F1Follow all the action as the first race of the new F1 season gets under way at the Bahrain Grand Prix
F1 races 2022: Take a virtual lap ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix
Follow live race updates from the Bahrain Grand Prix as the new F1 season gets under way.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclercstarts on pole ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion, with Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz starting third and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez fourth. It was a tough day’s qualifying for Mercedes, however, as they lacked the pace to compete with the Red Bulls and Ferraris. Lewis Hamilton begins the season from fifth on the grid, while his new teammate George Russell starts ninth.
There was delight for last season’s strugglers Haas as Kevin Magnussen secured a seventh-place start on his return to the sport after the sacking of Russian driver Nikita Mazepin, while Alfa Romeo were also pleased with the sixth-placed finish of Valtteri Bottas, their new recruit who departed Mercedes in the summer. But there was disappointment for both McLaren (Lando Norris 13th, Daniel Ricciardo 18th) and Aston Martin (Nico Hulkenberg 17th, Lance Stroll 19th) as they struggled to make an impact in qualifying.
Who will take the first race win of the season? Follow all the action as it unfolds below.
1647787347Bahrain Grand PrixBrundle has found Guy Ritchie and Jools Holland on the grid. Not quite Megan Thee Stallion but it is only the first race of the season.
Jamie Braidwood20 March 2022 14:42
1647787169Bahrain Grand PrixValtteri Bottas tells Brundle: “The weekend so far has been good. We expected if everything goes well to get top 10. I wasn’t expecting to be next to Lewis on the grid but we’ll take it.”
Jamie Braidwood20 March 2022 14:39
1647787075Bahrain Grand PrixSky Sports’ Martin Brundle is off on his pit walk, a fine tradition of any F1 Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz: “Conditions have changed a bit. Warmer today, the wind has rotated so it feels different in the car today. Feeling confident Hopefully we can translate the quali pace into the race.
Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto: “Happy for the team. We have nothing to lose. Our power unit is competitive. Team orders are to try to maximise the team result. I think the strategy is to get to the first corner and go from there.”
Christian Horner adds the first corner will be “box office”.
Jamie Braidwood20 March 2022 14:37
1647786864Bahrain Grand Prix: Hamilton admits he had to ‘disconnect from the world’Lewis Hamilton had to “disconnect from the world” to get over the heartache of losing the 2021 world championship on the last lap of the closing race.
Hamilton was left shellshocked after his apparent procession to victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was turned on its head by the late introduction of a safety car. The controversial application of rules around lapped cars by race director Michael Masi allowed Verstappen to close the gap and race a one-lap shootout for the title, which the Dutchman won to earn his maiden world championship and deny Hamilton a record eighth crown.
Hamilton handled the disappointment with dignity, congratulating Verstappen and his father Jos before attending the podium ceremony. But in the following weeks he was barely heard from at all as he shut off from social media and took time out to digest the race.
“I didn’t want to be reactive during that time,” Hamilton told Sky Sports ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. “When something bad happens you have an immediate reaction with the emotion, it’s very raw. I stepped away from social media, so disconnecting from the world and staying in the present.”
Jamie Braidwood20 March 2022 14:34
1647786770Bahrain Grand PrixThere’s just one rookie driver on the grid today, Guanyu Zhou of Alfa Romeo, who starts 15th in Bahrain. “He’s been on a racing grid many times but this is the pinnacle of sport,” says Naomi Schiff. “It’s a different type of pressure.”
Zhou was comprehensively outqualified by teammate Valtteri Bottas, who starts sixth on his first outing for Alfa Romeo. His battle with old teammate Lewis Hamilton (fifth) and the man who replaced him at Mercedes George Russell (ninth) is another sub-plot to watch today.
Jamie Braidwood20 March 2022 14:32
1647786279Bahrain Grand PrixThe cars are making their way out of the pit lane and onto the track! We are getting very, very close to the start of the 2022 F1 season and there have rarely been so many unknowns.
As for pit strategies, who knows? We’re expecting a two-stop strategy for the majority of the teams. It’s a warm and dry evening in Bahrain but temperatures will cool as the sun sets in the desert.
Jamie Braidwood20 March 2022 14:24
1647785740Bahrain Grand PrixLewis Hamilton, speaking to Sky Sports’ Naomi Schiff on the end to the 2021 season, his relationship with Verstappen, and using his voice to make a difference:
“I didn’t want to be reactive during that time. When something bad happens you have an immediate reaction with the emotion, it’s very raw. I stepped away from social media, so disconnecting from the world and staying in the present. During the pandemic I had barely seen my family. I wanted to take a step back and re-evaluate my life. I came to the realisation that I wouldn’t let it define my career.
“For me and Max, we see each other in the paddock and things are normal. But on the other side, we are both ruthless. It’s important we do that with compassion and with respect. The line is crossed every now and then. I’m a lot older so it’s easier to get over those things.
“Winning a world championship is rewarding but it doesn’t change anything. There’s still racism, there’s still injustice. We have to be striving to make a difference.”
Jamie Braidwood20 March 2022 14:15
1647785415Bahrain Grand Prix: Magnussen reflects on ‘crazy’ P7If you had been told that a Haas car would qualify for the first Grand Prix of the season in P7, you would be right to assume that it would be the story of the race weekend.
But add in that the driver of that car, Kevin Magnussen, had been in retirement just two weeks ago – and, well, that’s a script that even Drive to Survive couldn’t write.
It’s crazy,” said Magnussen, who was drafted in on the eve of pre-season testing to replace Nikita Mazepin. “I mean, this is all we could have ever hoped for. I don’t know. I’m speechless. It’s crazy.
“The last couple of weeks have just been insane and getting here, learning about the car, seeing that it maybe it’s a pretty good one, but still not really knowing, being so anxious about this qualifying to really see how good it is, and then just finding out that it’s really good – crazy.”
Jamie Braidwood20 March 2022 14:10
1647785285Bahrain Grand PrixRed Bull team boss Christian Horner, speaking to Sky Sports: “It’s great to be back racing again. It feels like only five minutes since Abu Dhabi but we’re back with new rules, new competitors, and it looks like it will be a great race. Ferrari look to have done a great job. We had the title to focus on last season so came to it late. They started work on this car early. Ferraris have looked quick since the first day of testing but to be a tenth behind is encouraging for us.
“It’s important for us to have both cars up to the front. To have two cars on the front two rows… we don’t know if it will be a one-stop or two-stop. We’ve had six days of testing and three of those were in cool conditions. It’s the same for every team but today the strategists will be working on the fly. We know both Charles and Carlos are strong racers but let’s not write off Lewis behind us.”
Jamie Braidwood20 March 2022 14:08
1647784981Bahrain Grand Prix Charles Leclerc burst onto the scene in 2019 with memorable race victories at Monza and Spa on his first season with Ferrari, but the Monegasque driver has yet to taste another race win since.
This is a different Ferrari, though, and they come into the 2022 season as the team to beat according to many many on the grid and in the paddock.
After beating Max Verstappen to pole in Bahrain, Leclerc said: “Obviously, the last two years for the team have been extremely difficult after 2019…
“We had two very difficult years where I knew it was just a matter of time before we got back to the top because we were working well – but until you actually do it, you always have the doubt. And finally, this season, we managed to make a car that is back to where it deserves, which is to at least be in the mix for the top positions.
“And today the car was great – it wasn’t an easy qualifying session, very difficult to keep the tyres in the right window and to actually put a lap together. I struggled quite a bit during qualifying, but the last Q3 lap was good enough for pole, so I’m very happy about this.”
Jamie Braidwood20 March 2022 14:03
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