Horror becomes thriller as Sainz wins 2022 British GP: race report

Sometimes a grand prix throws up such a shocking moment it’s going to overshadow everything, but it’s a testament to the quality of the race that followed that this year’s British Grand Prix will go down as a thriller despite Zhou Guanyu’s horror crash.

As Max Verstappen swept past polesitter Carlos Sainz to lead and Lewis Hamilton slotted into third place, in the background a car disappeared into the run-off area at Abbey at high speed, upside down.

With multiple cars limping with damage, the race was immediately red flagged, and it soon became clear that Zhou was involved. Cameras picked up George Russell – out of the race with damage – running across the gravel towards the crash site, where it later became clear he would climb on top of the tyre barrier.

He was up there because Zhou’s car – having been turned over by a spinning Russell after Pierre Gasly had made light contact with the Mercedes – was resting against the outside of the barrier, trapping the driver inside.

Yes, the outside of the barrier.

The Alfa Romeo dug into the gravel and flipped up and over the tyre barrier, being stopped by debris fencing before dropping into gap between the fence and the barrier. It took a number of minutes for the driver to be safely removed, but remarkably he was unharmed.

“The marshals and the medical team at the track were fantastic with their quick response, and I also owe my thanks to the FIA and Formula 1 for all the work they have done, and they keep doing, to improve the safety of our cars,” Zhou said. “The Halo saved me today, and it goes to show that every step we take in improving our cars has real, valuable results.”

Zhou wasn’t the only driver in trouble during the first corner, though, as Sebastian Vettel ran into the back of Alex Albon, pitching the Williams into the inside barrier. After a head-on hit, Albon bounced back across the track and was hit by first Esteban Ocon and then Yuki Tsunoda.

Albon was taken to the medical centre and then transferred by helicopter to Coventry Hospital for precautionary checks, from where he was later released.

There was more than just cars that needed clearing as a number of protestors had stormed the track on the opening lap, fortunately finding the race red-flagged already and cars traveling slowly. Northamptonshire Police arrested seven people, and were able to remove them from the circuit before the race resumed nearly an hour after the original start.

“I tried to hit it head-on but it got into the floor and destroyed the left side”

The speed at which the red flag had come out meant not all cars had passed the second safety car line on the original start, so the first starting grid, formed from the previous day’s wet qualifying session was used to define the order for a second attempt.

Sainz had learned his lesson and robustly defended from Verstappen in an impressive scrap, with Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc then fighting in their slipstreams, with Leclerc slotting into third after light contact.

Perez would be forced to pit to replace a damaged front wing but Leclerc continued without his endplate and kept pace with the two leaders, while Hamilton regained a position he’d lost from Lando Norris to run fourth.

Going in search of his first win, Sainz had the daunting sight of Verstappen getting larger in his mirrors and cracked under the pressure on lap 10, running wide at Becketts and handing over the lead.

It would be short-lived, though as Verstappen soon slowed and dropped behind the two Ferraris, diving into the pits as he reported a potential puncture. After taking on a fresh set of tyres, it was clear the problem was a bigger one, as he had hit some debris on the track.

“At the time I realised it was there, I could not drastically move left or right so I tried to hit it head on,” Verstappen said. “Normally then it just evaporates or explodes, but this time it got into the floor and it completely destroyed the left hand side underneath.

“From then on, I was just losing a lot of time, the car was really undrivable.”

With Verstappen and Perez seemingly out of the picture, Ferrari had the dream scenario of running one-two. But Sainz wasn’t able to match the pace of Leclerc behind him – despite the Monégasque’s front wing damage – and Hamilton was starting to close in.

Ferrari tried to get Sainz to defend for Leclerc at the restart but the pole-sitter dismissed the request, and duly swept into the lead when the race resumed with ten laps remaining.

While Sainz pulled away, the battle behind was incredible. Perez overtook Hamilton on the restart but then struggled to get Leclerc, leading to one remarkable spell when the home favourite took advantage of the pair squabbling at Club to launch through the inside on the exit and pass both at once.

It was short-lived, as Perez regained the place at Village, and Leclerc then fought back through too. With four to go, the battle continued and Hamilton went round the outside of the struggling Ferrari at Luffield with what looked like a brilliant move, only for Leclerc to return the favour on the outside of Copse in a frankly sensational piece of racing.

“Charles did a great job, what a great battle,” Hamilton said. “He is a very sensible driver – clearly a lot different to what I experienced last year. At Copse for example, the two of us went through there with no problem. What a battle.”

Hamilton would then use DRS to finally secure third, but admitted he had been envisaging a win prior to that.

“I did a good long [first] stint and I thought: ‘Yes, maybe we can fight for a win here.’ But unfortunately the gap was too big and the pitstop was not very quick. Then at the end, I just struggled with the warm-up and lost out to two cars.”

That win went the way of Sainz for the very first time, who had been left hoping the race would come back towards him when it looked like it was slipping away.

“To win my first race in front of this amazing crowd with Ferrari in Silverstone – one of my favourite circuits – is amazing,” Sainz said. “It wasn’t easy at all but it came, I kept fighting for it and it was about to come one day sooner or later and today was the day.