Here Are Those Who Shone (And Those Who Didn’t) At The 2022 Formula One British Grand Prix

The 2022 Formula One British Grand Prix was certainly one to remember with action up and down the field. It had everything from chaotic crashes, midfield heros shining through, home favourites showing their mettle and of course a fantastic scrap for the race win which saw a new name join the ranks of Formula One race winners. Here are the winners and losers of a thrilling tenth round of the season at Silverstone.

Winners

Carlos Sainz

 

Everything managed to click at Silverstone, Carlos Sainz’ 150th grand prix weekend. Half the job was done in qualifying, with the Ferrari driver scoring his maiden pole position, but lost the lead to Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen off the line before a serious incident brought out the red flag and reset things. Sainz didn’t let that chance go to waste and held on to the lead. 

Sure, a mistake at Becketts dropped him behind Verstappen again, but a technical issue shortly gave back the lead once again. The fight wasn’t over as he had teammate Charles Leclerc to deal with as well as the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton closing in fast. With Leclerc being the faster driver, Sainz had to concede the position, but another stroke of luck came with a late safety car period. As Leclerc missed out on pitting for soft tyres, Sainz took full advantage of his fresh rubber in quickly dispatching him to cross the chequered flag and take a memorable maiden win. The second Spaniard winner in F1 history now lies fourth in the standings just 11 points off Leclerc.

Lewis Hamilton

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A home race boost was certainly beneficial for seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, as the Mercedes driver – for the first time this season – looked like he had a real shot at a race win. He kept the two Ferraris honest throughout the race, and managed to get Leclerc in the closing laps to take a well-earned third-place finish on a day where teammate George Russell was taken out on the opening lap.

Sergio Perez

It was looking like a tough afternoon for Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez when contact with Leclerc damaged his front wing enough to necessitate an early pitstop which dropped him to the rear of the field. But the Mexican went under the radar, making his way up to fourth until the final safety car, and dispatched Leclerc and Hamilton to take second on a day where teammate and championship leader, Max Verstappen was facing technical gremlins.

Fernando Alonso

 

When the Alpine isn’t facing technical gremlins, it's fast. And Alonso proved just that at Silverstone, with the Spaniard driving a strong race, and keeping Leclerc honest to finish fifth. This result puts Alpine even closer to McLaren for the battle for fourth place in the constructors standings.

Haas 

After a run of terrible luck, things finally clicked for the Haas F1 team, especially Mick Schumacher. The German managed a controlled race, to not only score his first F1 points in eighth place, but also had a nice tussle with Verstappen for seventh which went down to the final corner. Teammate Kevin Magnussen capped off the team’s good weekend with a tenth-place finish to make it double points for Haas.

Sebastian Vettel

Four-time champ Sebastian Vettel had a nice 35th birthday to remember. Sure, it's not the lofty heights of race wins, but the German managed a clean race from the rear of the field to finish ninth at the British Grand Prix, scoring valuable points for Aston Martin.

Honourable Mention

F1 Safety Standards 

There’s no denying that motorsport is dangerous, with the quest for safety a never-ending goal, and the British Grand Prix was a great demonstration of how far F1 has come in driver safety. Zhou Guanyu’s lap 1 incident, flipping the car and going over the tyre barriers. Despite all that, the car’s safety cell including the Halo as well as the track’s catch fence helped everyone walk away unscathed.

Losers

Charles Leclerc

 

Fortunes simply weren’t in Charles Leclerc’s favour at the British Grand Prix, starting with a bit of front wing damage on the opening lap. Nevertheless, the Ferrari driver still had race-winning pace and looked set to take the win in the second half of the 52-lap race. But an ill-timed late safety car period meant he couldn’t pit for fresh tyres and was a sitting duck against those behind him. Despite a valiant defence, the Monegasque driver had to settle for fourth in the end. A positive takeaway is that he gains a bit of ground on Max Verstappen in the driver’s standings.

Max Verstappen

It was looking like another potential win in the books for Max Verstapppen as the Red Bull Racing driver pressured Sainz into a mistake and was leading the race. But that was short-lived, as running over debris damaged his floor and cost him so much pace that he limped home to seventh in the end. Nevertheless, it was the maximum the Dutchman could hope for and still managed to score some valuable points.

George Russell 

 

While it was a glorious day for one home hero, it was a curse for the other. George Russell’s top five finishing streak came to an end on the opening lap as an incident between the Mercedes driver, Pierre Gasly and Zhou Guanyu took him out of the race. 

Alfa Romeo 

It was a day to forget for Alfa Romeo right from the start as a scary crash on the opening lap saw Zhou Guanyu out of the race. Fortunately, the Chinese driver walked away without any injuries. His teammate Valtteri Bottas also joined him on the sidelines due to a technical issue. A difficult day for the team on a day where a chaotic race could’ve translated into good points.

Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo’s struggles at McLaren is no old story, and it continues to rear its ugly head, and Silverstone. On a day where Lando Norris was taking a strong sixth place finish, Ricciardo only managed to finish in 13th place. 

You won’t have to wait too long before F1 returns to racing action, as next up is the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring which will take place in less than seven days' time.