Spain's Carlos Sainz earns his first F1 victory at the British Grand Prix

The Spanish driver picked up his first win during a chaotic race in Silverstone, while Lewis Hamilton finished third and Fernando Alonso in fifth

shay conaghan

Monday, 4 July 2022, 14:15

Carlos Sainz became only the second Spaniard to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix, making it to the top of the podium at the British Grand Prix in what was a chaotic race around the Silverstone track on Sunday.

Sergio Pérez took second place and Lewis Hamilton came in third, while Fernando Alonso settled for fifth.

Sainz, who had taken pole position in Saturday's qualifying session, was quickly passed by Red Bull's Max Verstappen before the race was red-flagged following a nasty, three-car crash into turn one.

The Ferrri driver did a better job to hold his position on the second restart, keeping Verstappen at bay by the defending the first few corners.

A lucky break

After the first round of pit stops, the Red Bull driver overtook the Spaniard as he ran wide, before car damage and loss of pace a few laps later meant the Dutchman was out of contention for the win.

Sainz later agreed to switch places with teammate Charles Leclerc so the Monegasque could try and take the fight to Hamilton, who was in the lead, albeit having not pitted.

However, luck was on the Spaniard's side as a yellow flag meant he could take another pit stop without losing too much time, but Leclerc was ordered to stay out by the team.

This then gave Sainz the tyre advantage for the final ten laps. Though he questioned and defied team orders in the safety car restart, the Spaniard breezed past his teammate to retake the lead and ultimately earn his first win after 150 race entries.

Despite the battle for the remaining two podium places between Pérez, Hamilton and Leclerc not ending in his favour, Fernando Alonso still finished in fifth place, his best finish of the season.

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