In a Red Bull Ring awash in the orange smoke of Max Verstappen’s fans, Leclerc silenced the home crowd with an impressive move that at times looked comfortable and at others very uncomfortable. Having made the move on Verstappen near the start of the race, Leclerc almost saw victory slip away from him once again when he complained of a faulty gas pedal towards the end of the race. Counting down the laps, Leclerc crossed the line to win for the first time since the Australian Grand Prix. Elsewhere, there were penalties aplenty as several drivers were fouled for crossing the track limits one too many times, while Sergio Perez was forced to retire on the first lap after an incident with George Russell. Here are the driver ratings for the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc: When Leclerc left the track on Saturday afternoon with a smile on his face, you’d be right to wonder why. He had just been comfortably beaten by Verstappen in a Sprint win and Red Bull looked poised for another win at their home grand prix. But just 24 hours later, it was clear why all was not lost for Leclerc and Ferrari. Verstappen may have got away well, removing himself from the one-second DRS zone between himself and Leclerc, but soon Ferrari’s pace began to show. Leclerc chased Verstappen, debating when to make his move, before sending it to the inside at Turn 4 and overtaking. From there, it was a case of holding on to his lead as Ferrari looked to block any undercut that Red Bull might have attempted. In typical Ferrari fashion, it was not a fearless victory. Shortly after Sainz’s engine exploded, Leclerc reported that he had a faulty gas pedal. He counted down the laps, begging his car to make it, and it certainly gave him his first win since the Australian Grand Prix. 9.5 After the last 5 race weekends where everything went wrong, it feels so good to be back on top. I feel sorry for Carlos as it should have been 1-2. Let’s keep pushing ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6GmF8rrw40 — Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) July 10, 2022 Max Verstappen: After his comfortable Sprint win, Verstappen may have thought it was going to be another smooth ride after his excellent start. But he soon had Leclerc in his gearbox and was unable to stop the Ferrari driver from passing him. Once he had passed him and Sainz, the Dutchman and Red Bull were faced with a choice, chase the Ferraris or keep a comfortable distance between him and Hamilton behind. The team may have preferred the latter but, predictably, Verstappen did not. He pushed on and while he looked certain to finish third had Sainz not DNFed, he at least took second in a race with a clear pace disadvantage. Credit must also be given for the pole position and dominant Sprint win on Saturday. 9 Lewis Hamilton: After battling with Schumacher for what felt like the entirety of the Sprint race, Hamilton was able to quickly pass other drivers during Sunday’s race as he moved up the grid. He continued his good run until he found himself just outside the podium places going into the closing stages of the race. With Sainz’s retirement, he moved up one place to give him his second third in as many grands prix. Indeed, it seemed that Hamilton’s biggest battle in this race was the boundaries of the track. As penalties were being taken across the grid, he sounded annoyed over the radio when told he was getting dangerously close. Hamilton recovered well enough from his costly Q3 crash on Friday, but you can’t help but wonder if he could have finished on the podium with net value if he didn’t have a repaired car to work with for the rest of the weekend.7.5 George Russell: He started the race in terrible fashion by sending Perez off the track at Turn 4 and not only effectively ended the Mexican’s race but was also handed a time penalty. However, he recovered and bounced back from his disappointment last time out at Silverstone to finish in P4 for the fourth time this season. Considering Toto Wolff didn’t think the Mercedes car would be quick at the Red Bull Ring, it was impressive to see the ease with which Russell was able to overtake the midfield. The young Briton, who suffered a costly crash in Q3, was 19th at one point but dropped all but three other drivers to pick up some more valuable points. 7.5 Esteban Ocon: The Frenchman found himself in a man’s land for most of the race, not quite quick enough to keep up with the front three, as evidenced by Hamilton’s pass on lap 30, but he also showed enough pace to keep them two fast Haas cars behind him. For this consistent drive, Ocon was rewarded with a P5 finish, which is his highest finish of the season so far, also following solid qualifying and Sprint performances.9 P🖐🏼!! What a weekend 🔥 Next up: HOME GP! 💙🤍❤️ pic.twitter.com/fCJvt0g0fS — Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) July 10, 2022 Mick Schumacher: It’s been quite the return to form for Schumacher. From a DNF in Canada to his first point at Silverstone, he built on that even more in Austria with a great P6 finish. It was also an impressive performance and, after giving an interview with less expression than Darth Vader after the Sprint race, Schumacher turned that disappointment into points. The Haas car had shown pace all weekend, especially on the straights, and Schumacher used that pace to first overtake Hamilton before working with team-mate Magnussen to move further up the grid. With Perez and Sainz retiring, it pushed him further up the leaderboard and brought him the highest finish of his career. 8.5 Lando Norris: Speaking before the race, Norris said he believed the Haas cars would be his main rivals and that proved correct as they spent much of the grand prix fighting for position. It was a case of pick your moments for Norris who made the most of a five-car battle for position to come out on top and managed to pass Magnussen, if not Schumacher, to the checkered flag, an impressive feat. considering he was given a five-second penalty for exceeding the track limits. 8 Fighting to the end for every last point, even after a penalty. 👊 Be proud of that effort, @LandoNorris. #AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/rf5X4NsC4m — McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 10, 2022 Kevin Magnussen: Half of the Haas team that has now secured back-to-back points doubles finishes. While he looked unable to produce the same speed as team-mate Schumacher, he made the most of the Haas’ pace to pull off some good passes, including a double over Norris and Alonso. He achieved his highest finish of P5 in his return race in Bahrain. 8 Daniel Ricciardo: Daniel Ricciardo’s mini revival continues with his first points since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Qualifying 11th, he improved on that to move up in the points and did well to hold off the charging Alonso. The perennial question over his future is still there, but if the Australian can go into the summer break having finished in the points in the last three races, then those doubts may begin to fade away. 7.5 Fernando Alonso: For the second time this season, Alonso produced a consistent drive to work his way up from the back of the grid to finish in the points in P10. After failing to start the car ahead of the Sprint race on Saturday, Alonso quickly moved through the back points and by lap 18, he was in the points. The Spaniard was also involved in a five-car battle for position on lap 25, but unfortunately for him, he came out behind Norris and Magnussen. However, his performance showed that even at 40, he still has it and, after saying he believed it was one of the highest levels of his career, he will be hoping the car finally matches it. 8 Valtteri Bottas: For whatever reason, the Alfa Romeos seemed to struggle this weekend. Bottas has been reliable for at least challenges for points, but has now gone without them in three of the last four races. In Austria, he was consistently closer to the back of the grid than the front and was battling for a place with Albon’s Williams for much of the race. He eventually won that race, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a points position. 7 Alex Albon: He raced around the edge of the points but was never able to break through, which, considering he’s finished 12th or 13th three times in the last four races, would suggest he’s becoming the pattern of his season. In Albon’s defence, he can maximize what he can from the Williams car and compared to his teammate he is at least showing some signs of pace, even if it is not enough to get him all those important points. 6.5 Lance Stroll: An indifferent race for Stroll, who compared to his team-mate can be pleased – but it’s another grand prix in which he failed to score points. From 11 races so far this season, he has finished in the top 10 on just three occasions and all three were P10s. His performance and lack of speed in Austria suggest that he is either struggling to adapt to the car or that Aston Martin is not as quick as they hoped. Probably a combination of both. 6 The checkered flag falls at the #AustrianGP! 🏁 There was action up and down the field for the boys today, but points were out of reach. pic.twitter.com/eje2i8yrMF — Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) July 10, 2022 Zhou Guanyu: Considering at the same time last week, Zhou was trapped in his car between a fence and a wall, the 23-year-old would have been happy to have just finished the race in Austria. Prior to Silverstone, Zhou had shown signs of pace that could propel him into the points on a consistent basis, but it was not to be…
