SAKHIR, BAHRAIN — After the season of all seasons, and the controversy of all controversies, Formula 1 is finally back with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc the ...
11:21am: Verstappen is again on the radio, telling his team he has "zero traction". Meanwhile, rival Hamilton is in the pits already! 10:20am: One man who doesn’t need any sympathy today is Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari man is in pole position for the 10th time in his career. Carlos Sainz does the same, and is in P5. 11:19am: And the commentator's curse strikes, as Perez overtakes Hamilton! The Mexican is back into P4, where he began. 11:27am: Verstappen is in the pits. Hamilton is P3 and Russell on his (second) Mercedes debut is P4. Magnussen is P5. Yes, a Haas is in the top five! Verstappen fumes that he's "never, ever" going easy on the tyres in an out-lap again, as he feels he could've taken the lead if he was more aggressive. Red Bull going for the three-stop, while Leclerc will surely stay out on his current mediums for the last 13 laps. He's a full four seconds ahead of the reigning champion. 12:26pm: Verstappen is suffering with steering issues, but the team confirms via the radio he will not need to come in - no reliability issue evident. 12:15pm: No such problems for Red Bull, with Verstappen in and out the pits again. Reigning champion Verstappen trailed Leclerc throughout Sunday's encounter in the desert, save for a total of six corners in which he edged ahead.
Watch highlights from qualifying at the Bahrain International Circuit ahead of the season-opening 2022 Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Crash.net rounds up some of the biggest talking points from the first qualifying of F1's new era at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
He had been on the back foot ever since and barely recovered in time for this weekend’s season-opener, so should be cut some slack. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic start for Ferrari after spending the last two years in recovery mode. Everyone still has a lot to learn. A good omen of what is to come for the Scuderia in 2022, perhaps? Even qualifying did not go completely smoothly, with a hydraulic leak threatening to undo all of his superb work. It was a contrasting tale at Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton admitting that Ferrari and Red Bull are “in another league” as he could only qualify fifth-fastest, 0.680s off Leclerc’s benchmark.
Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc took pole position for the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix, beating reigning champion Max Verstappen to the top spot as the ...
Sainz slipped to third, ahead of Perez, Hamilton, Bottas, Magnussen (who stopped at Turn 1 after completing his lap), Alonso, Russell and Gasly. On the first runs, Sainz set the bar at 1m30.687s, 0.044s faster than Leclerc. Verstappen was 0.012s off a front row spot in third, complaining about tyre temperature and out-lap speed, while Perez was fourth ahead of Hamilton and Russell – the Mercedes duo both setting their times on used softs. Only the top three cars and the Mercedes duo didn’t run again on a second set of soft tyres, with Magnussen jumping up to fifth ahead of Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Lando Norris (McLaren), pushing the Mercedes back to the lower reaches of the top 10. Kevin Magnussen grabbed an early second for Haas before Valtteri Bottas snatched it away for Alfa Romeo, just 0.01s off Verstappen. Verstappen dived straight into the 1m30s bracket, with a 1m30.757s that was six tenths clear of Leclerc and Perez. Magnussen was fourth fastest after the opening runs, despite suffering a hydraulic issue with his power steering, ahead of Hamilton and Russell. Ferrari then took control, with Leclerc taking the top spot on 1m31.471s, 0.096s quicker than team-mate Sainz. Hamilton claimed fifth for Mercedes at this point, eight tenths off the pace, while Russell beat him on a second push lap on his first set of tyres.
Full standings after Saturday's qualifying and what to expect on Sunday as the new F1 season gets underway.
“You want to be good in qualifying but make sure the car is working in the race, and it’s a bit different to some other tracks.” Fernando Alonso, eighth for Alpine, and Pierre Gasly, 10th in the AlphaTauri, make up the top 10 to ensure a tight battle should the Ferraris and Red Bulls disappear as expected. There are no other available mechanisms in the rules for amending the race classification.” Alfa Romeo and Haas were the big winners in midfield. McLaren, of whom so much was expected when Lando Norris lit up the first test in Barcelona, are heading in the opposite direction. The radical rule changes introduced this year have catapulted the red car back into the vanguard of the sport, providing Leclerc and Carlos Sainz with an opportunity to challenge for the world title. After all he set off from pole in this race a year ago and saw Hamilton take the chequered flag. “The last two years have been difficult for the team. “It has been a bit of a nightmare to drive,” he said. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff explained before qualifying the extent of the problems. Charles Leclerc starts the season-opening 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix on the front row ahead of defending world champion Max Verstappen. The following year they sank to sixth in the constructors’ championship with just three podium finishes, their worst return in 40 years.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir, the first round of the 2022 F1 World Championship.
On the first runs, Sainz set the bar at 1m30.687s, 0.044s faster than Leclerc with Verstappen 0.012s off a front row spot (complaining about tyre temperature and out-lap speed) and Perez in fourth, ahead of Hamilton and Russell – the Mercs both setting their times on used softs. Sainz slipped to third, ahead of Perez, Hamilton, Bottas, Magnussen (who stopped at Turn 1 after completing his lap), Alonso, Russell and Gasly. Only the top three cars and the Mercedes duo didn’t run again on a second set of soft tyres, with Magnussen jumping up to fifth ahead of Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Lando Norris (McLaren), pushing the Mercs back to the lower reaches of the top 10. Kevin Magnussen grabbed an early P2 for Haas before Valtteri Bottas snatched it away for Alfa Romeo, just 0.01s off Verstappen. Verstappen dived straight into the 1m30s bracket, with a 1m30.757s that was six tenths clear of Leclerc and Perez. Magnussen was fourth fastest after the opening runs, despite suffering a hydraulic issue with his power steering, ahead of Hamilton and Russell. Ferrari then took control, with Leclerc taking the top spot on 1m31.471s, 0.096s quicker than teammate Sainz. Hamilton took P5 for Mercedes at this point, eight tenths off the pace, while Russell beat him on a second push lap on his first set of tyres.