JOE KLAMAR / AFP via Getty Images
Charles Leclerc returns to the circle of winners.
Leclerc overcame the mechanical problems of the last few races to stop Max Verstappen and win the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix.
The win is his third of the season and will bring him back to second place in the points standings behind Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Esteban Ocon completed the top five finishers.
“I definitely needed this one. The last five races have been incredibly difficult for me and the team,” Leclerc said after the race. “To finally show that we have the pace in the car and that we can do it is amazing. We have to work hard to the end.”
Leclerc started the 2022 season with great intensity, winning in Bahrain and Australia and finishing in the top two in four of the top five races. Mechanical problems caused a significant drop in Leclerc’s season, as he was forced to leave the race early in Spain and Azerbaijan. After looking like an aspirant in the early-season championship, Leclerc fell to third place in the standings and found himself looking for answers.
Sunday’s race was not without mechanical problems for Ferrari. Leclerc spent much of the latter part of the race dealing with an accelerator problem, and his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. retired before the event.
“Strangely [the throttle issue] it was about the same time [as Sainz’s retirement], so I had it in my head, “Leclerc said.” I knew it wasn’t a problem with the engine because it was the pedal that felt weird. Luckily, it was until the end of the race. “
Meanwhile, the trouble-free season continued for Hamilton, who finished third for the third straight race. Hamilton’s car had to be rebuilt on Saturday after falling in the qualifying session, so that third place serves as a bit of a moral victory.
That said, we now have 11 races in the 2022 season and Hamilton has yet to catch any races. This is the longest time Hamilton has spent without winning to start a season in his Formula 1 career. He has seen Verstappen take his mantle as the sport’s most dominant driver and he doesn’t seem to know how to change things. .
Verstappen’s current streak of “cold” has been both races without a win, the first time in the entire season that happens to the reigning champion.