Overtake of the year
Hamilton on Perez and Leclerc, British GP
Three wide at Silverstone
Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images
“Through goes Hamilton!” Crofty could barely keep up with the three-way battle for second-place at Silverstone in the closing laps of the British GP.
As Carlos Sainz raced away for his debut win, following a safety car period and restart, Charles Leclerc on worn tires fought to defend second place from the fresher-tyred Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez.
The Red Bull driver was leading the chase after muscling past Hamilton. Perez then launched a dive down the inside of Leclerc at Stowe, but by running wide across the kerbs on the outside the Ferrari driver held his ground. Leclerc had the inside line at the left-hander at Vale, but then Perez cut across the apex of the right-hander to get in front. Both men then drifted out wide and an opportunistic Hamilton blasted down the inside to gain two places in one hit.
Leclerc ⚔️ Perez ⚔️ Hamilton
Incredible scenes at Silverstone 🍿#BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/TBZ6J9bfty
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2022
Although Perez ran off the track at this point, our expert podcast panel of Chris Medland, Jack Aitken and Alex Jacques agreed that it didn’t detract from the sensational move. Alas it didn’t last long, as Hamilton soon lost out again to both Perez and Leclerc, but it’s the memory of those three cars abreast that lives long in the memory. No wonder it was the overwhelming winner in this category.
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team of the year
red bull
When the fastest car on the grid met an almost infallible strategy with Max Verstappen at the wheel, what chance did its rivals stand?
The team won 17 of the year’s 22 races, out-developed Ferrari to have the fastest car for most of the season, and was rarely faulted on strategy.
It simply did a better job than anyone else of tackling the new regulations. In the background Red Bull’s own powertrain program for 2026 began to take shape. The new division represents a huge commitment, and was the last big strategic call made by company boss Dietrich Mateschitz before his death.
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Circuit of the year
interlagos
Russell victorious at Interlagos in 2022
DPPI
Sao Paulo rarely fails to deliver drama, and this year was no exception, with plenty of overtaking in the rain-drenched bowl of Interlagos. Much like Suzuka — which it surprisingly beat — it is a track with decades of history behind it, and which couldn’t be designed and built today.
The topography makes for a wonderful speed bowl of a circuit with a current qualifying lap time of just 71 seconds. The sweep onto the pit straight and big stop at the end of it makes for one of the best overtaking spots on the calendar, which is why it was chosen as a host of a sprint event in both of the last two seasons. The whole track is geared up to produce proper racing in a way that so many other venues sadly aren’t, with rain often adding to the challenge. The hugely enthusiastic fans haven’t had a local hero to cheer for a few years, and these days their affections are focused largely on Lewis Hamilton.
Hall of Fame entrant
Sebastian Vettel
Though almost all of Sebastian Vettel’s success may have come in the first half of his career, the sheer brilliance of his early years proved his candidacy for a place in our Hall of Fame, and you agreed, voting him in alongside the likes of Stirling Moss , Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher.
Scoring a point on his debut at Indianapolis in 2007, it was in 2008 that the young German would really make history. Vettel put in a scintillating performance at the wheel of a Toro Rosso to dominate a wet Italian GP, becoming F1’s youngest ever winner at 21 years and 74 days.
He gained an instant promotion to the senior squad, taking four wins in 2009 before total domination began in 2010 with defeat of Fernando Alonso for his first F1 title. Three more straight championships followed, and with them records such as most consecutive wins (nine in 2013).
Vettel then achieved his dream of emulating Michael Schumacher by moving to Ferrari for ’15. He challenged for ths championship but couldn’t return the title to the Scuderia.
An Aston Martin move heralded the twilight of his career from 2021, but Vettel was still leading the way when it came to F1’s campaign for greater diversity and a reduced carbon footprint.
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