Who were the biggest winners and losers from the 2022 F1 Spanish Grand Prix?

Winners 

Max Verstappen and Red Bull 

It ended up being a perfect weekend for Red Bull, with Max Verstappen leading home teammate Sergio Perez for a 1-2 finish that saw both him and the team to move to the top of the world championship standings for the first time this season. 

Verstappen had to do it the hard way after his early trip through the gravel, but the Dutchman capitalised on his main rival Charles Leclerc’s misfortune to full effect to make it a hat-trick of wins - and the 24th of his career. 

Both Verstappen, who continues his remarkable record of winning every race he has finished this year, and Red Bull now have some serious momentum behind them heading to Monaco.

• Verstappen wins Spanish GP to take title lead as Leclerc retires
• Verstappen, Sainz blame gust of wind for Turn 4 offs 
• Spanish GP Driver Ratings: Hamilton and Leclerc deserved 10/10 and here’s why…

Mercedes 

Mercedes will leave Spain hugely encouraged after the team enjoyed their most competitive showing of the season after bringing their first major upgrade of the season. 

One-time race leader George Russell claimed third after a valiant and thrilling battle with Verstappen, while teammate Lewis Hamilton turned in an incredible recovery drive to take fifth, despite finding himself over 30 seconds off the back of the field after picking up a puncture in a first-lap collision with Kevin Magnussen. 

The updated W13 is no longer suffering from the severe bouncing that has so far hampered the Mercedes, while both Russell and Hamilton demonstrated impressive pace, with the seven-time world champion at times the fastest driver on track, giving the team hope that they could yet turn around their season. 

Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas secured sixth place in the ‘best-of-the-rest' position behind the Red Bulls, Ferraris and Mercedes at Barcelona to continue his strong start to life at Alfa Romeo. 

Bottas found himself running in the lead pack but Alfa Romeo’s gamble to two-stop the Finn - in the hope of potentially sneaking onto the podium - backfired when he was passed in the closing stages by the three-stopping Hamilton and Carlos Sainz. 

The risk may not have paid off, but Bottas was still able to seal a strong points haul for Alfa Romeo on a day the Swiss outfit headed all of their midfield rivals to maintain their grip on fifth place in the constructors’. 

Lando Norris 

Despite battling illness all weekend, Lando Norris put in a sterling drive to rise from 11th on the grid and claim eighth for McLaren, four places ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo. 

After the race, Norris was diagnosed with tonsillitis following medical checks, making his gritty performance in the intense heat all the more impressive. 

Understandably, the Briton described the Spanish GP as one of the hardest races he has ever done. 

Fernando Alonso 

Home hero Fernando Alonso turned in a gutsy drive as he charged from the back of the grid to finish in ninth, capping off a brilliant recovery having been dumped out of Q1 and then taking an engine penalty which left him last. 

It was a performance that gave his adoring home fans something to cheer about as the two-time world champion became the first driver to score points from 20th place on the grid at Barcelona. 

A double points finish for Alpine keeps the French manufacturer within striking distance of Alfa Romeo. 

Losers from F1 Spanish GP...

Charles Leclerc 

Leclerc suffered a devastating blow after losing what looked like a routine victory in Spain, having controlled the race up until lap 27, when his Ferrari suddenly slowed with an engine issue that forced him to retire. 

With Verstappen winning, Leclerc has lost the championship lead that he had held since the first race, falling six points behind Verstappen, who also has two more wins than the Monegasque. 

Ferrari now face reliability question marks of their own after a race that has the potential to turn the tide in the championship fight. 

Carlos Sainz 

Leclerc's Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz had something of a shocker of a home race, despite bouncing back to finish fourth. 

Sainz made an awful start and dropped to fifth when his Ferrari went into anti-stall on the grid, before the Spaniard made a costly error on Lap 7 as he spun into the Turn 4 gravel all by himself. 

That left Sainz in recovery mode instead of acting as a support for Leclerc in the fight against Red Bull and Mercedes, with a car that ultimately had the pace to win. 

After a challenging start to 2022, Sainz is now 45 points off the championship lead and still 39 points adrift of Leclerc, even with his DNF. 

Haas 

Points somehow managed to evade Haas for the third time in four races, despite Magnussen and Mick Schumacher both starting the Spanish GP from inside the top 10. 

Magnussen’s race was ruined on the opening lap as he ambitiously attempted to go all the way around the outside of Hamilton to snatch fifth place at Turn 4, only for the pair to make contact, sending the Dane shooting off into the gravel and tumbling down the order to dead last. 

He ultimately finished 17th, three places behind Schumacher, who failed to convert his best-ever qualifying result into those as-of-yet elusive maiden F1 points. 

Daniel Ricciardo 

It was a nightmare race in Spain for Daniel Ricciardo, who slumped to 12th place, despite starting ahead of unwell McLaren teammate Norris. 

The Australian admitted he was at a loss as to where his speed went on Sunday as he fell backwards in the race, having reached Q3 on Saturday. 

Ricciardo will be looking to bounce back at Monaco, a venue he usually goes well at. 

Guanyu Zhou

You have to feel for Guanyu Zhou, whose luckless run continued at Barcelona. 

For the second race on the trot, points appeared on the cards, only for the Chinese racer to suffer yet more mechanical trouble that ultimately ended his race. 

Since scoring points on his debut, the unfortunate Zhou’s results have not reflected his performances.