Max Verstappen won the first sprint race of the 2022 Formula 1 season – but history suggests it’s not always a good thing.
A stunning overtake on the penultimate lap of the dash to the finish saw the Red Bull pip Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to pole for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
AFP
The late lunge at Imola gives Verstappen an extra eight points for his championship tally
But, in a weird quirk, no Saturday sprint race winner has capitalised by winning the following day’s Grand Prix.
Still, the result sees Verstappen lead the grid for Sunday with Leclerc alongside him.
Sergio Perez finished third, while Carlos Sainz moved from 10th to fourth as Red Bull and Ferrari blocked out the front two rows of the grid.
However, Leclerc admitted some concerns in the Scuderia garage after the sprint ended.
Leclerc said after Saturday’s race: “We struggled with the tyres at the end, so we need to analyse that for tomorrow. It’s life, we will work and come back stronger tomorrow.”
AFP
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But the real struggle continues to be for the Mercedes stars as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton both dropped a place, finishing 11th and 14th, respectively.
Five red flags littered qualifying but there was only one major piece of drama in the sprint race.
Zhou Guanyu and Pierre Gasly collided early on, getting the rest of the field a yellow flag.
Zhou’s Alfa Romeo was forced out of the race and the AlphaTauri needed a new front tyre.
The Chinese driver was the most to blame for the clash, while Gasly yelped: “What the f***!”
Getty
Sprint race result
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
5. Lando Norris (McLaren)
6. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
7. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
8. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
9. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
10. Mick Schumacher (Haas)
11. George Russell (Mercedes)
12. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
13. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
14. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
16. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
17. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
18. Alex Albon (Williams)
19. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
20. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
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Source: TalkSport.com Motorsport
