Spanish Grand Prix 2022 just delivered one of the exciting races this season. Twists and Surprises tuned all along the way. The defending champion Max Verstappen once again reigned this season. He has won all the races he finished so far. On other news, It was quite devastating to see Leclerc who was on great form retiring while he was leading. Let,s take a peek into how each team raced this Grand Prix
Mercedes
After a not so enchanting season opening, it finally looks good for Mercedes. the upgrades they made in the car has worked very fine for them. George Russell maintains a clear consistency throughout the season. It is commendable that he has finished in top five in all races. On Sunday, he emerged as the leader of the race for quite some time after Leclerc retired. Russell however finished P3. This was his second podium of the season
Lewis Hamilton was on fire on Sunday. He started on the third row on the race and then had a puncture on the first lap itself. From there, what we saw was a Driver Of The Day Performance from the Knight. He raced through the order overlapping every other racer to finish at fifth position. Him coming to the form might be a sign of the bad times being over.
Mercedes Racing: 120pts (3rd)
George Russell: 74 pts (4th), Lewis Hamilton: 46 pts (6th)
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas once again shined in his new outfit as he finished P6. He raced in a masterful fashion and was consistent in steering the team. He added points to the team and inched them closer to the fourth.
However, his teammate Zhou Guanyu was a disappointment. Zhou failed to finish in a consecutive race. The Chinese retired in the middle of the race joining Leclerc at the paddock. Zhou should be making a little more effort as Alfa Romeo shows spark.
Alfa Romeo: 39 pts (5th)
Valtteri Bottas: 38 pts (8th) , Zhou Guanyu 1 pt (18th)
Alpine Renault
Alpine had a wonderful day at Barcelona. Both of their drivers got placed at the finish line. French driver Esteban Ocon drove in a pretty good manner and finished P7. he Homeboy Fernando Alonso at one point seemed like he wont even make it to the P15. He started way off the grid. Eventually he fell into the last position. With his sheer determination, might I add, he climbed up high. The Spaniard had an amazing Spanish Grand Prix 2022 to remember. He finished at P9
Alpine Renault: 34 pts (6th)
Fernando Alonso: 4 pt (15th), Esteban Ocon: 30 pts (9th)
Alpha Tauri
Alpha Tauri was disappointing by their performance at the Spanish Grand Prix 2022. Frenchman Pierre Gasly is not nearing his last season performance. Clearly, he is falling behind in Alpha Tauri. He started behind the points and ended up there only. The okay factor for Tauri was Yuki Tsunoda somehow made it to the tenth position. The Japanese thus salvaged a point for the team.
Alpha Tauri: 16 pts (7th)
Pierre Gasly: 6 pts (13th) , Yuki Tsunoda 11 points (11th)
Haas Racing
Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen both made into the top ten in the starting grids. It was a long time since Haas made a double Q3 appearance. This was celebrated in the paddock very vividly. The car having no upgrades was a key factor but that played out bad for the team on Sunday.
Kevin dropped back to 17th position and he could not recover form the pits of fiery racing. Schumacher on the other hand was on point to win his first points in the game. Somewhere on the lane, he lost his position and dropped to P14. A little up gradation on the car could have seen him getting through though
Haas Racing: 15pts (8th)
Kevin Magnussen: 15pts (10th) , Mick Schumacher: 0pt (19th)
Aston Martin
Aston Martin had an eventful Sunday. Neither Stroll nor Vettel came into teh top ten of teh grid. When former champions Hamilton and Alonso made into the top ten, Sebastian Vettel couldn’t. Not going to lie, It hurts to seem his like that. Lance Stroll fend off Magnussen, Latifi and Albon as he finished at the fifteenth position. The upgraded Red Bull copied version might I say was nothing like RB13 on the track. The new Aston martin car was a failure.
Also Read: Aston Martin’s F1 Car: The Green Redbull
Aston Martin: 6pt (9th)
Sebastian Vettel: 4pts (14th), Lance Stroll: 2pt (17th)
Williams Racing
Williams Racing is trying to fill in the void of George Russell with Alex Albon who is clearly coming up to the same level as Russel. Albon however was a legitimate failure on the tracks on Sunday. He finished just above the DNF racers. Seems like his red hair luck ended!
Nicholas Latifi finished above Albon, if you count that a victory. Latifi is in very bad form this season and might be replaced in the middle or the next season.
Williams Racing: 3pt (10th)
Alex Albon: 3 pt (16th), Nicholas Latifi: 0 pt (21st)
Scuderia Ferrari
Ferrari seemed to have the best race weekend this season until the actual race began at Barcelona. They succumbed and lost their top position in the Constructors’ Title. Charles Leclerc was in brilliant form throughout the weekend. The Monacan driver topped all of his practice sessions and also had the pole position. He was on his way to win the race when his engine power ran out leaving him high and dry in the sidelines.
The homeboy Carlos Sainz however was a white knight for the team. He was not in his best game. The Spaniard however kept his consistent form at home. He finished at P4 just short of Russell after overtaking Hamilton in the final lap. With that he updated his best finish at Barcelona
Scuderia Ferrari: 169 pts (2nd)
Charles Le Clerc: 104 pts (2nd), Carlos Sainz: 65 pts (5th)
McLaren Mercedes
The British constructor McLaren had an okayish Spanish Grand Prix 2022 at Barcelona if we put it like that. Lando Norris who started out of the championship points came into the top ten and earned the team a point. The young Brit was suffering from tonsillitis while he was racing. Nevertheless his sheer determination was commendable.
On an another note, The Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo yet again failed to deliver. Ricciardo who on Sunday became the Australian with the most number of starts edging Mark Weber. He finished out of the points and was disappointing. Clearly, He needs to really up his game at Monaco so as to level the field for McLaren.
McLaren Mercedes: 50 pts (4th)
Lando Norris: 39 pts (7th), Daniel Ricciardo: 11pts (12th)
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull is looking on track to win the Constructors Title this year. The Dutch and The Mexican clearly are going to end the eight year streak of Mercedes. Max Verstappen won his fourth race of the season. He was winning at their track for the second time. The first being his first ever Formula One victory at the age of 18 in 2016. The duel between Russell and Max was so entertaining to watch. DRS was quite an issue for Max but he cleaned up nice.
RBR notched up a 1-2 thanks to Sergio Perez. His consistency is really praiseworthy. The Mexican was however meted to an unfair decision. We also think that it was not right for the team to ask him to let Max pass. If not for that decision, it was without a doubt, Perez’s best day.
Red Bull Racing: 195 pts (1st)
Max Verstappen: 110 points (2nd), Sergio Perez: 85 pts (3rd)
