F1 Austrian Grand Prix 2022 results: Leclerc holds off Verstappen to win as Sainz and Perez both retire

Nathan Evans

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F1 Austrian Grand Prix 2022 results: Leclerc holds off Verstappen to win as Sainz and Perez both retire image

Charles Leclerc took the race win on a dramatic day at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, as the Ferrari driver finally got back to winning ways in his bid to clinch a first World Drivers' Championship this season.

Despite struggling with technical problems late on due to a faulty throttle, Leclerc held just enough pace to keep Red Bull's Max Verstappen at bay, as the pole-sitter finished his team's home race in P2. Verstappen did claim an extra point for recording the fastest lap. 

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton rounded out the podium places in P3, as championship contenders Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz both failed to finish the race at the Red Bull Ring. 

Perez collided with George Russell on the opening lap of the race, which dealt terminal damage to his Red Bull car and led to the British driver receiving a five-second penalty, whilst Sainz's Ferrari went up in flames as he chased down Verstappen for P2 near the end of the race. 

Russell went on to finish P4 with Esteban Ocon, Mick Schumacher, Lando Norris, Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso rounding out the top 10 to take home valuable points. 

2022 Austrian Grand Prix results

Position Driver Team Points
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 25
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 21
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 16
4 George Russell  Mercedes 12
5 Esteban Ocon Alpine 10
6 Mick Schumacher Haas  8
7 Lando Norris McLaren 6
8 Kevin Magnussen Haas 4
9 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 2
10 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1
11 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo  
12 Alex Albon Williams  
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin  
14 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo  
15 Pierre Gasly  AlphaTauri  
16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri  
17 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin  
DNF Carlos Sainz Ferrari  
DNF Nicholas Latifi Williams  
DNF Sergio Perez Red Bull  

Leclerc holds nerve to end winless run

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc finally got back to winning ways to take the chequered flag at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, as he jumped up to second spot in the World Drivers' Championship standings.

The title hopeful exerted his dominance throughout the race at the Red Bull Ring to twice overtake Max Verstappen on track and come home victorious for the first time since the Australian Grand Prix back in early April.

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Getty Images

Late problems with his throttle made for a tough final few laps, though Leclerc managed the difficulties expertly to bring his Ferrari home in P1. 

Sainz and Perez both retire

It was far from good news for Leclerc's teammate, Carlos Sainz, though, who saw his Ferrari engulfed by flames during the latter stages of the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix. 

The Spaniard - who won his first ever F1 race last time out in Silverstone - was chasing down Verstappen in an effort to claim P2 when his Ferrari's power unit failed and caught fire on the straight down to corner four at the Red Bull Ring. 

Sainz was forced to quickly evacuate as race stewards struggled to keep the flames under control. 

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Getty Images

Red Bull's Sergio Perez was also forced to retire from the race after he collided with Mercedes' George Russell on the opening lap of the race, which resulted in his car picking up hefty damage. 

The crash, which saw Perez spin into the gravel, was deemed Russell's fault for which he received a five-second penalty. That won't be any consolation to Perez, though, who now drops down to third in the World Drivers' Championship standings following Leclerc's victory. 

Another double points finish for Haas 

American team Haas continue to close the gap towards the elite with their raw pace, as drivers Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen again both took points at the Austrian Grand Prix. 

Finishing in P6 and P8, respectively, the midfield team looked threatening all weekend, especially with their raw straight-line speed that constantly proved problematic for rival drivers around the Red Bull Ring. 

With his P6, Schumacher also recorded his highest-ever finish in a Formula 1 race as his budding career in the sport continues to go from strength to strength. 

Formula 1 Drivers' Championship standings after 2022 Austrian Grand Prix

Position Driver Team Points
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 208
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 170
3 Sergio Perez Red Bull 151
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 133
5 George Russell Mercedes 128
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 109
7 Lando Norris McLaren 64
8 Esteban Ocon Alpine 52
9 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 46
10 Fernando Alonso Alpine 29
11 Kevin Magnussen Haas 22
12 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 17
13 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 16
14 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 15
15 Mick Schumacher Haas 12
16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 11
17 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 5
18 Alexndar Albon Williams 3
19 Lance Stroll Haas 3
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams 0

F1 Austrian Grand Prix 2022 as it happened

RACE FINISH: LECLERC WINS THE 2022 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX!! The Ferrari driver wrestles his stricken car home just in time as Verstappen runs out of laps to really pile the pressure on his championship rival. 

Hamilton finishes on the podium again in P3 whilst Russell, Ocon, Schumacher, Norris, Magnussen, Ricciardo and Alonso round out the top ten and all take home points. 

Championship contenders Sainz and Perez are both forced to retire from the race. 

Lap 69: Verstappen is pulling chunks of time out of Leclerc's lead here as it collapses down to just 2 seconds now. The Dutch driver may just run out of laps as Leclerc struggles with throttle problems. 

Lap 67: Hamilton and Russell are in P3 and P4 currently which would be another fantastic result for Mercedes, especially as both drivers crashed in qualifying on Friday afternoon. 

Lap 65: Verstappen is absolutely flying here as he takes the fastest lap of the grand prix on his fresh medium tyres. He has 3.6 seconds to make up on Leclerc but he could just run out of time in this race to steal the win away. 

Lap 62: The virtual safety car ends with Leclerc and Verstappen both taking an extra pit stop during that and moving onto the medium tyres. An interesting last ten laps are coming up! 

Lap 58: SAINZ IS OUT!!! His car is on fire and he's forced to pull over at the side of the track. Sainz is almost engulfed in the flames as it quickly takes hold of his car which then starts to roll back towards the track. It's a virtual safety car. 

Lap 55: Leclerc once again leads the Austrian Grand Prix as he overtakes Verstappen at turn three! That was as easy as it gets and it seems the Red Bull championship leader knew he couldn't fight it. 

Lap 54: Latifi becomes the second retirement this afternoon after Perez came into the pit indefinitely earlier in the race. 

Lap 52: Leclerc and Sainz pit! It's another hard set of tyres for the championship contenders as both now have to chase down Verstappen who moves up into the lead.  

Lap 48: This grand prix is ebbing and flowing now as we come towards the later stages of this race. Leclerc still leads from Sainz but Verstappen is cutting their lead lap by lap. 

Both Haas cars get past Stroll at turn three as Schumacher and Magnussen move up to P8 and P9 respectively. 

Lap 45: Gasly does receive another penalty for that bump with Vettel. Hamilton is the latest to get a black and white flag for exceeding track limits, another one and that's a five second penalty. 

Lap 42: Vettel spins and is in the gravel after he collides with Gasly. It's proving a tough afternoon for the French driver who already has a five second for exceeding track limits and will likely get another for causing a collision there.

Lap 38: Sainz is promoted to P2 as Verstappen makes what he'll be hoping is his final pitstop of the afternoon. It's currently a Ferrari lockout at the front in P1 and P2. 

Lap 36: Something else to mention, Gasly and Norris have both received five second penalties for continually exceeding track limits. Don't be surprised if more join them on that list. 

Lap 33: Leclerc overtakes Verstappen to retake the lead of the Austrian Grand Prix!! It perhaps wasn't the most exciting overtake but it's a big statement by Ferrari.

It's important to remember that these two drivers are on different strategies with Verstappen on a two stop and Leclerc on the one stop. The Dutchman's last tyre stint will be interesting.

Lap 29: Red Bull's Perez is forced to retire from this race owing to that early damage from his opening lap collision with Russell who has received a five second penalty from the race stewards. 

Both Ferraris now pit in consecutive laps as Verstappen again leads the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix. 

Lap 27: What a midfield battle we're being treated to here as Norris, Alonso, Zhou Guanyu, Magnussen and Schumacher fight it out. They're constantly overtaking each other as all five head into corner three together and somehow don't collide at all. 

Lap 24: So to recap, Leclerc leads from Sainz, Verstappen and Hamilton. Leclerc did overtake Verstappen on track but then the Red Bull driver pitted for his hard tyres. That means that when the Ferraris both pit, Verstappen will be back into the lead of this race. 

Lap 20: It's like 2021 all over again as Hamilton and Verstappen battle it out for position. The Mercedes man does well to defend at corner three but then the Dutchman flies past him down the straight to corner four. Verstappen is already back up to P3 having already made his early pitstop. 

Lap 15: Verstappen responds by pitting for a set of hard tyres. It definitely looks like Ferrari are coping with the cooler weather this afternoon in Austria better than Red Bull at present. Leclerc and Sainz are both on their final warnings for exceeding the track limits though.

Hamilton overtakes both Haas cars in one lap further down the order! The British driver is now up to P4. 

Lap 12: Leclerc leads the Austrian Grand Prix!!! It's a really smart move by the Ferrari driver who sneaks down the inside at corner four. 

Lap 10: Leclerc makes a huge dive on Verstappen at turn three but the Dutch driver just about stays infront of his championship rival for now. That Ferrari looks very, very quick this afternoon. Down the order, Russell has received a five second penalty for causing a collision with Perez. 

Lap 8: After his contact with Perez on the opening lap, Russell is falling into the hands of Alpine's Ocon who is starting his 100th Grand Prix this weekend. Upfront, Leclerc is closing quickly on Verstappen. 

Lap 4: DRS is enabled as Leclerc just about stays in the one-second window to race leader Verstappen. Elsewhere, Schumacher has passed Hamilton up the long straight to turn three and the young German is up into P7. 

 

RACE START: It's a disaster for Perez who's punted off the track by Russell at turn four! That could also be a huge blow for Red Bull's strategy at the front where Verstappen still leads from Leclerc and Sainz.

2 minutes to lights out: The cars are out on track to begin their formation lap ahead of the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix minus Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas who starts from the pit lane. The atmosphere sounds phenomenal! 

15 minutes to lights out: Speaking of Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton's car is currently being worked on by his team. It sounds and looks like its a brake issue and time is ticking quickly to get it fixed..

30 minutes to lights out: What about George Russell's chances from P4 then? Well, the Brit wasn't happy with the cars performance yesterday in the Sprint as he finished well behind Sainz who finished P3. 

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has explained that Russell's crash in qualifying has seriously hampered his chances here as he's now got an old rear wing on his car this weekend compared to the new and improved one that his team brought to Austria. Perez could jump him from the off then as the Mexican driver starts just behind in P5. 

45 minutes to lights out: What will be interesting to see today is how Ferrari respond to Verstappen’s dominance in the Sprint race yesterday. 

It all got a bit heated between Leclerc and Sainz in the early laps of yesterday’s race with some intense on-track battling which allowed the Dutchman to escape down the road. If they want to challenge for the win today, both will have to swallow a bit of pride and work together to close the gap.

1 hour to lights out: Welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of the Austrian Grand Prix, the 11th race of the 2022 Formula 1 calendar.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz took his first ever victory in Formula One last time out in the United Kingdom as the 2022 British GP delivered the most action-packed and entertaining race of the season so far. 

The Spanish driver fought off Red Bull's Sergio Perez, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc to finish P1 after a late safety car proved to come at the perfect time for Sainz. 

Perez and Hamilton completed the podium whilst it was a day to forget for current championship leader Max Verstappen, who suffered a tyre puncture and ultimately had to settle for P7 in his damaged Red Bull car. 

MORE: Audi and Porsche to join Formula 1 in 2026, Volkswagen CEO confirms

F1 Austrian Grand Prix 2022 starting grid

It was better news for Verstappen yesterday, though, as the Dutch driver dominated the 2022 Austrian Sprint from start to finish to claim the pole position for today's grand prix as well as eight all-important world championship points. 

The Red Bull driver and fan favourite in Austria fought off Ferrari pair Leclerc and Sainz on the opening lap to storm away with his second Sprint victory of the season from two attempts. Here, he'll be attempting to win his fourth Austrian GP from five attempts this afternoon which would make him the most successful driver at this event in history. 

Leclerc and Sainz fought each other hard to claim P2 and P3 in the Sprint yesterday with Mercedes' George Russell coming home in P4 as he found himself too far off the pace to trouble the top three. 

Red Bull's Sergio Perez stormed up the standings to finish P5 despite starting the Sprint race in P13 after his qualifying times on Friday were deleted as he extended the track limits on numerous occasions. 

Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen, Lewis Hamilton, Mick Schumacher and Valtteri Bottas round out the top ten on the grid for today's Austrian Grand Prix. 

Full starting grid lineup for the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix:

Position Driver
1. Max Verstappen
2. Charles Leclerc
3. Carlos Sainz
4. George Russell
5. Sergio Perez
6. Esteban Ocon
7. Kevin Magnussen
8. Lewis Hamilton
9. Mick Schumacher 
10. Valtteri Bottas
11. Lando Norris
12. Daniel Ricciardo
13. Lance Stroll
14. Zhou Guanyu
15. Lance Stroll
16. Pierre Gasly 
17. Alex Albon
18. Yuki Tsunoda
19. Nicholas Latifi
20. Sebastian Vettel

MORE: Formula 1 to race in Melbourne until 2035 following Australian Grand Prix extension

What time does the Austrian Grand Prix race start today?

  • Date: Sunday, July 10
  • Start time: 2 p.m. local time / 2 p.m. BST / 9 a.m. ET / 11 p.m. AEST

How to watch the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix 

USA: The ESPN family of networks will broadcast all 2022 F1 races in the United States using Sky Sports' feed, with select races airing on ABC later in the season. You can also stream Formula 1 races live in the U.S. with fuboTV, which offers a free trial.

ESPN Deportes serves as the exclusive Spanish-language home for all 2022 F1 races in the U.S.

UK: Sky Sports F1, or online through Sky Go, is the place to catch all the F1 action in the UK.

Canada: In Canada, you can watch F1 via the English-language TSN or French-language RDS.

Australia: Fox Sports is the carrier of live F1 coverage in Australia.

  UK USA Canada Australia
Date July 10 July 10 July 10 July 10
Time 2 p.m. BST 9 a.m. ET 9 a.m. ET 11 p.m. AEST
TV Channel Sky Sports F1 ESPN TSN Fox Sports

Nathan Evans

Nathan Evans Photo

A Sports Journalism Masters graduate, Nathan Evans joined The Sporting News in 2022 after working at Opta/Stats Perform for six years. He's an avid fan of Bradford City, FC Köln and the Pittsburgh Penguins.