@ScuderiaFerrari’s @CharlesLeclerc claims brilliant #BahrainGP pole. #F1
Charles Leclerc, #16, Scuderia Ferrari, F1-75, Qualifying, Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022, Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. Image credit to Dan Istitene/F1/Getty Images. Leclerc Bahrain GP pole, 2022 Bahrain GP Qualifying.
Leclerc Bahrain GP pole – Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has clinched the first pole position of the 2022 season at the Bahrain GP ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.123 seconds with team-mate Carlos Sainz completing the top three.
Mercedes pairing Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished down in fifth and ninth respectively.
In the initial Q3 flyers, it was Sainz on provisional pole by 0.044 seconds in-front of team-mate Leclerc with Verstappen, who was quickest in Q2, faced with a 0.056 second deficit to make up and complained that his first out-lap in the final qualifying stage was too slow and costed him optimal tyre temperature.
On the final hot-laps, Leclerc lead the trio around the Bahrain International Circuit and set the quickest time in sector two on his way to post the 1:30.558 benchmark.
Sainz could only manage a personal best effort in sector three, which meant the Spaniard slotted 0.129 seconds behind his Ferrari team-mate, with Verstappen the last driver to cross the line.
The Red Bull driver had gone fastest in sector one, but he lost time as the flying lap went on and eventually missed out on repeating his pole position from the 2021 season-opener at the same track.
The other Red Bull RB18 entry of Sergio Perez was fourth, with Hamilton leading former team-mate Valtteri Bottas who took sixth on the grid for Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN.
Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen qualified a solid seventh in his return to the sport, despite having to deal with a power-steering hydraulics problem at the end of Q2, with Dane pulling off at turn one after crossing the line on his only Q3 run.
BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Fernando Alonso will start eighth, with Russell taking ninth after losing a heap of time on his final Q3 flyer and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten.
In the middle segment, BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon will start the Bahrain GP in 11th place following a late improvement from Gasly sending the his fellow-French compatriot out of Q2.
Haas F1 Team’s Mick Schumacher ended the second qualifying stage in 12th, his best F1 qualifying result and in-front of McLaren’s Lando Norris who qualified 13th and Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon who was 14th.
Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN rookie Zhou Guanyu wound up 15th after having his lap-time invalidated for exceeding track limits at turn five.
In Q1, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was the quickest of the eliminatees in 16th and ahead of Aston Martin’s Nico Hulkenberg who will start 17th and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo who ended qualifying a low 18th.
The other Aston Martin AMR22 entry of Lance Stroll and Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi brought up the rear.
You can see the full Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 Qualifying Results Classification here at the link:
2022 Bahrain GP Qualifying – The Top Three
2022 Bahrain GP Pole Position – Charles Leclerc, #16, Scuderia Ferrari, F1-75, 1:30.558:
“It feels good! The last two years have been incredibly difficult for the team. I think we have worked extremely well as a team, very happy with today. I wasn’t completely happy with my driving but managed to do that lap in Q3 and we start from pole, so very happy. We were fairly sure the Red Bull would be quicker than us, especially in qualifying, So pleasant surprise! I will stay cautious, the race is long and anything can happen.”
2nd Place – Max Verstappen, #33, Oracle Red Bull Racing, RB18, 0.123:
“I think it was a bit hit and miss, Q2 seemed good, Q3 was more of a struggle to get the balance together. We have a good race car, which overall is the most important. A few things to look into and we’ll try to do better for next time. It was nice, a close battle with Carlos and Charles – hopefully it’s going to be a good race.”
3rd Place – Carlos Sainz, #55, Scuderia Ferrari, F1-75, 0.129:
“I’m quite happy with the progress I’ve done through the weekend – I’ve been very far off, more than half a second behind. So even to be fighting for the pole is good for me. It’s deserved, Charles has been ahead all weekend and he deserves the pole.”
In the earlier FP3 session, it was Red Bull’s Verstappen leading the way ahead of Ferrari’s Leclerc who was second, his Red Bull team-mate Perez completed the top three, with Mercedes’ Russell taking fourth and the other Ferrari F1-75 entry of Sainz rounding out the top five. You can see the full Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 Free Practice 3 Results Classification here at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2022/races/1124/bahrain/practice-3.html
@Max33Verstappen tops time-sheets in #BahrainGP FP2 ahead of @ScuderiaFerrari pairing. #F1
@PierreGASLY heads @ScuderiaFerrari duo in #BahrainGP FP1. #F1
