2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022) was a Formula One race that was held on 20 March 2022 at the Bahrain International Circuit, a motor racing circuit in the west of Bahrain. It served as the season opener of the 2022 Formula One World Championship and it was the eighteenth running of the Bahrain Grand Prix.[1]

2022 Bahrain Grand Prix
Race 1 of 23 in the 2022 Formula One World Championship
Next race →
Race details
Date 20 March 2022
Official name Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022
Location Bahrain International Circuit
Sakhir, Bahrain
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.412 km (3.363 miles)
Distance 57 laps, 308.238 km (191.530 miles)
Weather Clear
Pole position
Driver
Ferrari
Time 1:30.558
Fastest lap
Driver Charles Leclerc Ferrari
Time 1:34.570 on lap 51
Podium
First
Ferrari
Second
Ferrari
Third
Mercedes
Lap leaders

Charles Leclerc won the race after starting from pole position,[2] his first win since the 2019 Italian Grand Prix.[3] Leading all but two laps after pitting a second time,[2] short of a Grand Slam,[lower-alpha 1] Leclerc had a hat-trick with pole, race win, and fastest lap.[5][6] Teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lewis Hamilton completed the podium, as reigning champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez both retired.[7] It was Ferrari's first win and 1–2 finish since the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.[8]

Background

Entrants
Further information: 2022 Formula One World Championship § Entries

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with the only exception being Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel, who was replaced by Nico Hülkenberg, as the former tested positive for coronavirus.[9][10] The race saw the Grand Prix debut of Zhou Guanyu for Alfa Romeo.[11]

Tyre choices
Further information: Formula One tyres

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.[12]

Practice

Three practice sessions were held at the Grand Prix, each lasting an hour in length. The first practice session was on Friday 18 March, and started at 15:00 local time (UTC+03:00). The second session started at 18:00 local time on the same day. The third practice session took place on 19 March, starting at 15:00 local time.[1] Reigning World Champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing was fastest in each of the last two free-practice sessions, the first being topped by Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri on soft tyres.[13]

Qualifying

Qualifying lasted for one hour and started at 18:00 local time on 19 March.[1] Kevin Magnussen of Haas achieved the team's first Q3 appearance since the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.[14] Charles Leclerc of Ferrari set the fastest time for pole position,[15] ahead of Verstappen and teammate Carlos Sainz Jr.[16]

Qualifying classification
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:31.471 1:30.932 1:30.558 1
2 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-RBPT 1:31.785 1:30.757 1:30.681 2
3 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1:31.567 1:30.787 1:30.687 3
4 11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-RBPT 1:32.311 1:31.008 1:30.921 4
5 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:32.285 1:31.048 1:31.238 5
6 77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:31.919 1:31.717 1:31.560 6
7 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:31.955 1:31.461 1:31.808 7
8 14 Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault 1:32.346 1:31.621 1:32.195 8
9 63 George Russell Mercedes 1:32.269 1:31.252 1:32.216 9
10 10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-RBPT 1:32.096 1:31.635 1:32.338 10
11 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 1:32.041 1:31.782 N/A 11
12 47 Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari 1:32.380 1:31.998 N/A 12
13 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.239 1:32.008 N/A 13
14 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 1:32.726 1:32.664 N/A 14
15 24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:32.493 1:33.543 N/A 15
16 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-RBPT 1:32.750 N/A N/A 16
17 27 Nico Hülkenberg Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:32.777 N/A N/A 17
18 3 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.945 N/A N/A 18
19 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:33.032 N/A N/A 19
20 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 1:33.634 N/A N/A 20
107% time: 1:37.873
Source:[17][18]

Race

The race started at 18:00 local time on 20 March, ran under overhead lights and lasted for 57 laps.[1] At the start, Leclerc remained ahead of Verstappen at the first turn. Sainz remained in third place, with Pérez being passed by Hamilton and Magnussen. Bottas, who began at sixth, fell to 14th within the first lap. Schumacher and Ocon collided on the first lap, which resulted in a five-second penalty for Ocon. Pérez passed Magnussen and Hamilton to return to fourth position.[2]

Hamilton entered the pit lane on lap 9, becoming the first driver of the race to do so, and reentered the race 12th. Verstappen, still behind Leclerc, pitted on lap 14, along with Sainz, while Leclerc pitted a lap later. Verstappen passed Leclerc on lap 17 using DRS, but Leclerc regained first soon after. On lap 19, Verstappen attempted to pass again, but he locked up and overshot turn 1, allowing Leclerc to build a lead.[2][19]

Leclerc maintained his lead, with Verstappen entering the pit lane on lap 31, followed by Leclerc a lap later. Sainz and Pérez both pitted on lap 34, followed by Verstappen pitting for a third time on lap 44, and then by Sainz and Hamilton. On lap 46, Gasly's car caught fire, which prompted the safety car until lap 51. When the race restarted, Leclerc maintained the lead over Verstappen, who radioed the pit crew to notify them he suspected he had a power unit issue. He was passed by Sainz and Hamilton, and he entered the pit lane to retire his car on lap 54. On the final lap, Pérez suffered a fuel system issue, causing him to spin his car and retire. Leclerc and Sainz maintained first and second position, followed by Hamilton in third, through to the end of the race.[2][20] Russell finished fourth with Magnussen of Haas in fifth.

Race classification
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 57 1:37:33.584 1 261
2 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 57 +5.598 3 18
3 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 +9.675 5 15
4 63 George Russell Mercedes 57 +11.211 9 12
5 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 57 +14.754 7 10
6 77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 57 +16.119 6 8
7 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 57 +19.423 11 6
8 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-RBPT 57 +20.386 16 4
9 14 Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault 57 +22.390 8 2
10 24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 57 +23.064 15 1
11 47 Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari 57 +32.574 12
12 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 57 +45.873 19
13 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 57 +53.932 14
14 3 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes 57 +54.975 18
15 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 57 +56.335 13
16 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 57 +1:01.795 20
17 27 Nico Hülkenberg Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 57 +1:03.829 17
182 11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-RBPT 56 Fuel pressure 4
192 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-RBPT 54 Fuel pressure 2
Ret 10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-RBPT 44 Power unit 10
Fastest lap: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1:34.570 (lap 51)
Source:[18][21][22]

Notes

  • ^1 – Includes one point for fastest lap.[22]
  • ^2 – Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.[21]

Championship standings after the race
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

Notes
  1. As a team, Ferrari achieved the Grand Slam due to Charles Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. being the only other driver to lead a lap. It was Ferrari's first team Grand Slam since the 2008 French Grand Prix.[4]

References
  1. "Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 – Full Schdeule". Formula 1. 6 March 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  2. "Leclerc leads 1–2 for Ferrari in Bahrain GP as both Red Bulls suffer late retirements". Formula 1. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  3. Pugmire, Jerome (20 March 2022). "Leclerc leads Ferrari 1-2 to open Formula 1 season in Bahrain, Verstappen retires late". CBC. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  4. "Statistics Constructors – Grands Prix – Grand slam – Ferrari". Stats F1. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  5. Clancy, Rebecca (20 March 2022). "Bahrain GP: Charles Leclerc claims dramatic Bahrain victory after Verstappen's late disaster". The Times. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  6. Singh Mahil, Raj (21 March 2022). "Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 results: Leclerc wins F1 season opener as Verstappen retirement gifts Ferrari 1–2". The Sporting News. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  7. Richards, Gill (20 March 2022). "Charles Leclerc wins dramatic Bahrain F1 GP as Ferrari bring home one-two". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  8. Cobb, Haydyn (20 March 2022). "Leclerc hails Ferrari F1 turnaround after two 'difficult' years". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  9. "2022 Bahrain Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). FIA. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  10. "Bahrain Grand Prix: Sebastian Vettel ruled out after positive Covid-19 test". BBC. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  11. "Guanyu Zhou: Plenty of eyes will watch my F1 debut in Bahrain". Reuters. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022 – via Grand Prix 247.
  12. "What tyres will the teams and drivers have for the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix?". Formula 1. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  13. Barretto, Lawrence (18 March 2022). "5 things we learned from Friday practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix". Formula 1. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  14. "First Haas Q3 appearance since 2019 'all we could have hoped for' says Magnussen after F1 return". Formula 1. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  15. "'I knew it was a matter of time' says Leclerc after opening 2022 with pole position". Formula 1. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  16. Kelly, Sean (19 March 2022). "Facts and Stats: Haas make first Q3 appearance since 2019, as Leclerc claims second Bahrain pole". Formula 1. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  17. "Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 – Qualifying". Formula 1. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  18. "Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 – Starting Grid". Formula 1. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  19. Cobb, Haydn; Kalinauckas, Alex (20 March 2022). "Leclerc explains F1 tactics for beating Verstappen in Bahrain GP battles". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  20. Kalinauckas, Alex (20 March 2022). "Bahrain GP: Leclerc leads Ferrari 1-2; Red Bull implodes". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  21. "Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 – Race Result". Formula 1. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  22. "Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 – Fastest Laps". Formula 1. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  23. "Bahrain 2022 – Championship". Stats F1. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.