Charles Leclerc managed to win his first race at the Austrian Grand Prix and renewed his bid for the World Championship.
At the Red Bull Ring, bathed in the smoke of the orange torch of Max Verstappen fans, Leclerc silenced the crowd with an impressive drive that looked comfortable at times and very uncomfortable at others.
After making a move on Verstappen early in the race, Leclerc almost saw his victory taken from him once again when he complained of a faulty accelerator towards the end of the race. Counting down the laps, Leclerc crossed the line to take his first Australian Grand Prix win.
Elsewhere, penalties abounded as many drivers exceeded the track limits too many times, while Sergio Perez was forced to retire on the first lap after an incident with George Russell.
Here are the driver ratings for the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix:
Charles Leclerc: When Leclerc left the track on Saturday night with a smile on his face, you’d be right to wonder why. He had just been beaten to a sprint victory by Verstappen and Red Bull looked set for another win at their home Grand Prix. But just 24 hours later it became clear why all was not lost for Leclerc and Ferrari.
Verstappen may have got away well, emerging from a one-second DRS zone between himself and Leclerc, but soon the Ferrari’s pace began to show. Leclerc chased Verstappen, debating when to make his move before sending him to the inside at Turn 4 and making the pass.
From that point on it was a case of holding on to his lead as Ferrari tried to block any undercut that Red Bull might have attempted. In typical Ferrari fashion, it was not a win without a scare. Shortly after Sainz’s engine blew, Leclerc reported a faulty gas pedal.
He counted the laps begging his car to make it and sure enough it did to give him his first win since the Australian Grand Prix. 9.5
After the last 5 race weekends where everything went wrong, it feels so good to be back on top. I feel sorry for Carlos as it should have been 1-2. Let’s keep pushing ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6GmF8rrw40
— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) July 10, 2022
Max Verstappen: After his comfortable sprint victory, Verstappen may have thought he was in for another smooth ride after his excellent start. But he soon had Leclerc on his gearbox and was unable to stop the Ferrari driver from passing him.
With Sainz overtaking him, the Dutchman and Red Bull were faced with the choice of chasing the Ferraris or keeping a comfortable distance between him and Hamilton at the back. The team may have preferred the latter, but unsurprisingly Verstappen did not.
He pushed on and although he looked certain to finish third had Sainz not DNFed, he at least took second in a race with a clear pace disadvantage. Credit must also be given for the pole position and dominant sprint win on Saturday. 9
Lewis Hamilton: After battling with Schumacher for what felt like the entire race in the sprint, Hamilton was able to make quick work of other drivers during Sunday’s race as he made his way up the grid.
He continued his good run until he was just outside the podium places entering the final stages of the race. With Sainz’s retirement, it moved him up one place to give him his second third in such a grand prix.
In fact, Hamilton’s biggest battle in this race seemed to be the track’s limitations. As penalties were being taken in the net, he was annoyed on the radio when told he was getting dangerously close.
Hamilton recovered quite well from his costly crash in Q3 on Friday, but you can’t help but wonder if he could have finished on the podium on pure merit if he didn’t have a patched car to work with for the rest of the weekend.7.5
George Russell: He started the race in terrible fashion, sending Perez off the track at Turn 4 and not only effectively ending the Mexican’s race, he was also given a time penalty.
However, he bounced back and bounced back from his disappointment last time out at Silverstone to finish in P4 for the fourth time this season. Considering Toto Wolff didn’t believe the Mercedes car would be quick at the Red Bull Ring, it was impressive to see the ease with which Russell was able to overtake the midfield pack.
The young Brit, who suffered a costly crash in Q3, was 19th at one point but cleared all but three other drivers to claim more valuable points. 7.5
Esteban Ocon: The Frenchman found himself in no man’s land for most of the race as he wasn’t quick enough to deal with the front three, as evidenced by Hamilton’s pass on lap 30, but he also showed enough pace to hold off the two fast Haas cars behind him.
For this steady ride, Ocon was rewarded with a P5 finish, his highest of the season so far, following solid results in qualifying and the sprint.9
P🖐🏼!! What a weekend 🔥 Next up: HOME GP! 💙🤍❤️ pic.twitter.com/fCJvt0g0fS
— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) July 10, 2022
Mick Schumacher: It’s been quite a lift in form for Schumacher. From a DNF in Canada to his first points result at Silverstone, he built on that further in Austria with a superb P6 finish.
It was an impressive performance, too, and after giving a less-than-Darth Vader-filled interview after the sprint race, Schumacher turned that disappointment into points.
The Haas car showed pace all weekend, particularly on the straights, and Schumacher used that pace to first overtake Hamilton before working with team-mate Magnussen to move further up the grid.
With the retirements of Perez and Sainz, this pushed him even further up the rankings and gave him the highest finish of his career. 8.5
Lando Norris: Speaking before the race, Norris said he thought the Haas cars would be his main rivals, and that proved correct as they spent much of the Grand Prix battling for position.
It was a case of pick your moments for Norris, who made the most of a five-car battle for position to take the lead and was able to pass Magnussen, if not Schumacher, by the time of the checkered flag, an impressive feat considering , that he received a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits. 8
Fight to the last for every last point, even after a penalty. 👊
Be proud of that drive @LandoNorris. #AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/rf5X4NsC4m
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 10, 2022
Kevin Magnussen: Half of the Haas team that has already secured double points finishes. Although he looked unable to get the same kind of speed as team-mate Schumacher, he made the most of Haas’ pace to make some good passes, including a double over Norris and Alonso.
Earned his highest finish since P5 in his return race in Bahrain. 8
Daniel Ricciardo: Daniel Ricciardo’s mini-resurgence continues with his first points result since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Qualifying in 11th place, he improved on this to move forward in the points and did well to hold off the attacking Alonso from behind.
The perennial question of his future still lingers, but if the Aussie can go into the summer break after finishing in the points in the last three races, then those doubts may begin to fade away. 7.5
Fernando Alonso: For the second time this season, Alonso showed solid drive to work his way up from the back of the grid to finish in P10 in the points.
After failing to fire up the car ahead of Saturday’s sprint race, Alonso quickly raced through the back markers and by lap 18 he was within the points. The Spaniard was also involved in a five-car battle for position on lap 25, but unfortunately for him he came out behind Norris and Magnussen.
However, his performance showed that even at the age of 40, he still has it and, having said he believes he is at one of the highest levels of his career, he will be hoping the car finally achieve. 8
Valtteri Bottas: For some reason Alfa Romeo seemed to struggle this weekend. Bottas has been reliable at least in the points race, but has now gone without them in three of the last four races.
In Austria he was consistently closer to the back of the grid than the front and battled for position with Alban’s Williams for much of the race. He ended up winning that fight, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in the points. 7
Alex Alban: Battling on the edge of the points but never quite breaking through, which given he’s finished 12th or 13th three times in the last four races would mean this turns in a pattern of his season.
In Albon’s defence, he can make the most of what he can from the Williams car and compared to his team-mate he at least shows some signs of speed, even if it’s not enough to get him all those important points. 6.5
Lance Stroll: An uneventful race for Stroll, which compared to his team-mate he may be pleased with – but this is another Grand Prix where he failed to score points.
In the 11 races so far this season, he has finished in the top 10 just three times and all three have been P10s. His performance and lack of speed in Austria suggest that either he is struggling to adapt to the car or Aston Martin is simply not as quick as they might have hoped. Probably a combination of both. 6
The checkered flag falls on the #AustrianGP! 🏁
There was up and down action for the boys today but points were out of reach. pic.twitter.com/eje2i8yrMF
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) July 10, 2022
Zhou Guanyu: Considering Zhou was stuck in his car between a fence and a wall at the same time last week, the 23-year-old would have been glad to have just finished the race in Austria.
Before Silverstone, Zhou showed signs of speed that could propel him into the points consistently, but it was not to be…
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