MOTORSPORT: Sainz wins wild British GP

In his 150th Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz converted his maiden pole position into his first Formula 1 victory for Ferrari from an action-packed British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

The race was red-flagged after a spectacular first corner incident, when Zhou Guanyu flipped wildly into the catch fence, before walking away from the wreckage of his Alfa Romeo.

Son of double world rally champion Carlos Sainz, Sainz Jr’s career at the top level kicked off in 2015, and has featured stints at Scuderia Toro Rosso, Renault and McLaren.

“I don't know what to say, it's amazing,” said Sainz.

“I mean, my first win, 150 races later, with Ferrari, in Silverstone, I cannot ask for more. It's a very special day, a day that I will never forget.

“Silverstone has been a bit of a special place for me, [my] first ever race win was here in Formula BMW back in 2010, [my] first pole position here, and then suddenly 12 years later I achieved exactly the same but in Formula 1 with Ferrari.”

The race to the first corner saw one of the wildest accidents in recent times, with contact between Zhou, Alex Albon (Williams) and George Russell (Mercedes) seeing the Chinese driver flipping through the gravel trap, while Pierre Gasley (AlphaTauri) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) were also caught up in the melee that stopped the race.

Zhou, Russell and Albon were eliminated on the spot, while track workers were kept busy during the stoppage when protesters entered the circuit.

Upon the resumption of action, Sainz made a better second start to lead Max Verstappen away, although the championship leader regained the advantage on lap 10 of 52, shortly before AlphaTauri teammates Gasley and Yuki Tsunoda spun in unison following contact.

Debris from that incident subsequently lodged under Verstappen’s car, which cost the Red Bull crucial downforce and speed throughout the remainder of the race.

A thrilling run to the finish was set up after Ocon stopped on track necessitating a safety car, with Sainz on fresh tyres quickly jumping past his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc following the restart.

With battling akin to a Formula Ford race, a highlight proved to be when Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) launched into second following a three-wide battle with Sergio Perez (Red Bull) and Leclerc.

Sainz drew out a 3.7sec margin at the chequered flag from Perez, Hamilton and Leclerc, with Fernando Alonso having front-row seats to the late race battle in fifth aboard his Alpine, from Lando Norris (McLaren), Verstappen and Mick Schumacher (Haas), who scored his first F1 points after battling Verstappen on the final lap.

Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) and Kevin Magnussen (Haas) rounded out the point scorers, while Daniel Ricciardo languished in 13th in his McLaren.

Earlier in the weekend, Australian Jack Doohan claimed his first career F2 race win, after finishing second earlier in the season at Barcelona.

Son of five-time 500cc motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan, the youngster had to work hard for his victory, charging through from fourth position in wet conditions.

The Formula 1 World Championship and supports move to the Red Bull Ring next weekend for the Austrian Grand Prix.

2022 British Grand Prix results:

2022 Formula 1 championship standings:

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