Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ seven-time Formula One world champion, Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen began the race on pole position but the first lap saw a minor collision between Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez which resulted in a five-second penalty for Russell and eventually knocking Perez out of the race later as the damage his car sustained was too much to continue racing. That left only Verstappen, Leclerc, his Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, Jr. and Hamilton – who started eighth – to battle it out for the podium places in the race after the initial pit crossovers on Lap 19.
Those four drivers switched various places over the ensuing 38 laps until disaster struck Sainz, Jr. on Lap 57 as his Ferrari engine failed and he was out of the race. After a short safety car period, Leclerc battled a throttle issue on his car and held off Verstappen while Hamilton cruised home with an easy third place finish.
With the victory, Leclerc closes the gap somewhat to Verstappen in the 2022 Formula 1 driver’s championship standings with 170 points to Verstappen’s 208 as Perez holds on to third with 151 points over Sainz, Jr. in fourth with 133 points, Russell in fifth with 126 points and Hamilton in sixth with 106 points.
2022 Austrian Grand Prix – Top 10 Finishers
1] Charles Leclerc Ferrari
2] Max Verstappen Red Bull
3] Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
4] George Russell Mercedes
5] Esteban Ocon Alpine
6] Mick Schumacher Haas
7] Lando Norris McLaren
8] Kevin Magnussen Haas
9] Daniel Ricciardo McLaren
10] Fernando Alonso Alpine
