2022 F1 Spanish GP: Max Verstappen overcomes DRS issue to win as Charles Leclerc picks up first DNF

The 2022 Spanish GP had it all: collisions, spins, retirements, and great wheel-to-wheel battles. It offered F1 fans everything that their hearts could have desired for going into the weekend.

In the race, Lewis Hamilton bounced back from an early collision to finish fifth after almost giving up. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen was stuck behind George Russell for longer than he would have liked, as he faced DRS issues. Furthermore, former championship leader Charles Leclerc suffered his first DNF of the season.

The Spanish GP has been infamous for producing processional races over the years, however, this one will certainly go down in history as one of the circuit's better races. So, in case you missed it, here's what happened!

RACE CLASSIFICATION 👀

Red Bull's second 1-2 in three races 👏

#SpanishGP #F1 https://t.co/pcXnQsutM4

F1 Spanish GP 2022: Here's what happened

#1 Max overcomes DRS issue to win after Leclerc retires

It was one of the more dramatic races of the season as Max Verstappen was caught out by the wind while chasing Charles Leclerc early in the race and spun off the track. The incident dropped him behind George Russell and Sergio Perez in fourth. Carlos Sainz too had suffered a similar spin earlier in the race.

Charles Leclerc is a blessing. ❤️

After such a cruel end to his race from the lead, he went and hugged every member of the team, including the pit wall, and simply said ‘it’s okay, we’ll come back stronger’. https://t.co/vXGVzwtGAH

At this stage, he was stuck behind Russell, with Leclerc cruising in front. Verstappen appeared to be destined to suffer a drop in points against Leclerc in the championship. All of this changed as Leclerc suddenly suffered a power unit failure which forced him to retire. The Dutchman was able to jump Russell later, using an alternative strategy, and with the help of team orders, passed Perez as well to cross the checkered flag in first.

After the Spanish GP, Max Verstappen sits at the top of the standings with a six-point lead over Leclerc.

#2 Mercedes shows impressive speed with a podium and a strong comeback for Russell

It was a positive Spanish GP for Mercedes as George Russell made the most of his grid position at the start. Taking advantage of Carlos Sainz's mistake and Charles Leclerc's misfortune, the Mercedes driver picked up another podium after valiantly fighting off both the Red Bulls at different stages of the race.

George ⚔️ Max

A cracking mini-battle 🍿

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His teammate Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, had a disastrous start and a collision with Kevin Magnussen left him near the bottom of the standings. However, the seven-time world champion was able to script a comeback and finish the race in fifth position.

Despite making significant improvement, Mercedes still has a long way to go.

#3 Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas picks up another strong finish

Valtteri Bottas' performance, once again, showed just how good the Alfa Romeo is this year. The Finnish driver clearly had a few tenths in hand when compared to the rest of the pack, including Alpine, McLaren, and Haas. Bottas finished in a comfortable sixth and established Alfa Romeo as the clear leader of the midfield.

#4 Alpine recovers to score a strong double points finish

Return of the double points 👊 Good work team. Mega drive from Fernando from P20 to points.

P7 Esteban
P9 Fernando

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The two Alpine drivers appeared to be driving a different car in the Spanish GP as compared to what they had been driving in the qualifying session. Both Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso were on an overtaking spree at the start of the race as they picked off cars, one by one. At the end of Ocon's first stint, he found himself behind Bottas, who was out of reach in terms of pace, and ahead of Lando Norris, whose McLaren had a similar pace to Alpine and ended up finishing the race in that order.

Alonso, on the other hand, had a far more spectacular race as the Spaniard made his way from last on the grid to finish in ninth position. Overall, a strong weekend for Alpine, considering its struggles on Saturday.

#5 Haas disappoints while Norris and Tsunoda sneak in strong results

Haas had a disappointing Spanish GP as Magnussen was out of contention at the start of the race after a collision with Hamilton. Mick Schumacher, however, had a great start and was up in sixth place at one stage of the race, but after suffering from excessive tire degradation, the Haas driver could not keep up and finished outside of points.

However, both Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda had a rather impressive outing as both drivers were able to sneak into the points in cars that were not the most competitive. The Briton finished the race behind Alpine's Ocon in eighth while Tsunoda scored a point for AlphaTauri in tenth.

Catch the teams and their drivers next weekend in Monaco.