F1 Grand Prix race results: Ferrari's Leclerc wins Australian GP

Leclerc dominated the race, apart from a sketchy moment after making a poor restart from a safety car period when Verstappen almost got alongside him.

Verstappen was on course for second place when his car failed with 18 laps to go. The second Red Bull of Sergio Perez finished second, ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

2022 Australian Grand Prix race results

Cla	Driver		Chassis	Laps	Gap	Interval	Points
1	Charles Leclerc		Ferrari	58			26
2	Sergio Perez		Red Bull	58	20.524	20.524	18
3	George Russell		Mercedes	58	25.593	5.069	15
4	Lewis Hamilton		Mercedes	58	28.543	2.950	12
5	Lando Norris		McLaren	58	53.303	24.760	10
6	Daniel Ricciardo		McLaren	58	53.737	0.434	8
7	Esteban Ocon		Alpine	58	1'01.683	7.946	6
8	Valtteri Bottas		Alfa Romeo	58	1'08.439	6.756	4
9	Pierre Gasly		AlphaTauri	58	1'16.221	7.782	2
10	Alex Albon		Williams	58	1'19.382	3.161	1
11	Zhou Guanyu		Alfa Romeo	58	1'21.695	2.313
12	Lance Stroll		Aston Martin	58	1'28.598	6.903
13	Mick Schumacher		Haas	57	1 Lap	1 Lap
14	Kevin Magnussen		Haas	57	1 Lap	1.665
15	Yuki Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	57	1 Lap	2.383
16	Nicholas Latifi		Williams	57	1 Lap	4.172
17	Fernando Alonso		Alpine	57	1 Lap	20.038
	Max Verstappen		Red Bull	38	20 Laps	19 Laps
	Sebastian Vettel		Aston Martin	22	36 Laps	16 Laps
	Carlos Sainz Jr.		Ferrari	1	57 Laps	21 Laps
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How the Australian Grand Prix unfolded

Leclerc held his pole advantage on the run to Turn 1, leading ahead of Verstappen, a fast-starting Hamilton, Perez (who got boxed-in on the outside of Turn 1), Russell (Mercedes) and Lando Norris, whose McLaren got dive-bombed at the first corner.

The second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz started on the hard tyre and struggled badly off the start line, dropping to 14^th on the opening lap. He then spun and beached the car at Turn 10 on the second tour, bringing out the safety car.

After the restart, Perez passed Hamilton for third position using DRS on the approach to Turn 3 on Lap 10.

Verstappen complained of tyre issues as early as Lap 12, as Leclerc pulled out his lead to over 4s. Verstappen also encountered some sensor issues with his car and dropped over 8s behind by Lap 19 when he pitted for hard tyres.

As Verstappen rejoined, Fernando Alonso’s Alpine – which started on hards – passed Pierre Gasly’s for eighth AlphaTauri at Turn 3. Perez was now struggling for grip, and had Hamilton all over him, pitting on Lap 21.

Leclerc pitted on Lap 22, as did Hamilton, as the medium starters all switched to hards. Hamilton overcut Perez, but the Mexican soon repassed him around the outside on the approach to Turn 9.

A second safety car was required for Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin stopping on track after he spun into the wall exiting Turn 4, with Russell taking advantage to make his pitstop under yellow and vaulting up to third, ahead of Alonso, who was yet to stop, Perez and Hamilton.

Leclerc made a poor restart and Verstappen attacked him hard, but Ferrari’s championship leader just clung on to his lead and then pulled away once more.

Perez passed Alonso for fourth on Lap 30 and Hamilton did likewise a lap later. Perez then overtook Russell for third at Turn 11 on Lap 37, which became second two laps later when Verstappen was told to stop his car due to a technical failure. As marshals dealt with his car, a virtual safety car was called – with Alonso and Magnussen both pitting from the top 10.

Leclerc now held a 12s lead over Perez, ahead of Russell and Hamilton, Norris and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren). The Ferrari man busied himself with ensuring fastest lap before scoring his second victory of the season, which extended his championship lead.

Perez suffered a late grassy off on his way to the runner-up spot and finished over 20s behind.

2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix fastest laps

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	58	1'20.260			236.740
2	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	57	1'20.846	0.586	0.586	235.024
3	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	58	1'21.094	0.834	0.248	234.305
4	George Russell	Mercedes	53	1'21.495	1.235	0.401	233.152
5	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	54	1'21.651	1.391	0.156	232.707
6	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	37	1'21.677	1.417	0.026	232.633
7	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	51	1'21.886	1.626	0.209	232.039
8	Lando Norris	McLaren	55	1'22.248	1.988	0.362	231.018
9	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	54	1'22.451	2.191	0.203	230.449
10	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	58	1'22.469	2.209	0.018	230.399
11	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	55	1'22.541	2.281	0.072	230.198
12	Alex Albon	Williams	54	1'22.589	2.329	0.048	230.064
13	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	52	1'22.731	2.471	0.142	229.669
14	Mick Schumacher	Haas	55	1'23.006	2.746	0.275	228.908
15	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	44	1'23.071	2.811	0.065	228.729
16	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	56	1'23.342	3.082	0.271	227.985
17	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	48	1'23.592	3.332	0.250	227.304
18	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	49	1'23.882	3.622	0.290	226.518
19	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	17	1'25.189	4.929	1.307	223.042
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2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix pitstops

Cla	Driver	Chassis	1		2		3		4
1	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	M	22	H	36
2	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	M	20	H	38
3	George Russell	Mercedes	M	23	H	35
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	M	22	H	36
5	Lando Norris	McLaren	M	20	H	38
6	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	M	21	H	37
7	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	M	17	H	41
8	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	M	22	H	36
9	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	M	21	H	37
10	Alex Albon	Williams	H	57	S	1
11	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	M	21	H	37
12	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	H	4	M	3	H	19	H	39
13	Mick Schumacher	Haas	M	16	H	43
14	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	H	39	M	20
15	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	M	18	H	39
16	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	M	13	H	11	H	34
17	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	H	39	M	14	M	4
	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	M	18	H	20
	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	H	23
	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	H	1
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