Leclerc Overcomes Late-Stage Reliability Problems to Win the 2022 F1 Austrian Grand Prix

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc returned to the winner's circle for the first time in three months with an impressive performance in the 2022 F1 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.

Leclerc overcame a throttle pedal issue late in the race to hold off Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen. Mercedes-Benz AMG's Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top three, about 41 seconds behind the winner.

Verstappen, who won Saturday's sprint race qualifying, started the race from pole position. Verstappen won Saturday's sprint race qualifying and started the race from pole position.

Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz pushed hard right from the start, and Verstappen quickly wore out his tires, forcing him to make an earlier-than-planned pit stop.

Verstappen returned to the track in sixth place and passed Haas' Mick Schumacher, then Hamilton and Alpine's Esteban Ocon, who was forced to make a pit stop, to take third place on lap 20. Shortly after, Sergio Perez, also in a Red Bull, collided with George Russell in a Mercedes on the opening lap. Russell was given a five-second penalty for the incident.

Later, Sainz was also forced to retire from third place due to a power unit failure, effectively bringing out the safety car and allowing Leclerc and Verstappen to battle for the win. Verstappen decided to pit during the safety car, at which point Leclerc began complaining of throttle problems. Verstappen soon began to close in on Leclerc, but the Ferrari driver was able to hold off his rival until the end.

At the end of the weekend, Verstappen remains in first place in the 2022 drivers' championship with a total of 208 points. Leclerc is in second place with 170 points total, while Perez is back in third place with 151 points. In the constructors' championship, Red Bull leads with 359 points, Ferrari is second with 303 points, and Mercedes is third with 237 points.

The teams will enjoy a short break until the French GP in two weeks.

1) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 2) Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) +1.532s3) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Benz AMG) +41.217s4) George Russell (Mercedes-Benz AMG) +58.972s5) Esteban Ocon, Alpine +68.436s6) Mick Schumacher, Haas +1 lap7) Lando Norris, McLaren +1 lap8) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1 lap9) Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren +1 lap10) Fernando Alonso, Alpine 11) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo +1 lap12) Alexander Albon, Williams +1 lap13) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1 lap14) Guan Yu Zhou, Alfa Romeo +1 lap15) Pierre Gasly, Alfa Tauli +1 lap16) Hiroki Tsunoda, Alfa Tauli +1 lap17) Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin +1 lapNC) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari - DNFNC) Nicolas Latifi, Williams - DNFNC) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing - DNF