The event was the 22nd and final round of the 2022 Formula One World Championship. While the Drivers' and Constructors' titles had already been secured by Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing at the Japanese and United States Grands Prix respectively, the race determined the runner-up positions in both standings. Entering the weekend, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez were tied for second place in the Drivers' Championship with 290 points each.
The weekend saw several driver transitions and departures. It was the final race for Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), Nicholas Latifi (Williams), and Mick Schumacher (Haas). Daniel Ricciardo also made his final start for McLaren, though he would later return to the grid in 2023. Additionally, Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly made their final appearances for Alpine and AlphaTauri, respectively, before moving to new teams for the following season.
During the first practice session, eight teams fielded rookie or reserve drivers. Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin) and Patricio O'Ward (McLaren) made their Formula One practice debuts during this session.
Max Verstappen secured pole position, his seventh of the season, and aided teammate Sergio Pérez by providing a slipstream during the final segment. This resulted in a front-row lockout for Red Bull Racing, their first since the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc qualified third.
Sebastian Vettel qualified ninth, equaling his best result of the season, despite reporting that he was impeded by Red Bull drivers on three occasions during the first and second segments. Lewis Hamilton qualified in a position that confirmed he would fail to claim a pole position during a season for the first time since his career began in 2007. Kevin Magnussen, who had taken pole position at the previous round in São Paulo, was eliminated in the first segment.
The race began with a battle between Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz Jr. After being forced wide at turn six, Hamilton went momentarily airborne over a sausage kerb and was later instructed to return the position to Sainz.
Strategy played a decisive role in the fight for second place in the championship. While Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc utilized a one-stop strategy, Sergio Pérez opted for two stops. Pérez pitted from second on lap 33 but lost time behind lapped traffic and in a mid-race battle with Hamilton. Despite having fresher tyres in the closing stages, Pérez was unable to overtake Leclerc.
Several incidents occurred in the midfield. George Russell received a five-second penalty for an unsafe release that forced Lando Norris to brake in the pit lane. On lap 39, Mick Schumacher and Nicholas Latifi collided at turn 5, resulting in a five-second penalty for Schumacher and eventual retirement for Latifi due to an electronics issue. Fernando Alonso retired on lap 27 following a water leak, his sixth retirement of the year.
In the final laps, Lewis Hamilton suffered a hydraulics failure while stuck in seventh gear, forcing his retirement. This marked the first time in Hamilton's 16-year career that he finished a season without a Grand Prix victory.
Max Verstappen's victory extended his record for the most wins in a single season to 15. Charles Leclerc's second-place finish secured him the runner-up spot in the Drivers' Championship, three points ahead of Sergio Pérez.
In the Constructors' Championship, Aston Martin finished equal on points with Alfa Romeo for sixth place. However, Alfa Romeo secured the position based on a countback of results, as their best finish of fifth exceeded Aston Martin's season-best of sixth. Sebastian Vettel's tenth-place finish concluded his final season as the first full year in his career without a podium result, excluding his single-race debut in 2007. Daniel Ricciardo finished ninth in his final race for McLaren.