The divisive sprint is back with the first of three appearances in the 2022 Formula One season. The sprint at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was also the debut of a few physical changes. awake. As for the record books, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has been credited with pole position statistics having come out on top in Friday’s qualifying, with physical placement on the track grid still in jeopardy in the water race. withdraw. Points are now also awarded to the top 8 finishers instead of just the riders standing on the podium.
Along with Verstappen in the front row was Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. The Ferrari driver beat the pole guard in the race to the first corner and took the lead. Also in the opening match, Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez overtook both Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso to jump from 7th to 5th. Even so, the field did not complete the first lap without incident. try.
The safety car was deployed in the first round after a contact between Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly. Zhou’s car suffered end-to-end damage after he crashed into the fence. Gasly was able to limp to the pit lane to replace his damaged wheel and front wing with finish sprint.
The key moment of the sprint was in the penultimate lap when Verstappen edged past Leclerc into Tamburello, first corner, to take first place on Sunday’s grid. Sergio Pérez brought in third for the Red Bull team. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was able to bounce back from crashing out of Q2 on Friday and started from 10th to 4th behind Pérez. McLaren drivers finished in 5th and 6th place.
Sprint races are pretty fun, with head-to-head wheeled action around the relatively narrow Imola area. While I’m happy to have a session every Grand Prix weekend, I’m afraid Saturday’s sprint only puts drivers in competitive running order before the race starts on Sunday. .
Race results – Top 8
- Max Verstappen
- Charles Leclerc
- Sergio Perez
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Valtteri Bottas
- Kevin Magnussen
