In the most serious sense, there were clear winners at the British Grand Prix in that F1 escaped unscathed from a day that included a ferocious crash on the F1 start line, a horrific F2 accident and protesters gaining access to the track.
But in terms of the eventual results on the track, there were very clear winners and losers.
Here’s our pick of the most and least celebrated from Silverstone.
WINNERS
Carlos Sainz
Sainz was starting to feel like the eternal bridesmaid, and even after taking his first F1 pole position on Saturday, there was a feeling he wasn’t the strongest driver in either the dry or the wet this weekend.
And the race proved just that: he wasn’t the fastest driver on Sunday, but he didn’t need to be.
Instead, he provided a tight defense against Max Verstappen on the second pole, obeyed and overruled his Ferrari team when it mattered, and effectively passed Charles Leclerc on the final safety car restart to seal victory.
A fully deserved first victory in Formula 1 for Sainz. It’s too early to call it a breakthrough – it was an extremely unique race – but it’s an important marker in an otherwise challenging second season with Ferrari. – Josh Sutil
Max Verstappen (sort of)
Putting a leading driver who limped to seventh place in a car with a “cracked” floor among the winners might confuse you. Still, well, it looks like what happened after Verstappen ran over the AlphaTauri wreckage and limped off in his RB18 was more or less the best way out.
Points on board, Ferrari failed to capitalize on Leclerc, Perez proved second best to Verstappen all weekend. And the pace was certainly there – there was every chance he would pull away from Sainz and pull away after that initial pass.
The kind of weekend that wins championships? Probably not, no, although it drove well.
The big mulligan? You bet. – Valentin Horunzhii
Mick Schumacher
Schumacher had several races that looked like promising opportunities to end his wait for an F1 points finish. This was not one of them. Funny how F1 works isn’t it?
The omens were not good for Schumacher, starting 16th at a track where Haas has never looked as competitive in any conditions this weekend. But the chaotic run to the first corner set the tone for a dramatic Grand Prix.
A few times Schumacher was quick and competitive but wasn’t there when it mattered. It was pretty much the opposite – although to his credit he got stronger when the competition came to him.
A late dice with Verstappen threatened to catch him out, but Schumacher handled the situation well and brought home points that will be a huge confidence boost – and a relief. – Scott Mitchell
Sergio Perez
Considering how Perez’s race looked after his unscheduled early pit stop for a new front wing, it was an excellent recovery.
He was probably aiming for fourth place before the final safety car restart, but it gave him the opportunity to claw his way onto the podium, and that’s exactly what he did.
Perez wasted little time getting past Lewis Hamilton with a strong move and then had to pass him again when Hamilton pounced on Perez as he battled Leclerc.
Although he had little chance of stopping Sainz, Perez took Leclerc off the podium and contributed to some damage limitation for his Red Bull team-mate Verstappen. – JS
Fernando Alonso
A pack of cars all over the track, going in incredible three-wide racing and shocking moves from the outside in the chaotic final laps of the Grand Prix. Of course, Fernando Alonso will stick his nose in there somewhere.
As things grew wilder in the pack around Leclerc and his tired tires in the final laps, Alonso looked very well placed to catch the likes of Hamilton, Perez or Leclerc off guard and sneak his Alpine onto the podium.
He couldn’t do it, but lurking around the top six throughout the race and taking a season-best fifth place in the final was a much-needed result.
Not so much a breakthrough as just a demonstration of what Alonso felt he could deliver fairly regularly this season with better reliability. – Matt Beer
LOSERS
Charles Leclerc
At one point it looked like Leclerc would take 20-25 points off Verstappen’s championship lead. Instead there were six.
There won’t be many more open goals like this and Leclerc knows it. He was clearly horrified after the race, although he did his best not to rain on teammate Sainz’s parade.
But what should worry him even more than the strategic error – you can replace the word ‘blunder’ with ‘decision’ if you subscribe to Mattia Binotto’s theory that Ferrari got all the calls right, which I certainly don’t – is the attitude of high command.
Leclerc was the faster Ferrari almost all year. Even after being hampered and facing him for five races in a row, he is still ahead of Sainz in the standings.
If Ferrari want to win the drivers’ title this year, he is the best bet. Maybe just a bet.
Does Ferrari know this? Post-race satisfaction suggests not. And really, what more can Leclerc do to make his team understand? – VK
George Russell
When he signed the deal with Mercedes for 2022, Russell may have imagined he was winning his home Grand Prix. And even with this year’s effort, a podium would seem relatively achievable given his recent form and the expectations for the car at this track.
Instead, it was a rather unimpressive eighth on the grid, a very poor start, a frightening first-turn drift and then an unusual non-start because the marshals took out a car he had hoped to pit on a flatbed truck instead.
And that rather popular Silverstone teammate Russell, who has overshadowed him for most of the year, put Mercedes on the podium.
But in the end, who cares? The defining image of Russell and Silverstone 2022 will be him sprinting through the run-off area to check Zhou Guanyu after the crash.
This first home Grand Prix in a top team was an absolute write-off for Russell in terms of results, but another great display of his human qualities. – MB
Williams’ improved car
Williams’ much-anticipated major upgrade package for the British GP didn’t have the easiest of debut weekends.
Rain ruined any chance of learning in FP1, and a poorly managed strategy in qualifying saw Alex Alban crash out of Q1 in the upgraded Williams, while Nicholas Latifi made it through to Q3 in the old car.
Albon then didn’t even make it through the first turn of the race as Sebastian Vettel inadvertently rammed him into the wall (and back into the path of Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda) in a multi-car collision that sent Jow airborne.
This means there has been little chance for Williams to evaluate its upgrade package – and Albon’s crash means receiving the Latifi upgrades is also likely to be delayed. – JS
Daniel Ricciardo
Slow in practice, slow in qualifying, slow in the race.
There was a big mitigating circumstance on Sunday in the form of a DRS failure, but Ricciardo also admitted that even outside of that he didn’t feel the grip – and therefore the speed.
The Aussie is hoping for some response, possibly a technical, major disadvantage with his MCL36 compared to that of teammate Lando Norris.
But for now, without explanation, it looks downright bleak. – VK
AlphaTauri (and specifically Yuki Tsunoda)
We thought we were done writing about Tsunoda doing stupid, career-threatening things and we could just write about him fulfilling his F1 promise now. We were premature, it turns out.
After a frankly rather stupid exit from the pits in Montreal, at Silverstone his attempt to pass team-mate Pierre Gasly derailed both of their races, leaving Tsunoda to finish last on the road and eventually driving Gasly out.
What made it worse was that after a fairly quiet weekend, early drama allowed them to climb to a very promising seventh and eighth place – at least until Tsunoda’s clumsy move sent them back.
Red Bull may not have any immediate obvious replacements for Tsunoda in 2023, but they will surely find a way to hire one if Tsunoda continues his recent trend rather than reverting to a better version of himself. – MB
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