The hills are alive to the sound of roaring F1 engines. And eventually the sound of the Monaco national anthem as Charles Leclerc defied Max Verstappen and the trend of his season recently to win. Our 2022 Austrian Grand Prix Results, Lap by Lap, Review & Summary will try and do the race justice.
Our review covers what happened in the race so you don’t have to in the laps that matter. Plus we throw in our Race Ratings, the Best (Great) and Worst (Grape) drivers of the race weekend.
The 2022 Austrian Grand Prix Results, Lap by Lap, Review & Summary gives you just enough to catch up with. With just a small serving of cynicism. The perfect bite sized review for those who couldn’t be bothered, or don’t have enough time.
And why not check out our latest Grand Prix Power Rankings which highlight our driver of the season so far and the last race.
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2022 Austrian Grand Prix Results
THE LAPS THAT MATTERED
Didn’t see the race live? Don’t have time to watch the whole race? Well here are the top laps where stuff happened. We write these live as we go, sort of like a minute by minute for the football, but marginally more interesting.
Setting the Scene – Well there was sprint race won by Max Verstappen on the Saturday from the pole position he won on Friday, behind that there were a few Ferrari battling for next best which eventually fell to Charles Leclerc. Sergio Perez was the eye catcher moving from 13th in qualifying to 5th by the end of the sprint race. Normally we’d provide a lap by lap of the sprint race, but they are becoming a waste of time and effort.
A bit of a mix up of the bottom half of the top ten which sets the grid for the race. Fernando Alonso the big loser retiring on the first lap and will start from the back row of the grid with Valtteri Bottas who took penalties for new parts.
The parade lap featured more orange smoke than Pauline Hanson being unable to answer a difficult question but gotta love the Dutch F1 fans enthusiasm.
TOP 10 GRID – VER LEC SAI RUS PER OCO MAG HAM MSC NOR
Lap 1 – Max Verstappen gets away well and leads Leclerc into the first major corners. George Russell overtakes Carlos Sainz briefly into turn one but by turn three is behind. Which leaves him battling with Sergio Perez and they collide at the fourth corner. Perez tries to go around the outside which is never going to work and ends up in the gravel, move was never on and is punished accordingly. In good news for Australian F1 fans Daniel Ricciardo makes a good start and is 9th and ahead of his team mate. Probably won’t last, but we’ll take it given the 2022 season of misery. Back of the grid fast cars Bottas, Vettel and Alonso yet to pass Latifi, which is an indication of a lack of progress. By lap seven Alonso and friends are stil lnot ahead.
ORDER – VER LEC SAI RUS OCO MAG HAM MSC RIC NOR
Lap 5 – Five laps in and not a great deal of action, aside from Mick Schumacher getting past Lewis Hamilton who had a bit of a moment coming out of a corner. Further ahead Max Verstappen is just six tenths ahead of Charles Leclerc who holds fastest lap for now. There could be a race in this after all. For context Sainz is already two second behind Leclerc with Russell six second behind Sainz.
Lap 8-9 – Charles Leclerc is having a genuine sniff at the rear end of Max Verstappen. Of course these are F1 drivers we are talking about and not dogs, but that’s how close the two are heading into turn three. One wonders if Max will cock his leg at Leclerc at some stage.
Lap 10 – Wow! Leclerc almost sneaks up the inside of turn three but somehow Verstappen stays ahead on the outside. Learning nothing from Sergio Perez, Leclerc tries aroudn the outside of the next major braking point and loses time. Not much, but enough to stuff him for the next lap overtaking.
George Russell gets a five second penalty for the turn one clash. Bit harsh considering Perez shouldn’t have bothered. But consistent with previous season’s incidents. Russell takes his penalty and a fresh set of tyres, a new front wing and a change of strategy.
Lap 12 – Charles Leclerc overtakes Max Verstappen for the lead!!! Leclerc seems to take Verstappen by surprise into turn five (or four not sure) and dives down the inside. Verstappen, who seems to be showing Leclerc respect leaves room. Interesting that Leclerc and Verstappen, and everyone else other than Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen can race without clashing this year. Max Verstappen pits a lap later and drops to 8th. It’s a mixed up order now on lap 14.
ORDER – LEC SAI OCO MAG MSC HAM NOR VER STR TSU
Lap 15 – Magic overtake on Mick Schumacher by Lewis Hamilton on a corner which sees minimal overtaking. A podium is available here if he can jump the previous lesser cars. A lap later he also gets past Magnussen for 4th. Good race brewing for Sir Lewis. Pity he is 20 seconds behind Leclerc already with Max right on his tail. Do we have to refer to a earlier entry soon. We’ll see.
Lap 19 – Max flies past Lewis Hamilton due to the fact he has fresher tyres and a better car.
Lap 20 – After being distracted by the Wimbledon final of Jerk v Jerkovic we realised that we’ve missed a few pitstops. Not the Ferraris though who are 1-2 or Lewis Hamilton. Maybe the Ferraris are doing something special with their strategy. Based on previous races where they have screwed Leclerc royally we find that hard to believe.
Lap 22 – Some fun racing in the midfield between a bunch of cars. You can usually rely on cars 7th to 12th to provide some entertainment. Time for a quick order check, although it is probably a waste of time due to pits stops or not.
ORDER LEC SAI VER HAM STR OCO TSU ZHO ALO MAG
Lap 25 – Wow again. You should probably see the above bunch of five midfield cars going two and three wide and deep into all the corners of lap 25. Norris starts the lap 11th and halfway around is 8th then 9th. Hard to keep up. God bless the midfield. For the record Daniel Ricciardo is just about to join the battle too.
Lap 26 – A Red Bull and a Ferrari pit. Leclerc for tyres and Perez to retire. Leclerc gets out in front of Lewis Hamilton (4th) and obviously Perez just gets out of his car. In less exciting news Sainz pits the next lap, but he doesn’t get out in front of Lewis Hamilton. The race is here for the taking for Leclerc. Unless his team have a bad track record in 2022 for unreliability and bad strategy. Hmmmm, that don’t sound good does it.
Lap 29 – Lewis Hamilton pits. It was a slow one for this day and age – four seconds. Comes out behind Ocon as punishment. For the record Nick Kyrgios won the first set of the Wimbledon final.
Lap 32 – Charles Leclerc catching up with Max Verstappen in front. The Ferrari driver setting a fresh fastest lap for a decent marker. Interesting with the difference in strategy how this will play out.
Lap 33 – Charles Leclerc eases past Max Verstappen for first in the most casual pass for first in recent years. Verstappen looks to be having tyres troubles or settling for second. Something you can afford with a sprint race win in your pocket and a handy Championship lead. Everyone has pitted so time for an order update.
ORDER – LEC VER SAI HAM OCO MSC MAG NOR RUS RIC
Lap 35 – Lando Norris gets a five second penalty for track limits a lap after Pierre Gasly gets one. The field is now on notice with penalties handed out to drivers with more regularity than a first day of school parking blitz. Zhou gets one a lap later.
Lap 37 – Max Verstappen pits for new tyres. Now this is interesting. Do Ferrari stop for new tyres eventually or do they hang on with older (and slower) rubber. We’ll have to keep an eye on the gap between Leclerc and Verstappen and see if it is within a pitstop (18-20 seconds). Obviously Max drops behind Carlos Sainz.
Lap 38 – For those who have advised us we are too hard on Latifi, he is dead last 24 seconds behind second last and over 30 seconds behind his team mate. Sure we are simply hoping he gets the arse for Australian Oscar Piastri, but surely no one will really mind.
Lap 40 – Sebastian Vettel, who we forgot was in this race, spins. Replays shows a clash with Pierre Gasly who looks plenty to blame. For the record Vettel still resumes ahead of Latifi. But that’s enough bashing of him for now. What’s happening further ahead.
Lap 42 – Well thanks for asking. Is George Russell pitting from 9th high enough? Not really, as he only joins 14th. What about Lando Norris getting past Kevin Magnussen for 7th? Still not good enough? Well Max Verstappen is within 17 seconds of Leclerc which will begin to make Ferrari start second guessing their strategy. That’s not a good thing.
ORDER – LEC SAI VER HAM OCO MSC NOR RIC ALO STR (Magnussen pits as we were typing)
Lap 43 – Lewis Hamilton gets a five second penalty too. It’s getting a little Oprah Winfrey here. E.g. “You Get One, You Get One, etc”. Lame joke we know, but you think of something better at After Midnight. The time, not the JJ Cale song or movie.
Lap 45 – George Russell overtakes two cars in one lap. Decent effort, one was on Lance Stroll. Who loses out to Mick Schumacher a few corners later. Maybe he can ask his dad to buy the places back. In fairness, Stroll passes Mick Schumacher back on a good move half a lap later. A lap after that Stroll loses out to both Haas drivers in the first few corners.
Lap 49 – Interesting, Esteban Ocon in sixth unlaps himself on leader Charles Leclerc. Realising that staying out will completely f–k their race, Ferrari pit Leclerc. Of course the Ferrari driver will fall behind Verstappen, but it’s only three or so seconds and his tyres are 13 laps newer. Sainz gets some fresh rubber a lap later.
Lap 52 – Finding his race as pointless as we do, Nicholas Latifi retires.
Lap 53 – Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen battle for the lead, swapping positions for a few corners from turn three. Leclerc takes the lead and he should win this easily. Apologies in advance for Leclerc for the potential kiss of death. We like Leclerc.
Lap 57 – Did we mention Ferrari reliability earlier? Well, Carlos Sainz retires with a busted engine just as he approaches Max Verstappen for second. In sort of funny scenes the car catches on fire, and understandably Carlos Sainz jumps out, but then the car starts rolling back down the steep hill. This sets off a Virtual Safety Car, and both Leclerc and Verstappen pit. So Ferrari are learning then. Pity about Sainz who looks rather sad at his DNF. Fair enough too. Daniel Ricciardo on for point in 10th, so happy days.
ORDER – LEC VER HAM OCO RUSS MSC MAG NOR ALO RIC
Lap 60 – The Virtual Safety Car “leaves the track” and the race resumes.
Lap 61 – Leclerc radios his team to say his throttle is “feeling funny”. Given Sainz’s recent retirement, you can smell the upcoming disappointment.
Lap 62 – George Russell passes Esteban Ocon for fourth. That’ll probably work for both of them. Norris gets past Magnussen for 7th. Further ahead Mick Schumacher doing a good job in 6th.
Lap 64 – Leclerc is still worried about his throttle, and Max Verstappen is catching and setting a fastest lap. Just seven laps to go and this will be tense for Ferrari. Max Verstappen edging closer and closer by a tenth here and there. Gap is down to 3.1 seconds by lap 67. Losing a tenth of a second per sector.
Decent battle for 10th between Bottas and Albon.
Lap 68 – Leclerc’s lead is down to 2.7 seconds. Verstappen could be within a second (and DRS) by the last lap. How exciting.
Lap 70 – Lead stretches out to 3.0 seconds with a lap to go. With the lap shorter than a trip to the local shops he should be OK now.
Last Lap – Charles Leclerc holds on to win the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, and who could begrudge him the win after some bad luck in 2022. But Max Verstappen does get rather close by the end of the lap. Good day for Mercedes with a 3-4 finishing position, albeit with Hamilton 40 seconds behind the top two. Good points for Alpine, Haas and McLaren in no particular order. The Dutch fans let off their orange flares regardless of a lack of wins. Either a devil-may-care attitude or respect for Leclerc.
FINAL ORDER – LEC VER HAM RUS OCO MSC NOR MAG RIC ALO
2022 Austrian Grand Prix Results
RACE RATING
Was it a good race, loads of action, tense, or just a big, fat, snooze-fest.
We rate the big race itself so we know which races to go back and watch in the off season or one to simply remember the winner for the post season quiz nights.
SEASON IMPORTANCE – 8 / 10
Good result for the Championship with Leclerc not only ahead of Verstappen for this race, but they had the genuine speed, if not the ultimate reliability.
ON TRACK ACTION – 9 / 10
Passes for the lead. loads of midfield battles including a five car royal rumble at one stage. Austria usually provides entertainment being an oversized go kart track, and it delivered as ever.
ENDING 7 / 10
A late Virtual Safety Car gave the top two fresh tyres and chance for an exciting finish. Tense times for Leclerc as he worried about a car issue for the last eight laps or so, and rightly worried after his team mate’s car burst into flames not much earlier.
OVERALL RATING 24 / 30
Another good race at the Red Bull Ring, no wonder they had two races here during Covid. And who doesn’t love the Italian National Anthem.
2022 SEASON RATINGS SO FAR
Want to know what we thought of previous races? Or which ones to to back and watch?
R1 Bahrain Grand Prix 26/30
R2 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix 21/30
R3 Australian Grand Prix 16/30
R4 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix 17/30
R5 Miami Grand Prix 19/30
R6 Spanish Grand Prix 17/30
R7 Monaco Grand Prix 24/30
R8 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 22/30
R9 Canadian Grand Prix 21/30
R10 British Grand Prix 26.5/30
Season Average – 21.2 / 30
2022 Austrian Grand Prix Results
GREAT & GRAPE OF THE RACE
Here we go through the field and highlight the very best (Great) of the race, and the plodders, the over-ambitious, the out of luck, and simply hopeless (Grape).
These points get added to our Driver of the Season scores. Five points for a great nomination, and -5 for the worst or grapest driver in the pack. Then it is +2 /-2 for honourable or dishonourable mentions.
It used to be called the good, bad and ugly, but everyone is using that now. And who doesn’t like grapes.
THE GREAT-EST – CHARLES LECLERC
Get his first win in 2022 since Australia, which is so long ago we can’t remember how many races ago it was. For once the car held together and he wasn’t stuffed by his team on strategy. Solid stuff and good for the Championship.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
LEWIS HAMILTON – Another podium, so good enough end result. His Mercedes is quite a bit behind the top two though.
ESTEBAN OCON – Solid fifth placing, and he drove an obscure race which is a good sign he had a good day out.
MICK SCHUMACHER – Followed up points in the last raced with more here, and he looked quite competent racing against more established drivers and World Champions no less.
MCLARENS – Given how bad it looked at times over the weekend, double points will be welcomed. Norris looked as fast as ever around the Austrian track.
THE GRAPE-EST – CARLOS SAINZ
Lost a probably second place with an engine failure followed by a fire. Was second best to Leclerc most of the weekend.
DIS-HONOURABLE MENTIONS
SERGIO PEREZ – Not a wise move around the outside of George Russell at turn four. You have to be really good or lucky to make that stick early in a race and the Mexican was neither.
SEBASTIAN VETTEL – Not a great weekend all round and whatever he was trying to earn back was wasted by being turfed off the track by Pierre Gasly.
NICHOLAS LATIFI – Surely it’s time to give anyone else a go.
2022 F1 Season Power Rankings
Stay tuned for our Power Rankings from the race soon as it is currently being calculated.
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