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Charles Bradley

F1 Grand Prix race results: Ferrari's Leclerc wins Australian GP

Leclerc dominated the race, apart from a sketchy moment after making a poor restart from a safety car period when Verstappen almost got alongside him.

Verstappen was on course for second place when his car failed with 18 laps to go. The second Red Bull of Sergio Perez finished second, ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

2022 Australian Grand Prix race results

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Gap Interval Points
1 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 58     26
2 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 58 20.524 20.524 18
3 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 58 25.593 5.069 15
4 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 58 28.543 2.950 12
5 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 58 53.303 24.760 10
6 Australia Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 58 53.737 0.434 8
7 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 58 1'01.683 7.946 6
8 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 58 1'08.439 6.756 4
9 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 58 1'16.221 7.782 2
10 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 58 1'19.382 3.161 1
11 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 58 1'21.695 2.313  
12 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 58 1'28.598 6.903  
13 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas 57 1 Lap 1 Lap  
14 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 57 1 Lap 1.665  
15 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 57 1 Lap 2.383  
16 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams 57 1 Lap 4.172  
17 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 57 1 Lap 20.038  
  Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 38 20 Laps 19 Laps  
  Germany Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 22 36 Laps 16 Laps  
  Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1 57 Laps 21 Laps  

How the Australian Grand Prix unfolded

Leclerc held his pole advantage on the run to Turn 1, leading ahead of Verstappen, a fast-starting Hamilton, Perez (who got boxed-in on the outside of Turn 1), Russell (Mercedes) and Lando Norris, whose McLaren got dive-bombed at the first corner.

The second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz started on the hard tyre and struggled badly off the start line, dropping to 14th on the opening lap. He then spun and beached the car at Turn 10 on the second tour, bringing out the safety car.

After the restart, Perez passed Hamilton for third position using DRS on the approach to Turn 3 on Lap 10.

Verstappen complained of tyre issues as early as Lap 12, as Leclerc pulled out his lead to over 4s. Verstappen also encountered some sensor issues with his car and dropped over 8s behind by Lap 19 when he pitted for hard tyres.

As Verstappen rejoined, Fernando Alonso’s Alpine – which started on hards – passed Pierre Gasly’s for eighth AlphaTauri at Turn 3. Perez was now struggling for grip, and had Hamilton all over him, pitting on Lap 21.

Leclerc pitted on Lap 22, as did Hamilton, as the medium starters all switched to hards. Hamilton overcut Perez, but the Mexican soon repassed him around the outside on the approach to Turn 9.

A second safety car was required for Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin stopping on track after he spun into the wall exiting Turn 4, with Russell taking advantage to make his pitstop under yellow and vaulting up to third, ahead of Alonso, who was yet to stop, Perez and Hamilton.

Leclerc made a poor restart and Verstappen attacked him hard, but Ferrari’s championship leader just clung on to his lead and then pulled away once more.

Perez passed Alonso for fourth on Lap 30 and Hamilton did likewise a lap later. Perez then overtook Russell for third at Turn 11 on Lap 37, which became second two laps later when Verstappen was told to stop his car due to a technical failure. As marshals dealt with his car, a virtual safety car was called – with Alonso and Magnussen both pitting from the top 10.

Leclerc now held a 12s lead over Perez, ahead of Russell and Hamilton, Norris and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren). The Ferrari man busied himself with ensuring fastest lap before scoring his second victory of the season, which extended his championship lead.

Perez suffered a late grassy off on his way to the runner-up spot and finished over 20s behind.

2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix fastest laps

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 58 1'20.260     236.740
2 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 57 1'20.846 0.586 0.586 235.024
3 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 58 1'21.094 0.834 0.248 234.305
4 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 53 1'21.495 1.235 0.401 233.152
5 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 54 1'21.651 1.391 0.156 232.707
6 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 37 1'21.677 1.417 0.026 232.633
7 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 51 1'21.886 1.626 0.209 232.039
8 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 55 1'22.248 1.988 0.362 231.018
9 Australia Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 54 1'22.451 2.191 0.203 230.449
10 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 58 1'22.469 2.209 0.018 230.399
11 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 55 1'22.541 2.281 0.072 230.198
12 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 54 1'22.589 2.329 0.048 230.064
13 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 52 1'22.731 2.471 0.142 229.669
14 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas 55 1'23.006 2.746 0.275 228.908
15 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 44 1'23.071 2.811 0.065 228.729
16 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 56 1'23.342 3.082 0.271 227.985
17 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 48 1'23.592 3.332 0.250 227.304
18 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams 49 1'23.882 3.622 0.290 226.518
19 Germany Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 17 1'25.189 4.929 1.307 223.042

2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix pitstops

Cla Driver Chassis 1 2 3 4
1 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari M 22 H 36        
2 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull M 20 H 38        
3 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes M 23 H 35        
4 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes M 22 H 36        
5 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren M 20 H 38        
6 Australia Daniel Ricciardo McLaren M 21 H 37        
7 France Esteban Ocon Alpine M 17 H 41        
8 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo M 22 H 36        
9 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri M 21 H 37        
10 Thailand Alex Albon Williams H 57 S 1        
11 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo M 21 H 37        
12 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin H 4 M 3 H 19 H 39
13 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas M 16 H 43        
14 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas H 39 M 20        
15 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri M 18 H 39        
16 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams M 13 H 11 H 34    
17 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine H 39 M 14 M 4    
  Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull M 18 H 20        
  Germany Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin H 23            
  Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari H 1            
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