Charles Leclerc won from second on the grid at the Red Bull Ring, while Max Verstappen's sprint win and reports of spectator harassment dominated the weekend.
Leclerc crossed the line first at Spielberg on 10 July 2022 for Ferrari, with Verstappen second for Red Bull and Hamilton third for Mercedes. It was Ferrari's first Austrian win since 2003, though the weekend was overshadowed by spectator harassment reports.
Charles Leclerc won the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg on 10 July 2022, starting from second on the grid. Max Verstappen, who had qualified on pole, finished second, and Lewis Hamilton took third. For Ferrari it was a first success at Spielberg since 2003, although the weekend was overshadowed by reports of spectator harassment.
Where did the Austrian race sit in the 2022 season?
This was the eleventh stop on the 2022 calendar, and the 35th time the Austrian race had counted towards the title. It was the second weekend of the year to use the sprint format, and it ran from 8 to 10 July at the Red Bull Ring.
Verstappen led the drivers' table by 34 points from his team-mate Sergio Perez, with Leclerc a further nine points back in third. Red Bull led the constructors' standings by 63 points from Ferrari, and Mercedes were 124 points behind Red Bull in third.
Pirelli supplied its C3, C4 and C5 compounds, known as hard, medium and soft. The circuit has long straights and a handful of heavy braking zones, so tyre choice and degradation were likely to matter over a race distance of 71 laps.
A row over spectator harassment shared the spotlight with Leclerc's win, the first for Ferrari in Austria since 2003.
What was the fan behaviour row about?
During the weekend, a number of spectators complained of being harassed by other fans. Formula One teams and drivers moved quickly to condemn the behaviour, and the sport considered lifetime bans from attending races as a possible punishment. Lewis Hamilton called the abuse disgusting, while Verstappen described the harassment as appalling and said it must never be tolerated.
Sebastian Vettel went further, calling for the sport to ban for life any spectator who harassed other fans at races. Criticism from drivers across the paddock kept the issue at the front of the weekend's coverage, even before the first flag was waved on track.
How did qualifying set up the sprint?
Two one-hour practice sessions came first. Qualifying took place on the same day and set the grid for the sprint. In the first part, Vettel, Latifi, Zhou, Stroll and Ricciardo went out, and Vettel also lost a lap time, which dropped him from 17th to 20th.
In the second part, Norris went wide on each lap and posted nothing usable, a brake fault being the cause. Gasly, Bottas, Albon, Tsunoda and Norris also fell away at that stage. Perez's lap times were deleted for track limits, and he was reverted to his best legal time, which left him 13th.
The third part was a ten-car shootout for pole, and it was interrupted twice. Hamilton spun on a fast lap, hit the barrier and brought out a red flag. Russell then spun at turn ten and also struck the barrier. Verstappen took pole, Leclerc was second and Sainz third, while Russell moved up to fourth and Ocon to fifth after Perez's times were removed, and Gasly was promoted to tenth.
What happened in the sprint?
The sprint had been scheduled for 24 laps, but an aborted start caused by a stopped car meant it was shortened by one lap. Fernando Alonso stayed on the grid, wheel blankets still attached, after an electrical fault. Zhou was also sent to the pit lane after an engine issue on the formation lap.
Verstappen kept the lead into turn one, while Sainz passed Leclerc at the same corner. Hamilton then made contact with Gasly at turn one, which spun Gasly around. Albon forced Norris off the track and was penalised five seconds for the move, and Vettel collided with Albon later on and retired on lap 21.
Verstappen won the sprint, with Leclerc second and Sainz third, while Hamilton's late gain brought him up to eighth. Russell was fourth and Perez fifth, while Ocon finished sixth, Kevin Magnussen seventh, Hamilton eighth, Mick Schumacher ninth and Bottas tenth. Bottas was later required to start the grand prix from the pit lane because of a new rear wing assembly.
How did the grand prix unfold?
Verstappen kept his place into the first corner, Leclerc did likewise, and Russell applied pressure to Sainz there. Perez tried a move around the outside of Russell as they left turn three. They were alongside each other as they approached turn four, and a touch between Russell's left-front and Perez's right-rear sent Perez spinning into the gravel, where he retired.
Russell was given a five-second penalty for the contact. He served it during a pit stop to change his front wing, and he rejoined 19th, only ahead of Perez, who had already gone. Leclerc kept pace with Verstappen and passed him for the lead on lap 12 with the help of DRS.
Verstappen pitted the following lap, and Leclerc waited until lap 27 before stopping, coming out behind his rival. The two swapped positions several times during the stops that followed. By lap 53 Leclerc had caught and passed Verstappen again, after a long spell of pressure on the Dutchman.
Sainz, who was in DRS range of Verstappen and close to a move, saw his power unit fail on lap 57. The retirement brought out a virtual safety car, and Leclerc and Verstappen both took the chance to switch to fresh medium tyres for the finish.
Leclerc held on despite problems with his car to win. Verstappen finished second and collected an extra point for the fastest lap. Hamilton was third, Russell fourth, Ocon fifth and Schumacher sixth, with Schumacher's result his best finish in Formula One at that point.
Throughout the race, Gasly, Norris and Zhou were each given five-second penalties for exceeding track limits. Gasly was penalised again after contact with Vettel at turn four, and Vettel finished 16th with a penalty of his own. Further down, Norris was seventh, Magnussen eighth and Ricciardo ninth, and Alonso took tenth with a last-lap pass on Bottas.
| Finish | Driver | Team | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | Started second; first win without starting from pole |
| Second | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Pole sitter; extra point for the fastest lap |
| Third | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Finished ahead of Russell and Ocon |
| Fifth | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | Sprint sixth to race fifth |
| Sixth | Mick Schumacher | Haas | Improved his highest Formula One finish |
| Retired | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | Spun into the gravel at turn four |
Leclerc's win was his third and last of the 2022 season. It was also the last Ferrari win until the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, and it lifted him above Perez into second in the drivers' table, on 170 points. Perez's retirement cost him ground he could not easily recover.
What did the result change in the championship?
Verstappen's lead grew to 38 points despite his second place. Red Bull kept its advantage in the constructors' standings, while Ferrari closed the gap to 56 points. The race showed that the title fight would be decided by pace and reliability across a long season rather than by one weekend's form.
Hamilton's podium was a useful result for Mercedes, which still had work to do to close the distance to the leading teams. For Leclerc the win was a boost at a time when his results had been uneven, and it reinforced Ferrari's hope of a strong second half of the year.
