Soaring temperatures, high tyre temperatures and a hard compound no one wanted to touch pushed drivers towards three-stop strategies in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Even Sergio Perez, who is renowned for his skill in extending the life of a set of tyres, couldn’t make a two-stop strategy work. His pace began to drop in his third stint and Red Bull brought him in for another set of rubber.As the teams saw the likelihood of a multi-stop race coming, almost every car was sent to the grid on the soft rubber compound. Lewis Hamilton’s medium-shod Mercedes was the exception, but we never got to see how that would have worked for him as he tangled Kevin Magnussen on lap one, both incurred punctures and had to pit.
How Hamilton might have fared without that setback is one of the fascinating unanswered questions of this race. Another is how the fight for victory between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc would have unfolded had it not been for the Red Bull driver’s early off-track excursion, and the Ferrari’s power unit problem.
Verstappen was two seconds behind leader Leclerc before his error, but had just begun to slip back from the Ferrari. Afterwards Leclerc said he was encouraged that his Ferrari’s tyre degradation, which had been a weakness in recent races, seemed much improved at the Circuit de Catalunya.
With little to choose between the top two teams on race pace, and Mercedes taking a big step towards joining them, the Spanish Grand Prix gave an encouraging sign the 2022 championship is getting even clsoer.
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2022 Spanish Grand Prix lap chart
The positions of each driver on every lap. Click name to highlight, right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
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2022 Spanish Grand Prix race chart
The gaps between each driver on every lap compared to the leader’s average lap time. Very large gaps omitted. Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
Position change
| Driver | Start position | Lap one position change | Race position change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 6 | -13 | 1 |
| George Russell | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Max Verstappen | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Sergio Perez | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| Charles Leclerc | 1 | 0 | |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | 3 | -2 | -1 |
| Lando Norris | 11 | 1 | 3 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 9 | 1 | -3 |
| Esteban Ocon | 12 | 3 | 5 |
| Fernando Alonso | 17 | 2 | 8 |
| Pierre Gasly | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | 13 | 2 | 3 |
| Lance Stroll | 18 | 4 | 3 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 16 | 3 | 5 |
| Alexander Albon | 19 | 3 | 1 |
| Nicholas Latifi | 20 | 2 | 4 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| Zhou Guanyu | 15 | -2 | |
| Mick Schumacher | 10 | 4 | -4 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 8 | -12 | -9 |
2022 Spanish Grand Prix lap times
All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded). Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and toggle drivers using the control below:
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2022 Spanish Grand Prix fastest laps
Each driver’s fastest lap:
| Rank | Driver | Car | Fastest lap | Gap | On lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1’24.108 | 55 | |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’24.253 | 0.145 | 51 |
| 3 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’24.636 | 0.528 | 53 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1’25.456 | 1.348 | 46 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’25.619 | 1.511 | 53 |
| 6 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1’25.935 | 1.827 | 54 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 1’25.985 | 1.877 | 49 |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’26.395 | 2.287 | 36 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine-Renault | 1’26.599 | 2.491 | 56 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Red Bull | 1’26.828 | 2.720 | 59 |
| 11 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’26.876 | 2.768 | 54 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Red Bull | 1’26.987 | 2.879 | 51 |
| 13 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’27.030 | 2.922 | 25 |
| 14 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’27.246 | 3.138 | 52 |
| 15 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’27.285 | 3.177 | 54 |
| 16 | Mick Schumacher | Haas-Ferrari | 1’27.447 | 3.339 | 32 |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’27.537 | 3.429 | 3 |
| 18 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’27.629 | 3.521 | 59 |
| 19 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1’28.281 | 4.173 | 56 |
| 20 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’28.415 | 4.307 | 12 |
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2022 Spanish Grand Prix tyre strategies
The tyre strategies for each driver:
| Stint 1 | Stint 2 | Stint 3 | Stint 4 | Stint 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | C3 (13) | C2 (15) | C3 (16) | C2 (22) | |
| Sergio Perez | C3 (17) | C2 (20) | C2 (16) | C3 (13) | |
| George Russell | C3 (13) | C2 (23) | C2 (15) | C3 (15) | |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | C3 (10) | C2 (21) | C2 (14) | C3 (21) | |
| Lewis Hamilton | C2 (1) | C3 (21) | C2 (26) | C3 (18) | |
| Valtteri Bottas | C3 (14) | C2 (20) | C2 (32) | ||
| Esteban Ocon | C3 (13) | C2 (22) | C3 (17) | C3 (14) | |
| Lando Norris | C3 (12) | C2 (21) | C3 (18) | C3 (15) | |
| Fernando Alonso | C3 (10) | C2 (21) | C3 (22) | C3 (12) | |
| Yuki Tsunoda | C3 (11) | C2 (21) | C3 (20) | C3 (13) | |
| Sebastian Vettel | C3 (21) | C3 (21) | C2 (23) | ||
| Daniel Ricciardo | C3 (11) | C3 (20) | C2 (17) | C3 (17) | |
| Pierre Gasly | C3 (10) | C2 (19) | C3 (17) | C3 (19) | |
| Mick Schumacher | C3 (12) | C3 (18) | C2 (35) | ||
| Lance Stroll | C3 (14) | C3 (13) | C2 (19) | C3 (19) | |
| Nicholas Latifi | C3 (12) | C2 (14) | C3 (24) | C3 (14) | |
| Kevin Magnussen | C3 (1) | C2 (28) | C1 (35) | ||
| Alexander Albon | C3 (11) | C2 (14) | C3 (20) | C2 (9) | C3 (10) |
| Zhou Guanyu | C3 (10) | C2 (18) | |||
| Charles Leclerc | C3 (21) | C2 (6) |
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2022 Spanish Grand Prix pit stop times
How long each driver’s pit stops took:
| Driver | Team | Pit stop time | Gap | On lap | |
| 1 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 21.619 | 37 | |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 21.694 | 0.075 | 53 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 21.794 | 0.175 | 21 |
| 4 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 21.838 | 0.219 | 46 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 21.867 | 0.248 | 31 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 21.914 | 0.295 | 31 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 21.916 | 0.297 | 12 |
| 8 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 21.941 | 0.322 | 44 |
| 9 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 21.966 | 0.347 | 28 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 22.008 | 0.389 | 10 |
| 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 22.032 | 0.413 | 17 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 22.033 | 0.414 | 52 |
| 13 | George Russell | Mercedes | 22.039 | 0.420 | 36 |
| 14 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 22.105 | 0.486 | 22 |
| 15 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 22.124 | 0.505 | 11 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 22.137 | 0.518 | 13 |
| 17 | George Russell | Mercedes | 22.154 | 0.535 | 13 |
| 18 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 22.154 | 0.535 | 48 |
| 19 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 22.165 | 0.546 | 51 |
| 20 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 22.173 | 0.554 | 13 |
| 21 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 22.241 | 0.622 | 48 |
| 22 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 22.302 | 0.683 | 45 |
| 23 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 22.311 | 0.692 | 26 |
| 24 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 22.316 | 0.697 | 52 |
| 25 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 22.341 | 0.722 | 10 |
| 26 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 22.375 | 0.756 | 10 |
| 27 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 22.399 | 0.780 | 31 |
| 28 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 22.456 | 0.837 | 42 |
| 29 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 22.536 | 0.917 | 21 |
| 30 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 22.541 | 0.922 | 34 |
| 31 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 22.657 | 1.038 | 25 |
| 32 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 22.761 | 1.142 | 50 |
| 33 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 22.802 | 1.183 | 32 |
| 34 | George Russell | Mercedes | 22.815 | 1.196 | 51 |
| 35 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 22.833 | 1.214 | 14 |
| 36 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 22.953 | 1.334 | 35 |
| 37 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 22.987 | 1.368 | 14 |
| 38 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 23.083 | 1.464 | 11 |
| 39 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 23.109 | 1.490 | 10 |
| 40 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | 23.127 | 1.508 | 30 |
| 41 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 23.189 | 1.570 | 12 |
| 42 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 23.328 | 1.709 | 45 |
| 43 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 23.341 | 1.722 | 33 |
| 44 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 23.394 | 1.775 | 27 |
| 45 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 23.404 | 1.785 | 54 |
| 46 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 23.419 | 1.800 | 11 |
| 47 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | 23.582 | 1.963 | 12 |
| 48 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 23.812 | 2.193 | 46 |
| 49 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 23.878 | 2.259 | 29 |
| 50 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 25.407 | 3.788 | 53 |
| 51 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 27.947 | 6.328 | 29 |
| 52 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 29.632 | 8.013 | 1 |
| 53 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 31.054 | 9.435 | 1 |
2022 Spanish Grand Prix
- Q&A: Kubica ‘shocked’ by ‘completely different’ Alfa Romeo in Spain
- How heat and traffic trouble left F1 fans fuming after the Spanish Grand Prix
- Mercedes not yet certain their porpoising problem has “disappeared”
- Sticking to budget cap “pretty much impossible” due to rising costs – McLaren
- Ricciardo hoping to find an explanation for Spanish GP pace deficit to Norris
Ajaxn
22nd May 2022, 22:46
Ferrari could have, should have, would have, had they not shot themselves in the foot with rookie mistakes and reliability issues.
which open the door for Mercedes as the third wheel to slow RB’s march towards a second successive championship win.
Pedro (@pedrike)
22nd May 2022, 23:01
Tyre wear was higher than usual this race, maybe something to do with the high track temperatures?
Kribana (@krichelle)
22nd May 2022, 23:33
@pedrike
If you watched the sport in the early 2010’s, they used to at times do 4 pit stops.
daniel
23rd May 2022, 2:47
look at hams pace compared to max oh what could of been
Michael
22nd May 2022, 23:35
I can only imagine Bottas’s pit crew took an early flight home. When it was clear that Sainz and Hamilton would catch him he should have been brought in. He lost so much time nursing his tyres he couldn’t even catch Hamilton’s ailing car. That 32 lap stint could have been 20 and 12 and he would have passed Hamilton.
James Neutron (@phillyspur)
23rd May 2022, 0:19
Funny that no one has really talked about the fact that Lewis actually effectively ran a 2-stop race.
daniel
23rd May 2022, 2:40
Yup i keep saying this i reckon he would of got p2 today
Michael
23rd May 2022, 7:06
If he’d not started on the wrong tyres and collided with Magnussen.
But if he hadn’t done that he’d have been in a different battle, made different strategic decisions and things would have looked different.
sumedh
23rd May 2022, 7:51
Just realized that Lewis’ tyres were only 3 laps younger than Carlos’ but Lewis was able to overtake him on track (before Lewis’ late race back off). That is super encouraging for Mercedes
Great race by Lewis in particular. Couldn’t follow him much as it was hectic at the front of the field and I felt a shock George victory was in the offing. But he reduced a 50 second gap to his team-mate at end of lap 2 to 12 second gap by end lap 62 while effectively running a 2 stopper while George ran a 3 stopper. See his lap times from 38 to 47, he is virtually matching George while having 14 lap older mediums!!
MattDS (@mattds)
23rd May 2022, 9:28
George probably took a lot of life out of his tyres today in trying to fight faster cars.
That being said, Lewis had fantastic pace.
Boudi
23rd May 2022, 13:16
Just adding to this, they both had different race setup which Merc was experimenting, looks like they are finding some answers on how to unlock the car’s potential.
Charlie
23rd May 2022, 20:02
Some if’s and buts for fun…….. Lewis on lap 1 was 26 sec behind the leader, eventually finishing 53 secs behind Ver. Now if the ‘shunt’ never took place he’d have been 27 secs behind, if there was no cooling issue he’d have been 14 secs up the road finishing 13 secs behind – Same as Perez.
daniel
24th May 2022, 20:18
He also pitted lap 1 so add another 30 secs. And he basically had to go 2 stops