The 2022 British Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Lenovo British Grand Prix 2022) was a Formula One motor race held on 3 July 2022 at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England.
Carlos Sainz Jr. took both his first pole position and Formula One victory, ahead of Sergio Pérez and Lewis Hamilton. Championship leader, Max Verstappen finished seventh after acquiring car damage early in the race. A multi-car crash occurred on the opening lap, in which Zhou Guanyu's car flipped over the tyre wall marking the circuit boundaries.
Background
The event was held across the weekend of the 1–3 July. It was the tenth round of the 2022 Formula One World Championship. It was the 73rd time the British Grand Prix has been held and the race took place two weeks after the Canadian Grand Prix and preceded the Austrian Grand Prix.
Championship standings before the race
Following the Canadian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship by 46 points from teammate Sergio Pérez, with Charles Leclerc third, a further three points behind. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship, leading Ferrari by 74 points. Mercedes were in third place, trailing Ferrari by 40 points.
Entrants
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. It was the 150th race start for Carlos Sainz Jr.
Tyre choices
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.
Practice
The weekend had three practice sessions, each lasting one hour. The first session took place on 1 July and started at 13:00 local time (UTC+01:00). There was rain before and during the session, with teams deciding not to go on track as much as they normally would have, due to dry weather predicted for the rest of the weekend. Towards the end of the session the weather cleared and the track began to dry. A number of drivers attempted to drive the track on slick tyres, including Lance Stroll, who spun at turn 9, getting stuck in the gravel. The session was red flagged and not resumed. Valtteri Bottas was fastest, with Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz Jr. in second and third respectively.
The second session took place on 1 July and started at 16:00 local time. The session was conducted in dry conditions. No major incidents meant the whole session was under green flag conditions. The Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel picked up some floor damage in the session, but he made it back to the pits. Sainz was fastest, with Hamilton and Lando Norris in second and third respectively.
The third practice session started at 12:00 local time on 2 July. There were no major incidents and so the whole session was under green flag conditions. Max Verstappen was fastest, with Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc in second and third respectively.
Qualifying
Qualifying started at 15:00 local time on 2 July, and lasted for one hour. The session was held in wet conditions and ended with Carlos Sainz Jr. claiming his maiden pole position. Max Verstappen's final qualifying attempt was interrupted by yellow flags, after Charles Leclerc spun.