The 2022 British Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Lenovo British Grand Prix 2022) was a
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
motor race held on 3 July 2022 at the
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 British Grand ...
in
Northamptonshire, England
Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordsh ...
.
Carlos Sainz Jr. took both his first
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
and
Formula One victory, ahead of
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990) is a Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Pérez was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Red Bull, and won Gr ...
and
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
. Sainz became the first Spanish driver to win a race since
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...
won the
2013 Spanish Grand Prix. Championship leader
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...
finished seventh after acquiring car damage early in the race. A multi-car crash occurred on the opening lap, in which
Zhou Guanyu
Zhou Guanyu (, pronounced ; born 30 May 1999) is a Chinese racing driver, who serves as a reserve driver in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Zhou competed in Formula One from to , and remains the only Chinese driver to compete in For ...
's car flipped over the tyre wall marking the circuit boundaries.
Background
The event was held across the weekend of the 1–3 July. It was the tenth round of the
2022 Formula One World Championship
The 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars, which was the 73rd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the ...
. It was the 73rd time the
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...
has been held and the race took place two weeks after the
Canadian Grand Prix
The Canadian Grand Prix () is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports car event, before alterna ...
and preceded the
Austrian Grand Prix
The Austrian Grand Prix () is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, and –. It returned to the Formula One calendar in , where it has remained since then. It was first held at ...
.
Championship standings before the race
Following the
Canadian Grand Prix
The Canadian Grand Prix () is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports car event, before alterna ...
,
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...
led the Drivers' Championship by 46 points from teammate
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990) is a Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Pérez was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Red Bull, and won Gr ...
, with
Charles Leclerc
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...
third, a further three points behind.
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...
led the Constructors' Championship, leading
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
by 74 points.
Mercedes were in third place, trailing Ferrari by 40 points.
Entrants
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. It was the 150th race start for
Carlos Sainz Jr.
Tyre choices
Tyre supplier
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is an Italian multinational tyre manufacturer based in the city of Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Borsa Italiana since 1922, is the 5th-largest tyre manufacturer, and is focused on the consumer pro ...
brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.
Practice
The weekend had three practice sessions, each lasting one hour. The first session took place on 1 July and started at 13:00 local time (
UTC+01:00).
There was rain before and during the session, with teams deciding not to go on track as much as they normally would have, due to dry weather predicted for the rest of the weekend. Towards the end of the session the weather cleared and the track began to dry. A number of drivers attempted to drive the track on slick tyres, including
Lance Stroll
Lance Strulovitch (; born 29 October 1998), commonly known as Lance Stroll (), is a Canadian racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin.
Born and raised in Montreal, Stroll is the son of billionaire businessman Lawrence Stroll ...
, who spun at turn 9, getting stuck in the gravel. The session was red flagged and not resumed.
Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Viktor Bottas (; born 28 August 1989) is a Finnish racing driver, who serves as a reserve driver in Formula One for Mercedes. Bottas competed in Formula One from to , and twice finished runner-up in the World Drivers' Championship in ...
was fastest, with
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
and
Carlos Sainz Jr. in second and third respectively.
The second session took place on 1 July and started at 16:00 local time.
The session was conducted in dry conditions. No major incidents meant the whole session was under green flag conditions. The
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...
of
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...
picked up some floor damage in the session, but he made it back to the pits. Sainz was fastest, with Hamilton and
Lando Norris
Lando Norris (; born 13 November 1999) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for McLaren. Norris was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with McLaren, and has won Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix ...
in second and third respectively.
The third practice session started at 12:00 local time on 2 July.
There were no major incidents and so the whole session was under green flag conditions.
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...
was fastest, with
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990) is a Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Pérez was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Red Bull, and won Gr ...
and
Charles Leclerc
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...
in second and third respectively.
Qualifying
Qualifying
Qualification may refer to:
Processes
* Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress
* Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
started at 15:00 local time on 2 July, and lasted for one hour.
The session was held in wet conditions and ended with
Carlos Sainz Jr. claiming his maiden
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
.
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...
's final qualifying attempt was interrupted by yellow flags, after
Charles Leclerc
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...
spun.
Qualifying classification
Race
Race report

The race started at 15:00 local time on 3 July.
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...
took the lead at the start from
Carlos Sainz Jr., while
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
moved up to third.
George Russell had a bad start and was passed by
Nicholas Latifi
Nicholas Daniel Latifi (; born 29 June 1995) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to .
Born in Montreal and raised in Toronto, Latifi is the son of Iranian Canadians, Iranian-Canadian billionaire businessman ...
, and
Zhou Guanyu
Zhou Guanyu (, pronounced ; born 30 May 1999) is a Chinese racing driver, who serves as a reserve driver in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Zhou competed in Formula One from to , and remains the only Chinese driver to compete in For ...
pulled alongside him leaving a large gap between them.
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Jean-Jacques Gasly (; born 7 February 1996) is a French racing driver who competes in Formula One for Alpine. Gasly won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix with AlphaTauri.
Born and raised in Normandy, Gasly began competitive kart racing age ...
attempted to pass between Zhou and Russell, but Russell moved to the left too late to close the gap causing his left rear tyre to make contact with Gasly's right front. Gasly backed out but the impact pointed Russell's car to the left shooting him across the track and directly into the side of Zhou's car. The impact launched Zhou's car into the air. He landed upside down, skidding down the track, then skipping and bouncing across the gravel trap at the end of the straight, all while barely slowing and turning sideways. The inverted car suddenly dug into the gravel carrying sufficient speed and momentum to launch it over the tire barrier, rotating 540 degrees on its axis before hitting the catch fencing sideways facing up just a few feet from the front row of the grandstand. It then dropped 8 feet and landed wedged into the small gap between the fence and tire barrier, stopping on its side with the cockpit up against the backside of the tire barrier. As a result of the incident,
Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Viktor Bottas (; born 28 August 1989) is a Finnish racing driver, who serves as a reserve driver in Formula One for Mercedes. Bottas competed in Formula One from to , and twice finished runner-up in the World Drivers' Championship in ...
slowed slightly, which caused
Alexander Albon
Alexander Albon Ansusinha (; born 23 March 1996) is a Thai and British racing driver who competes under the Thai flag in Formula One for Williams.
Born in Westminster and raised in Suffolk, Albon is the son of English racing driver Nigel A ...
to also slow.
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...
attempted to brake, but was too close to Albon and hit him. Albon spun into the concrete pit wall, rebounded back on the track and was hit by
Yuki Tsunoda
is a Japanese racing driver who competes in Formula One for Red Bull Racing.
Born in Sagamihara and raised in Tokyo, Tsunoda began competitive kart racing aged nine. Supported by Honda since 2016 through the , Tsunoda graduated to junior formu ...
and
Esteban Ocon
Esteban José Jean-Pierre Ocon-Khelfane (; born 17 September 1996) is a French racing driver who competes in Formula One for Haas F1 Team, Haas. Ocon won the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with Alpine F1 Team, Alpine.
Born and raised in Normandy to ...
, damaging both of their cars. Tsunoda and Ocon both returned to the pit lane for repairs, but Albon was unable to continue. Russell, who had spun, stopped to help the marshalls with Zhou's flipped car. When he returned to his car it was not running so he could not continue.
Race control red-flagged the race due to both crashes. Zhou was extracted from his
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...
and stretchered to an ambulance where he was taken to the race medical centre. Albon was also taken to the race medical centre but was later transferred by helicopter to
Coventry Hospital for observations. Both were later released.
The order for the race restart was set to the grid order, as not all the cars had passed the second safety car line before the race was red-flagged, meaning it was not possible to accurately determine the running order at the time of the red flag.
The race restarted at 15:56 local time and Sainz retained the lead at the restart, before being passed by Verstappen once
DRS was enabled. Verstappen later ran over debris, that resulted in a loss of pace. Verstappen misjudged that the loss of pace was a puncture and came into the pit for new tyres.
Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...
later realised it was floor damage that caused the pace loss.
The two
AlphaTauri AlphaTauri or ''variant'', may refer to:
*AlphaTauri (fashion brand), fashion brand
*Scuderia AlphaTauri, Formula One team between 2020 and 2023; formerly Scuderia Toro Rosso, now Racing Bulls
See also
* Aldebaran, also known as Alpha Tauri (� ...
cars collided on lap 14, both continued initially but Gasly later retired due to the collision damage.
Bottas pitted and retired on lap 21 due to a gearbox issue and on lap 39, Ocon suffered a fuel pump problem and stopped on track, causing a
safety car
In motorsport, a safety car, or a pace car, is a car that limits the speed of competing cars or motorcycles on a racetrack in the case of a ''caution period,'' such as an obstruction on the track or bad weather. The safety car aims to enable the ...
. The safety car allowed everyone to pit.
Charles Leclerc
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...
was one of a few drivers not to pit, being told to stay out by his
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
team. Leclerc led the restart but was quickly passed by teammate Sainz. Leclerc subsequently defended from
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990) is a Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Pérez was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Red Bull, and won Gr ...
, which allowed Hamilton to pass them both on the exit of the last corner. Once Pérez passed Leclerc, he re-overtook Hamilton for second.
Sainz won his first
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
race, becoming the 112th winner in the history of the championship, the second Spaniard to win a Formula One race after
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...
, and being the first Spaniard to win a race since the
2013 Spanish Grand Prix, and the first driver who had his maiden win at the British Grand Prix since
Johnny Herbert
John Paul Herbert (born 25 June 1964) is a British former racing driver and broadcaster. He competed in Formula One from to , winning three Formula One Grands Prix over a 12-season career. In endurance racing, Herbert won the 24 Hours of Le ...
in 1995. Pérez was in second and Hamilton third, also setting the
fastest lap
In motorsports, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. In some racing series, like NASCAR, the fastest lap award championship points for a driver or team. In Formula One and MotoGP no point is awarded for the fastest lap.
Formula O ...
.
Leclerc managed to stay ahead of Alonso for fourth, as the latter finished fifth, ahead of
Lando Norris
Lando Norris (; born 13 November 1999) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for McLaren. Norris was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with McLaren, and has won Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix ...
. Despite a last lap battle, Verstappen held off
Mick Schumacher
Mick Schumacher (; born 22 March 1999) is a German racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Alpine. Schumacher competed in Formula One from to .
Born and raised in Switzerland, Schumacher is the son of seven-ti ...
for seventh. Schumacher finished inside the points for the first time in his Formula One career.
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...
was ninth and
Kevin Magnussen
Kevin Jan Magnussen (; born 5 October 1992) is a Danish racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for W Racing Team, WRT and the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, RLL as a factory driver f ...
was tenth.
Attempted race disruption
During the race suspension, a group of
Just Stop Oil
Just Stop Oil (JSO) was a British environmental activist group primarily focused on the issue of Climate change, human-caused climate change. The group aimed to force the British government to commit to ending new Energy in the United Kingdom, f ...
supporters walked onto the track and sat down on the tarmac. They were later arrested by police. The protestors' cause was supported by drivers
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...
,
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
, and
Carlos Sainz, though all three drivers said that these people should not have put themselves at risk of physical harm. F1 president
Stefano Domenicali
Stefano Domenicali (born 11 May 1965) is an Italian motorsport executive and the current CEO of Formula One Group since 2021.
Early life
Domenicali was born in Imola, the son of a banker. As a child, he used to go to the Autodromo Enzo e Dino F ...
also criticized the protesting method. Before the race,
Northamptonshire Police
Northamptonshire Police (colloquially known as Northants Police) is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands of England, in the United Kingdom.
The Northamptonshire police area i ...
warned they had "creditable intelligence" that a group of protesters were planning to disrupt the race and potentially attempt a track invasion, and that the protest would be related to environmental issues, but the warning did not mention Just Stop Oil by name.
Post race
After the race, Russell stated that lessons needed to be learned from Zhou's crash, after rescue teams struggled to extract him from his car, which was in a narrow gap between the tyre barrier and the catch fencing, stating "
here wasnothing
hou
Hou or HOU may refer to:
Places
* Hou (Odder Municipality), a town in Denmark
* Hellenic Open University, in Patras, Greece
* Hounslow railway station (National Rail station code: HOU), London, England
* A common abbreviation for the U.S. city ...
could have done". Russell went on to say that "We need think to avoid a car being stuck in such a fine gap."
Concern was also raised surrounding the failure of the roll-hoop, designed to stop the driver's head hitting the ground in the event of a car being upside-down. Although Zhou's head was still protected by the
halo
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to:
Most common meanings
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
* ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021)
Arts and en ...
(which he credited with saving his life), the roll-hoop failure would have trapped Zhou in his car had the car stopped upside-down.
The FIA launched an investigation into the crash.
Race classification
Notes
* – Includes one point for fastest lap.
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
*
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
See also
*
2022 Silverstone Formula 2 round
The 2022 Silverstone FIA Formula 2 round was a motor racing event held between 1 and 3 July 2022 at Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, United Kingdom. It was the seventh round of the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship and was held in support of the 20 ...
*
2022 Silverstone Formula 3 round
*
2022 W Series Silverstone round
References
External links
{{F1GP 2020–29
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
Grand Prix
( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to:
* Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition
** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship
*** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...
British Grand Prix
Grand Prix
( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to:
* Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition
** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship
*** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...