After the first races of the 2022 Formula 1 season, Ferrari cars seemed to take the throne again after a 14-year hiatus, and the Monegasque Charles Leclerc receives his first personal title. The start of the Spanish Grand Prix was left to the Italian team. Leclerc took his fourth pole position of the season and the reigning world champion started second. Max Verstappen Third from Red Bull – another Ferrari driver carlos sainz.
Carlos got off to a bad start and fell from third to fifth in the first round. George Russell (“Mercedes”) and Sergio Perez (“Red Bull”). But the main loser at the start of the race among the favorites still became the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. From Mercedes, the British started sixth and also really wanted to “eat” Sainz, but Kevin Magnussen He blew a tire from Haas and went through the pits to the tail of the peloton.
Hamilton fell back to 19th, after which he received a message from the team saying he still had a good chance to score. This season, the big champion has had to visibly curb their appetite.
At the start of the race, several pilots took a ride on the gravel. First Carlos Sainz (the failures continued), then Max Verstappen. As a result, the Dutch even fell out of the top 3 and moved up to fourth place.
At this time, Leclerc calmly parted and prepared to win. Charles’ advantage grew. But the championship leader suddenly had problems with the car. Monegasque first missed Russell for first place and then pitted completely and retired. Everything turned upside down. And most of all, famous rapper Drake, who bet $300,000 on Leclerc’s victory, was upset.
“Betting on the first F-1. Let see how is it going to be” – Wrote the Canadian musician before the race. All right, look.
After that, the forthcoming fight turned between Perez and Russell, which Mexico won. Cheko passed the Briton before the first corner of lap 31.
After 14 laps, both Red Bulls were ahead. Max outperformed George by a pit stop. And then there was the not-so-sporting intrigue. Will the team want Verstappen, who is fighting for the title, to take the lead from the excellent race Peres? Unfortunately, for wrestling fans for the track, it all ended sadly.
On the radio, Sergio was told in plain text that he should give his partner first place, using the argument that the riders were “on different tactics.”
“Not fair but ok” Perez responded and defiantly slowed down a lot in front of the reigning world champion. Max stepped forward and gave Sergio loads of compliments on the radio.
As a result, everything ended in the top three. Verstappen first, Perez second, Russell third. In fourth place is Sainz, who had an overall unsuccessful race but managed to pass Hamilton on one of the final laps. Lewis moved up from 19th to fifth place after a failure at the start, which isn’t bad either.
The team tactics of the “Bulls” allowed Verstappen to take the lead in the overall standings. Second championship in a row close? Red Bull is ahead in the Constructors’ Championship, beating Ferrari with 26 points.
Spanish Grand Prix. Results
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 66 laps
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +13.072
3. George Russell (Mercedes) +32,927
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +45.208
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +54,534
6. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) +59.976
7. Esteban Ocon (Alpin) +1:15.397
8. Lando Norris (McLaren) +1:23.235
9. Fernando Alonso (Alpin) +1 lap
10. Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) +1 lap
11. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) +1 lap
12. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) +1 lap
13. Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) +1 lap
14. Mick Schumacher (Haas) +1 lap
15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1 lap
16. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +1 lap
17. Nicholas Latifi (Williams) +1 lap
18. Alex Albon (Williams) +1 lap
19. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) DNF (30th round)
20. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) DNF (Round 29)
Overall standings after the Spanish Grand Prix
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 110 points
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 104
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – 85
4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 74
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 65
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 46
7. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 39
8. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) – 38
9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) – 30
10. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) – 15
11. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) – 11
12. Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) – 11
13. Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) – 6
14. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) – 4
15. Fernando Alonso (Alpin) – 4
16. Alex Albon (Williams) – 3
17. Zhou Guanyu (Alpha Romeo) – 1
18. Lance Walk (Aston Martin) – 1
19. Mick Schumacher (Haas) – 0
20. Nico Hulkenberg (Aston Martin) – 0
21. Nicholas Latifi (Williams) – 0
Position of the teams in the Constructors’ Championship:
1. Red Bull – 195 points
2. Ferrari – 169
3. “Mercedes” – 120
4. McLaren – 50
5. Alfa Romeo – 39
6. Alpine – 34
7. Alpha Taurus – 17
8. Haas – 15
9. Aston Martin – 6
10. Williams – 3
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