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The second sprint race of the season ended with Max Verstappen cementing his pole position start for the 2022 F1 Austrian GP. Unlike the last sprint race in Imola where there was quite a bit of action throughout the race, this one was a bit mellow. A Mick Schumacher vs Lewis Hamilton battle, however, did take fans back 11 years to the 2011 F1 Italian GP where Hamilton battled it out with Michael Schumacher.
While Verstappen would be happy with the day's work (well, he drove a clean, unchallenged race), others might not be too happy with how Saturday's Sprint panned out for them. With this feature, let's take a look at the winners and losers of the session.
F1 Austrian GP Sprint: Winners and Losers
Winner
Max Verstappen
Well, that was easy! Max Verstappen nailed the start of the 2022 F1 Austrian GP Sprint and that was it. The Red Bull driver faced no challenge whatsoever as he built a buffer earlier in the race and then won a measured race to bag maximum points.
Although it might be too early to say, Verstappen as a two-time champion is starting to look like an eventuality now.
Loser
Ferrari
Ferrari needs to be careful with the way they handle this championship! This was the second weekend in a row where the young Monegasque driver was visibly upset with the way the race had panned out.
Why? Because instead of playing the team game and trying to challenge Max Verstappen up front, Ferrari let the two drivers fight each other and in the end lost chunks of time to the Red Bull driver.
Did it make sense? Well, Carlos Sainz is just 12 points behind Charles Leclerc in the championship, but it's hard to deny that the Monegasque has not already shown how superior he is to his Spanish teammate. Ferrari needs to intervene there and how the team approaches the 2022 F1 Austrian GP is going to be crucial for the relationship between the team and Leclerc.
Winner
Mick Schumacher
Mick Schumacher is gaining more and more confidence by the looks of it and his racecraft is getting better by the day. That battle with Lewis Hamilton, where the Haas driver held off the seven-time world champion in the much faster machinery, is an example of Schumacher growing the "Big-Boy" muscles after Silverstone.
What was even more impressive from the German was his anger at the team as it did not swap the two drivers early in the race when he was clearly the faster of the two Haas drivers. Schumacher didn't gain any points in the 2022 F1 Austrian GP Sprint today but he surely gained a lot of respect with his driving.
Loser
Mercedes
It was a humbling race for Mercedes. There were a lot of expectations that Mercedes could be challenging at the front with Red Bull and Ferrari, but in the Sprint, it became more or less clear that this was not the case.
The Mercedes is a much better piece of machinery with all the bouncing and porpoising drama in the rear view mirror. In terms of pace, however, the car still needs development work to get to level pegging. Starting from P4 and P8 this time around, the podium might not be that easy to come by.
Winner
Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez proved his worth once again during the 2022 F1 Austrian GP Sprint. While there was so much spotlight on Lewis Hamilton, it was the Mexican driver that nailed the start and made his way through the field. While Hamilton was stuck behind the Haas drivers for most of the race, Perez, who started 4 places lower than the Briton, made far better progress with far more decisive moves.
Red Bull has found an able b-side for Max Verstappen, it seems, and they are both delivering.
Loser
The Multiple World Champions
The 2022 F1 Austrian GP Sprint was not a good race for the multiple world champions on the grid. Fernando Alonso could not even start the race due to reliability issues. Sebastian Vettel was bumped off the track by Alex Albon in his Williams. Finally, Lewis Hamilton encapsulated a rather average sprint where he essentially progressed by only one spot in the race. This was not one of the best showcases for the old guard and the trio will be hoping to bounce back in the race.
