Ferrari's Charles Leclerc returned to the winner's circle after a three-month drought with an impressive drive on Sunday at the 2022 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, held at Spielberg's Red Bull Ring.
Leclerc managed to overcome a throttle pedal issue in the final stage of the race to hold off Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen who ended up crossing the finish line approximately 1.5 seconds behind his Ferrari rival. Mercedes-Benz AMG's Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top three positions, some 41 seconds behind the winner.
Verstappen started the race on pole after winning Saturday's sprint race qualifier, with Leclerc also at the front of the grid. The two would eventually swap the lead spot back and forth three times over the course of the race.
Leclerc, together with teammate Carlos Sainz, pushed hard right from the start which forced Verstappen into quickly wearing out his tires and making an earlier than planned pit stop.
2022 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix
Verstappen rejoined at sixth place and managed to quickly pass Haas' Mick Schumacher before passing Hamilton and finally Alpine's Esteban Ocon, who needed to pit, to reach third by lap 20. Shortly after, fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was forced to retire due to damage from a collision with Mercedes' George Russell on the opening lap. Russell was given a five-second penalty for the accident.
Sainz would soon also need to retire from his third place position due to a failed power unit, causing the virtual safety car to be deployed and Leclerc and Verstappen left battling out for the win, with Leclerc in the lead. Verstappen decided to pit during the safety car, at which point Leclerc began reporting throttle problems. Verstappen soon started to close in on Leclerc but the Ferrari driver managed to hold off his rival to the end.
Following the weekend's action, Verstappen continues to lead the 2022 Drivers' Championship with a new total of 208 points. Leclerc is now in second with a total 170 points, while Perez has dropped down to third with 151 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull leads with 359 points, versus Ferrari in second with 303 points and Mercedes in third with 237 points.
Teams now enjoy a short break before the French Grand Prix in a fortnight.
2022 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix
Below are the full results from the 2022 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix:
1) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +1.532 seconds
3) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG +41.217 seconds
4) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG +58.972 seconds
5) Esteban Ocon, Alpine +68.436 seconds
6) Mick Schumacher, Haas +1 lap
7) Lando Norris, McLaren +1 lap
8) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1 lap
9) Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren +1 lap
10) Fernando Alonso, Alpine +1 lap
11) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
12) Alexander Albon, Williams +1 lap
13) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1 lap
14) Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
15) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri +1 lap
16) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri +1 lap
17) Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin +1 lap
NC) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari - DNF
NC) Nicholas Latifi, Williams - DNF
NC) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing - DNF
