P1 – LEC
P2 – SAI
P3 – HAM
Is Ferrari back to its once dominating form?
It was a stunning start to the season as Charles Leclerc crossed the finish line first after a dominating, flawless performance in Bahrain. Leclerc claimed pole position and fastest lap of the race as well to top off a blockbuster of a weekend for Ferrari, as his teammate Carlos Sainz claimed P2 for the third time in his Formula One career.
It was the silver arrow of Lewis Hamilton who crossed the line third after qualifying fifth on the grid, a best case scenario for the seven-time world Champion. After much speculation during pre-season testing, it became clear that Mercedes wasn’t sandbagging after all as Red Bull and Ferrari looked to dominate the grid.
Double DNF for Red Bull
While damage was limited in the likes of the Mercedes garage, it was a disastrous end for Red Bull who saw both drivers of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez DNF in the final laps of the race.
2021 WDC Champion Max Verstappen had a valiant race after qualifying P2, thousandths of a second behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Verstappen attempted to undercut Leclerc beginning in Lap 15 which gave fans and teams alike a taste for wheel-to-wheel battles this season. Ultimately, Leclerc came out on top as the Dutch lion locked up in Turn 1 on Lap 19.
When the Alpha Tauri of Pierre Gasly stopped in flames on Lap 46 (which furthers concerns about the reliability of the Red Bull Power Unit), the safety car restart saw Verstappen struggling to keep up with Leclerc and audibly discussing concerns over the radio. Sainz, Perez, and Hamilton ultimately overtook Verstappen until his once clear P2 finish ended early.
In the final lap of the race, it was the Red Bull of Sergio Perez hanging onto much needed points with a hungry silver arrow in his mirrors. Sadly, the Mexican spun at Turn 1 as his engine gave away, with hope visibly shattered in the Red Bull garage. Not exactly the start to the season anyone had expected.
Best of the Rest
George Russell claimed P4 in his inaugural race in Mercedes after struggling in qualifying (p9).
One of the biggest stories of the day was the return of Haas, with Kevin Magnussen claiming an impressive P5 for the American team. Guenther Steiner called in the “comeback of a viking,” and I couldn’t agree more!
Valtteri Bottas claimed P6 after a disastrous start for his new team, while his rookie teammate Zhou Guanyu finished tenth – an impressive first point in his first race in Formula One!
Esteban Ocon finished P7, which was surprising after an 5-second time penalty after early contact with the Haas of Mick Schumacher. His Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso finished P9 despite lackluster pace, showing some promise for the Alpine Garage.
Yuki Tsunoda finished P8 – the only driver from Red Bull and Alpha Tauri to finish the first race of the season.
Misery for McLaren
After qualifying P13 (Norris) and P18 (Ricciardo), it was clear it wasn’t going to be an easy race for the McLaren duo. After being shoved wide by Stroll, Norris lost several places at the start while Daniel was as low as P20 after avoiding contact in front of him.
The duo finished P14 and P15 in Bahrain, which is surely a weekend the Woking-based team will want to forget.
Looking Ahead to Jeddah
The 2022 season continues this week in Saudi Arabia as the grid returns to Jeddah with the Scuderia firmly on top. Will they further their lead or will Red Bull find answers? FP1 begins on Friday, March 25!
