). McLaren have also frozen their development for the season.
Alonso’s talent is already known. The other drivers still fear him. He did a solid race, with no mistakes and capitalizing on McLaren‘s error during the last SC period. He was the best Spanish driver in this race. He wanted Leclerc to receive a penalty for weaving (as Alonso did in Canada) but there was no penalty.
Sebastian continues to outperform his car. A great drive again. Aston Martin brought a floor that wasn’t working exactly as expected earlier in the weekend. Wiliams didn’t salvage much from the weekend, but Latifi probably drove his best ever race and qualifying lap this weekend. His start was solid too. It remains to be seen how much Williams have improved with their updates, they had a messy weekend.
Consistent race from the Haas drivers. Both the cars finished in the points. Alpha Tauri were in shambles following a horrendous error of judgement by Yuki Tsunoda.
Sainz won his first race, and while it’s special moment, there were a lot of questions asked about Ferrari’s operations. Ultimately, while it’s a win for Ferrari, there was aalso strategic mistake, yet again, by Ferrari. Their best hope of winning this title is Charles, yet now Sainz and Leclerc are almost level in the title fight again, somehow.
Top 3 Finishers of the Race:-
1.) Carlos Sainz
2.) Sergio Perez
3.) Lewis Hamilton
