Charles Leclerc Takes First Pole of 2022 F1 Season as Red Bull & Mercedes Stagger Behind Dominant Ferrari

Charles Leclerc secured F1 pole position in Bahrain, his first since the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but Max Verstappen denied Ferrari a front-row lockout by clinching P2. A ‘dejected’ Carlos Sainz claimed P3, positioning himself right behind his teammate’s Ferrari on the grid for the main race.

Sergio Perez held onto P4 ahead of Lewis Hamilton and, quite shockingly, his former teammate, Valtteri Bottas. The returning Haas driver, Kevin Magnussen, announced his team’s comeback in style by claiming P7 ahead of Fernando Alonso and George Russell.

Q1- Aston Martin and McLaren suffer horrid start to 2022 F1 season

Ferrari power trains showed their absolute dominance as Haas, Alfa Romeo, and Ferrari themselves managed to deliver outstanding lap times. Leclerc and Sainz got hold of the top two positions as Bottas and Magnussen claimed P4 and P5, respectively. Four Ferrari-powered cars in the top 10. This is what the Tifosi had been yearning for all these years.

Verstappen’s push lap only got his Red Bull up to P3 and over 0.3s off the Monegasque. What a turnaround this has been as the once-dominant Mercedes powertrain seems to be only the second-fastest at the moment. While Hamilton and Russell managed to whisker themselves into the top 10, Aston Martin and McLaren weren’t as lucky.

Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Stroll and Latifi were all out of Q1.

Q2- Haas misses out on a double Q3 appearance

Verstappen became the first driver to enter the 1m 30s in Bahrain as he slotted his Red Bull into P1. Leclerc and Sainz, on a used set of tires, managed to claim P2 and P7, respectively. The defending champions, Mercedes, continued to stay away from the top 4 as Perez and Magnussen filled up the remaining spots.

Hence, while Hamilton had to settle for P5, Russell was 0.1s slower than his teammate and down in P6. All in all, another session of Ferrari’s dominance. Four Ferrari-powered cars in the top 10 against just two Mercedes-powered cars.

Outside the top 10 were Ocon, Schumacher, Norris, Albon, and Zhou.

Q3- Red Bull vs Ferrari for F1 pole

As the lights went green, the Mercedes pair rushed onto the track on a set of used soft tires. And unsurprisingly, both Hamilton and Russell could only manage P5 and P6. But the shock was quite obviously at the top; Sainz claimed provisional pole ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen.

And, during the second run, a Verstappen pole seemed possible. However, in the dying minutes, Leclerc secured an unreachable lap to deny Verstappen another strong start to another year.

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Overall, an electrifying evening comes to an end in Sakhir as the focus now shifts onto the main event, which is due tomorrow. And boy can we already feel the excitement that is well in offer for the fans. So, amidst what could be an unpredictable race on Sunday, who is going to secure the top step on the podium?