It is the first win for a Spanish driver in F1 since Alonso’s win at the 2013 Spanish GP.
Came the day! Carlos Sainz has achieved his first victory in Formula 1 in a historic British Grand Prix that began with a terrible scare due to the accident of Guanyu Zhou and ended with some beautiful and close battles. Carlos, with a better strategy at the end, escaped to win his first victory in the premier category of motorsport.
He hasn’t had it easy, but he hasn’t thrown away the battle at any time and the battle has had its reward. Although his pace was not as good as that of his teammate Leclerc, the conditions of the race this time did favor the man from Madrid. Fernando Alonso, who also had a brilliant race, finished fifth.
Sainz, after winning pole position yesterday, made two race starts from the first position. In the first, Carlos opted for a medium tire for the start, but whoever started second, Max Verstappen, went soft… and that was decisive, since with this tire – faster – the Dutchman easily overtook the Ferrari 55. But the departure from the British GP had another protagonist: Guanyu Zhou.
The Chinese driver took a hit from George Russell, who in turn was touched by Pierre Gasly in the snatch. The Alfa Romeo overturned after the impact of the British Mercedes and reached the end of the straight upside down, with such bad luck that he jumped over the tire barriers and his car ended up embedded in the gap between the fence that separates the circuit from the service roads and the tire barrier.
TREMENDOUS! 😱This was Guanyu Zhou’s shocking accident at SilverstoneThe halo has once again saved a life 👏👏 Incredible how the car is upside down and goes over the protections#BritishDAZNF1 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/EwUVIvdtFS
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) July 3, 2022
Fortunately, Zhou was able to be transferred to the medical center conscious and a couple of hours later, he was released. Also involved in other accidents at the start were Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda, who like Russell and Zhou, dropped out.
The race resumes… and Sainz holds on
After almost an hour of red flag, the race resumed. This time, Carlos did hold on to first place ahead of Verstappen, who put on a medium tyre. The Dutchman and his partner, Sergio Pérez, had to fight to maintain position with a Charles Leclerc who had been damaged and hit Pérez’s Red Bull, damaging both cars.
Pérez would have to pit for a change of front wing, but it would not be the only drama at Red Bull, as Verstappen’s pace suddenly dropped just as he had managed to overtake Carlos Sainz after a mistake by Carlos on lap 12. First it was a puncture when passing over some pieces and then damage to the flat bottom.
Sainz, due to Verstappen’s problems, got back into the lead and tried to get in the way of Leclerc, who had also overtaken Max, who without rhythm fell to eighth place.
This was the start at Silverstone! RED FLAG after a crash on the first lap! 🚩 Waiting for information about the state of Zhou#BritishDAZNF1 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/gITxOqljNI
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) July 3, 2022
Sainz’s pace was not good enough to break away and Leclerc got behind his teammate, asking the team to let him pass. Carlos held on for a few laps, but couldn’t get away and after the pit stops, Charles managed to pass his teammate, who began to fall into the clutches of Lewis Hamilton, who stretched his stint a few more laps.
When it seemed impossible for Sainz to have any chance of victory again, Ocon suddenly suffered a mechanical problem and stopped on the track. The FIA decided to bring out the safety car and Ferrari opted to mount Sainz on soft tires, which was decisive so that, once the action resumed, the Madrid native regained the lead by overtaking his teammate, Leclerc, who had not stopped. .
A HISTORICAL ADVANCEMENT 🔥This is how Carlos Sainz beat Leclerc at Silverstone to get his first victory 🙌#BritishDAZNF1pic.twitter.com/zVt3oJU1qD
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) July 3, 2022
While Sainz was escaping, the fight was behind. Hamilton, also with new rubber, lost position with Sergio Pérez and Leclerc fell into the clutches of the Mexican. The three, before the watchful eye of Fernando Alonso – who was fifth – exchanged their positions in some brilliant fights without touching.
After 52 laps, Sainz crossed the finish line in first position, more than three seconds ahead of Sergio Pérez and more than six over Lewis Hamilton. Charles Leclerc was the loser of these final battles due to worn tires on him. Fernando Alonso finished fifth, followed by Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Mick Schumacher, who scored his first F1 points.
Results British GP F1 2022
Position | Pilot | Equipment | time/difference |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Carlos Sainz | ferrari | 52 laps |
2nd | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +3,779 |
3rd | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +6,225 |
4th | charles leclerc | ferrari | +8,546 |
5th | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | +9,571 |
6th | lando norris | McLaren | +11,943 |
7th | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +18,777 |
8th | Mike Schumacher | Hass | +18,995 |
9th | Sebastian Vettel | Aston-Martin | +22,356 |
10th | Kevin Magnussen | Hass | +24,590 |
11th | Lance Stroll | Aston-Martin | +26,147 |
12th | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | +32,511 |
13th | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | +32,817 |
14th | yuki tsunoda | Alpha Taurus | +40,910 |
RET | Stephen Ocon | Alpine | – |
RET | Pierre Gasley | Alpha Taurus | – |
RET | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | – |
RET | George Russell | Mercedes | – |
RET | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | – |
RET | Alex Alban | Williams | – |
Formula 1 will be back in action in just one week, with the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.