Carlos Sainz stood on the top step of the podium for the first time in Formula 1 after winning the British Grand Prix – but the race was overshadowed by a huge smash which saw Zhou Guanyu's Alfa Romeo flip upside down and smash into a fence.
Fortunately the Chinese racer suffered no major damage, and the action was incredible when the racing resumed – after protestors were removed from the track following the crash. It culminated in an almighty scrap for second place behind the leader, as Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez gave everything they had to get the best result they could.
The Silverstone was praying for Hamilton to come out on top, but it was the Red Bull man Perez who pulled away –making up for the mechanical issues suffered by Max Verstappen. But there was still a podium for the Brit, as he fought off the Ferrari to elicit a huge roar from the home fans as he crossed the line.
The first attempt to run the race was stopped after just 21 seconds when the big smash occurred. Pierre Gasly made contact with George Russell's Mercedes, which span and hit Zhou, sending him into a terrifying flip, and causing damage to Yuki Tsunoda's car as well.
In a separate incident at the same time, Sebastian Vettel knocked into Alexander Albon, and the spinning Williams also caused damage to the Alpine of Esteban Ocon.
Fortunately, Zhou was conscious when stretchered away, and was one of three drivers not to restart the race, along with Russell and Albon. The Williams man was taken to hospital by helicopter as a precaution, the FIA said.
When the race did restart, some aggressive defending from Sainz helped him to fend off Verstappen and maintain the lead early on. There was contact behind them between Leclerc and Perez, with the Mexican's front wing taking damage as a result.
It was the 10th lap of the race when Verstappen took the lead from Sainz, as the Ferrari man went off the track. His rear tyres lost grip going through Maggots and Becketts and although he kept his car pointing in the right direction, he was forced off the track for a few seconds and the Red Bull came roaring through.
It lasted for less than two laps, as Verstappen ran over some debris and suffered what he though was a puncture. He was overtaken by Sainz again, and dove into the pits for a quick change of rubber – leaving the two Ferraris to lead the race. But the Dutchman was still not happy, and Red bull confirmed over team radio that he had suffered bodywork damage that was "not critical".
But it did render him uncompetitive, as he dropped down to sixth and kept losing time to the likes of Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris ahead of him. Instead, it was Hamilton who was presenting the challenge to the Ferraris, as he closed the gap with every lap while being roared on by the Silverstone crowd.
And he was leading when Leclerc came in for fresh tyres, much to the delight of the fans. Ferrari, clearly concerned about a battle costing them time against Hamilton, ordered Sainz to allow Leclerc to pass. They were back in front after the Mercedes man stopped, but a safety car following Ocon's mechanical issue made closed everyone together.
Sainz overtook after the restart and galloped into the lead, but all the action was behind him. Leclerc, Perez and Hamilton were all scrapping for second, with the positions changing with every corner in an extraordinary end to the race. In the end, Perez pulled away while Hamilton secured third.
Further back there was a brilliant result for Mick Schumacher, who scored his first points in F1 after a long wait thanks to a very mature drive. Sebastian Vettel also overcame a poor qualifying to finish in the top 10, but there was heartbreak for Nicholas Latifi who couldn't hold on to score points himself.
Full 2022 British Grand Prix results
- Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
- Sergio Perez – Red Bull
- Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
- Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
- Fernando Alonso – Alpine
- Lando Norris – McLaren
- Max Verstappen – Red Bull
- Mick Schumacher – Haas
- Sebastian Vettel – Aston Martin
- Kevin Magnussen – Haas
- Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
- Nicholas Latifi – Williams
- Daniel Ricciardo – McLaren
- Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri
DNF: Alexander Albon, Zhou Guanyu, George Russell, Valtteri Bottas, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon
