2022 French Grand Prix

The 2022 French Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Lenovo Grand Prix de France 2022) was a Formula One motor race held on 24 July 2022 at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France.

2022 French Grand Prix
Race 12 of 22 in the 2022 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Layout of the Circuit Paul Ricard
Race details
Date	24 July 2022
Official name	Formula 1 Lenovo Grand Prix de France 2022
Location	Circuit Paul Ricard Le Castellet, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Course	Permanent racing circuit
Course length	5.842 km (3.630 miles)
Distance	53 laps, 309.626 km (192.432 miles)
Weather	Sunny
Attendance	200,000
Pole position
Driver	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari
Time	1:30.872
Fastest lap
Driver	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari
Time	1:35.781 on lap 51
Podium
First	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-RBPT
Second	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Third	George Russell	Mercedes
Lap leaders

Going into the race with 2 consecutive wins for Ferrari and a solid qualifying performance that saw him in pole position, championship challenger Charles Leclerc and Ferrari were favoured for the win, which would have reduced their arrears to the championship leader and title holder Max Verstappen. However, Leclerc, who had been leading the race, spun out on lap 18, conceding the win to Verstappen. Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished second and third, respectively, giving the team their first double podium of the season.

The race was arguably a turning point in the season, as Verstappen and Red Bull powered on to a streak of victories that saw them become Champions, while Ferrari never recovered from the points and pace deficit that arose over the remainder of the season, a fact highlighted by the Monegasque driver's scream of despair and frustration after crashing out.^[1] As of 2024^[update], this was also the last French Grand Prix to be held, as the race was not contracted for the 2023 season and beyond.

Background

The event was held across the weekend of the 22–24 July, during the 2022 European heat waves. It was the twelfth round of the 2022 Formula One World Championship.

Championship standings before the race

Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship by 38 points from Charles Leclerc, with Sergio Pérez third, a further 19 points behind. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship, leading Ferrari by 56 points and Mercedes by 122 points.^[2]

Entrants

See also: 2022 Formula One World Championship § Entries

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.^[3] Nyck de Vries and Robert Kubica drove for Mercedes in place of Lewis Hamilton and for Alfa Romeo in place of Valtteri Bottas, respectively, during the first practice session.^[4]

The Grand Prix marked the 300th race entry and start for Lewis Hamilton.^[5]

Tyre choices

Further information: Formula One tyres

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3, and C4 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.^[6]

Track changes

The end of the pit lane speed limit zone was moved from where the last team garage to the actual pit exit for safety reason, with the change expected to add 3.5–4 seconds to the time cars lose in the pit lane. In addition, following concerns from the Grand Prix Drivers' Association over consistency of penalties being handed out in races, a handful of incidents were informally reviewed in the drivers briefing to see where drivers felt the penalty system had worked and where it had not worked well.^[7]

Practice

The first two practice sessions took place on 22 July, while the third practice session was held on 23 July 2022.

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on 23 July 2022.

Qualifying classification

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Qualifying times			Final grid
				Q1	Q2	Q3
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:31.727	1:31.216	1:30.872	1
2	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-RBPT	1:31.891	1:31.990	1:31.176	2
3	11	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull Racing-RBPT	1:32.354	1:32.120	1:31.335	3
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:33.041	1:32.274	1:31.765	4
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	1:32.672	1:32.777	1:32.032	5
6	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:33.109	1:32.633	1:32.131	6
7	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine-Renault	1:32.819	1:32.631	1:32.552	7
8	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri-RBPT	1:33.394	1:32.836	1:32.780	8
9	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	1:32.297	1:31.081	No time	191
10	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	1:32.756	1:32.649	No time	201
11	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren-Mercedes	1:33.404	1:32.922	N/A	9
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine-Renault	1:33.346	1:33.048	N/A	10
13	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	1:33.034	1:33.052	N/A	11
14	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes	1:33.285	1:33.276	N/A	12
15	23	Alexander Albon	Williams-Mercedes	1:33.423	1:33.307	N/A	13
16	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri-RBPT	1:33.4392	N/A	N/A	14
17	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes	1:33.4392	N/A	N/A	15
18	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	1:33.674	N/A	N/A	16
19	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas-Ferrari	1:33.701	N/A	N/A	17
20	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams-Mercedes	1:33.794	N/A	N/A	18
107% time: 1:38.148
Source:[8][9]

Notes

• ^1 – Carlos Sainz Jr. and Kevin Magnussen were required to start the race from the back of the grid for exceeding their quota of power unit elements.^[10]
• ^2 – Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll set the identical lap time in qualifying. Gasly was classified ahead of Stroll as he set the lap time earlier.^[8]

Race

Charles Leclerc leading Max Verstappen before his crash on lap 18

Prior to the race, some teams worried that the high temperatures may overheat the power unit or tyres.^[11][12] The race started at 15:00 local time (CEST) on 24 July and was contested over 53 laps.^[13] Charles Leclerc maintained his first position into turn one, from Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton jumped Sergio Pérez and attempted to challenge Verstappen, but could not complete a move.^[14] Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda collided at turn eight.^[15] Both were able to carry on initially, though Tsunoda later retired due to damage received in the crash.^[16] Ocon was given a five-second time penalty by the FIA.^[17]

Verstappen pitted on lap 16 to undercut Leclerc, but on lap 18, Leclerc lost the rear end, due to driver error, spun and hit the tyre barrier.^[18][19] He could not reverse out and was forced to retire. The safety car was deployed, which allowed the majority of the field to pit. Carlos Sainz Jr. was released into the path of Alexander Albon and the FIA determined it was an unsafe release and subsequently awarded Sainz a five-second time penalty.^[20][21] As the race restarted, Verstappen kept first place, further back Zhou Guanyu and Mick Schumacher collided.^[22] Both were able to carry on, and Zhou was given a five-second time penalty by the FIA.^[23]

On lap 41, Sainz overtook Pérez.^[24] George Russell, who was behind Pérez, attempted an overtake in the braking zone of turn eight, where they made contact.^[25] Pérez was forced wide and kept the place from Russell. Sainz later pitted due to tyre concerns and was relegated to ninth (also serving his 5 second time penalty),^[26] fighting back up to fifth.^[27]

Kevin Magnussen and Nicholas Latifi collided,^[28] contributing to both of their retirements later in the race,^[29][30] while Zhou, who had a power unit issue, pulled over on lap 49,^[31] which brought out the virtual safety car (VSC). Once his car was recovered, the VSC ended and Russell immediately got past Pérez; Pérez said that he was slow at the restart, as he expected the race to resume earlier, and could not react in time to the delayed restart.^[32]

Verstappen won the race,^[33] with Hamilton in second and his Mercedes teammate, Russell, in third.^[34] Pérez finished fourth and Sainz was fifth.^[35][27] Fernando Alonso finished sixth,^[36] ahead of Lando Norris and Esteban Ocon, who finished seventh and eighth respectively.^[37][38] Daniel Ricciardo finished ninth,^[39] just ahead of Lance Stroll,^[40] who was pressured to the line by his Aston Martin teammate Sebastian Vettel.^[41]

Race classification

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-RBPT	53	1:30:02.112	2	25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	53	+10.587	4	18
3	63	George Russell	Mercedes	53	+16.495	6	15
4	11	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull Racing-RBPT	53	+17.310	3	12
5	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	53	+28.872	19	111
6	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine-Renault	53	+42.879	7	8
7	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	53	+52.026	5	6
8	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine-Renault	53	+56.959	10	4
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren-Mercedes	53	+1:00.372	9	2
10	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes	53	+1:02.549	15	1
11	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes	53	+1:04.494	12
12	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri-RBPT	53	+1:05.448	14
13	23	Alexander Albon	Williams-Mercedes	53	+1:08.565	13
14	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	53	+1:16.666	11
15	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas-Ferrari	53	+1:20.394	17
162	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	47	Power unit2	16
Ret	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams-Mercedes	40	Collision damage	18
Ret	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	37	Collision damage	20
Ret	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	17	Accident	1
Ret	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri-RBPT	17	Undertray	8
Fastest lap: Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari) – 1:35.781 (lap 51)
Source:[9][42][43][failed verification]

Notes

• ^1 – Includes one point for fastest lap.^[43]
• ^2 – Zhou Guanyu was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.^[42] He also received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Mick Schumacher. His final position was not affected by the penalty.^[42]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Driver Points 1 Max Verstappen 233 2 Charles Leclerc 170 3 Sergio Pérez 163 4 Carlos Sainz Jr. 144 5 George Russell 143 Source:

Constructors' Championship standings Pos. Constructor Points 1 Red Bull Racing-RBPT 396 2 Ferrari 314 3 Mercedes 270 1 4 Alpine-Renault 93 1 5 McLaren-Mercedes 89 Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

• 2022 Le Castellet Formula 2 round
• 2022 W Series Le Castellet round

References

1. "Leclerc in Despair as title hopes fade". nypost.com. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
2. "Austria 2022 - Championship". statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
3. "2022 French Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). FIA. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
4. "Mercedes to run reserve driver De Vries in place of Hamilton in FP1 at Paul Ricard". Formula1.com. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
5. "The exclusive F1 club Lewis Hamilton will join at the French GP". Crash. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
6. "What tyres will the teams and drivers have for the 2022 French Grand Prix?". Formula1.com. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
7. Cooper, Adam (23 July 2022). "F1 drivers frustrated by pit limiter zone change". www.motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
8. "Formula 1 Lenovo Grand Prix de France 2022 – Qualifying". Formula1.com. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
9. "Formula 1 Lenovo Grand Prix de France 2022 – Starting Grid". Formula1.com. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
10. "Sainz and Magnussen set to start French Grand Prix from the back of the grid after raft of power unit changes". Formula1.com. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
11. "High temperatures in France could affect Verstappen and Red Bull". Marca. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
12. Butterworth, Michael (21 July 2022). "How Ferrari plan to counter the extreme French GP heat". RacingNews365. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
13. "French Grand Prix 2022". Formula1.com. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
14. "Enjoy the race start at Le Castellet as Leclerc leads Verstappen at the French GP". Formula1.com. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
15. "Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda collide on the opening lap!". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
16. "2022 French GP: Race". Scuderia AlphaTauri. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
17. "Offence - Car 31 - Causing a collision" (PDF). FIA. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
18. "Charles Leclerc crashes into barriers and out of French GP". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
19. Murphy, Luke (24 July 2022). "Leclerc furious with himself after 'unacceptable' mistake". RacingNews365. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
20. "Carlos Sainz unsafe pit release (five-second penalty) at Paul Ricard". Scuderia Fans. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
21. "Offence - Car 55 - Unsafe release" (PDF). FIA. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
22. "Zhou Guanyu makes contact with Mick Schumacher!". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
23. "Offence - Car 24 - Causing a collision" (PDF). FIA. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
24. "Sainz overtakes Pérez amidst Ferrari pit confusion". Formula1.com. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
25. "@F1 on Twitter - RUSSELL AND PEREZ MAKE CONTACT! 😳". Twitter. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
26. "French Grand Prix: Carlos Sainz defends Ferrari strategy after pit stop debate". Sky Sports. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
27. "Sainz defends Ferrari strategy after late pit stop sees him finish fifth in French GP recovery drive". Formula1.com. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
28. "@F1 on Twitter - Contact between Latifi and Magnussen 😬". Twitter. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
29. "French Grand Prix: Race Recap". Haas F1 Team. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
30. "Team reflect on a "tricky" French Grand Prix | AA23 was our sole finisher in P13 after NL6 retired with damage". Williams F1. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
31. "French GP: Race team notes - Alfa Romeo". Pit Pass. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
32. "Perez left feeling 'screwed' by Virtual Safety Car ending as Russell revels in 'satisfying' overtake at French GP". Formula1.com. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
33. Koster, Kees-Jan (24 July 2022). "Max victoriously controls French GP: 'A great day'". Verstappen. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
34. "Double Podium for Mercedes-AMG in France: Lewis P2, George P3". Mercedes-AMG F1. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
35. Duncan, Lewis (24 July 2022). ""Totally wrong" VSC message interfered in French GP result - Perez". Autosport. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
36. Williams, George (24 July 2022). "Alonso: "It was a comfortable sixth place"". Sports Finding. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
37. "Mixed feelings for McLaren after double-points finish". GP Today. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
38. "BWT Alpine F1 Team into fourth position in constructors'". Alpine Cars. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
39. "Daniel Ricciardo: P9 in French GP not 'enough points to make me feel satisfied'". Formula1.com. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
40. "Race Report by ARAMCO - France". Aston Martin F1. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
41. "French GP: Race team notes - Aston Martin". GP Today. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
42. "Formula 1 Lenovo Grand Prix de France 2022 – Race Result". Formula1.com. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
43. "Formula 1 Lenovo Grand Prix de France 2022 – Fastest Laps". Formula1.com. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.

External links

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