Charles Leclerc will start the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix on pole position edging out world champion Max Verstappen by 0.123 seconds.
His Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz qualified in third position, while the Mercedes drivers of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell could only get fifth and ninth.
After the first runs in Q3 it was Sainz who led the way by 0.044 seconds ahead of Leclerc, with Verstappen, who had topped Q2, facing a deficit of 0.056 seconds and complaining that his first out lap in the final segment of the session was too slow, which cost him tyre temperature.
On the final fliers, Leclerc led the trio around and recorded the best time in the track’s middle sector on his way to a one minute, 30.558 seconds.
Sainz could only manage a personal best time in the final sector, which meant he slotted in 0.129 seconds behind his Scuderia teammate, with Verstappen the last to cross the line.
He had gone quickest in the first sector but lost time as the lap wore on and eventually missed out on repeating his pole from the 2021 season opener at the same venue.
Sergio Perez made it a Red Bull 2-4, with Hamilton leading the Mercedes charge ahead of his former teammate Valtteri Bottas, who took sixth on this first appearance for Alfa Romeo.
Kevin Magnussen got his Formula 1 return off to an excellent start with seventh for Haas, despite having to deal with a power steering hydraulics problem at the end of Q2, with K-Mag pulling over at the first corner after crossing the line one his sole run at the end of Q3.
Fernando Alonso took eighth for Alpine, with Russell ninth after losing a chunk of time at the first corner on his final Q3 run, and Pierre Gasly finishing P10 for AlphaTauri.
His last-gasp improvement at the end of Q2 knocked out Esteban Ocon in the other Alpine, with Mick Schumacher recording his best Formula 1 qualifying result in P12 for Haas.
Lando Norris was in eliminated in P13 for McLaren, reporting as he returned to the pits that it was “the best we could do today”.
Alex Albon made it through Q1 in his first qualifying for Williams and then ran a contra-strategy in Q2 – heading out early to sample the track solo and then doing likewise for his final run when the rest made their final preparations for the end of the middle segment.
Albon’s effort would have left him finishing P15, but a few minutes later Alfa’s Zhou Guanyu lost his best time – one minute, 32.387 seconds versus the one minute, 32.664 seconds that Albon had set – for running beyond track limits at Turn 5, the fast left kink that precedes the swooping right and left corners that feed down to the hairpin in the Sakhir track’s middle sector.
In Q1, Yuki Tsunoda’s final lap personal best could not get the second AlphaTauri driver higher than P16, while Sebastian Vettel’s temporary replacement Nico Hulkenberg slotted in behind in P17.
Hulkenberg’s last effort pushed him ahead of McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, who missed all of the pre-season test in Bahrain after he contracted COVID-19, and Lance Stroll in the other Aston Martin.
Nicholas Latifi was the only driver to be knocked that did not set a personal best time on their last lap in the opening segment, which meant he remained last at the foot of the times.
So congratulations to Ferrari and Charles Leclerc in scoring pole position. The pre-season testing went well for the Italian-based team and getting this qualifying result is a step in the right direction. World champion Max Verstappen is in P2 and it’s going to be a fascinating race. Game on.
Bahrain Grand Prix, qualifying results:
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:30.558
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:30.681
3 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1:30.687
4 Sergio Perez Red Bull 1:30.921
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:31.238
6 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:31.560
7 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:31.808
8 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1:32.195
9 George Russell Mercedes 1:32.216
10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1:32.338
11 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:31.782
12 Mick Schumacher Haas 1:31.998
13 Lando Norris McLaren 1:32.008
14 Alex Albon Williams 1:32.664
15 Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo 1:33.543
16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:32.750
17 Nico Hulkenberg Aston Martin 1:32.777
18 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1:32.945
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:33.032
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams 1:33.634
Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying report via Formula1.com.
Charles Leclerc took the first pole position of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship, ahead of reigning champion Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, in a qualifying session that went down to the wire in Bahrain.
Ferarri’s Leclerc was fastest in Q1 but Red Bull’s Verstappen hit back in Q2, making it to the top-10 shootout in one take. The stage was thus set for a face-off between the champion and the Scuderia in Q3.
And it was then that Leclerc set a blistering benchmark of 1m 30.558s, taking his second Bahrain GP pole. Verstappen could only come within 0.123s while Sainz couldn’t improve on his first run, ending up third by 0.129s. In a distant P4 was Verstappen’s team mate Perez.
Mercedes made it to Q3 – the only Mercedes-powered cars to do so – but couldn’t make it into the front row. Lewis Hamilton took fifth while his former team mate Valtteri Bottas made it to a surprise sixth on the grid for Alfa Romeo.
For the first time since the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, both Haas drivers made it to Q2 but Kevin Magnussen went all the way to Q3, qualifying seventh ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso. That left Mercedes’ George Russell in ninth – Pierre Gasly rounding out the top 10 for AlphaTauri.
Surprise eliminations from Q2 included Lando Norris (P13) of McLaren and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (P11), with Haas’s Mick Schumacher splitting them for P12.
Alex Albon, 14th on the grid, made it to Q2 on his first Williams appearance, while rookie Zhou Guanyu qualified 15th on debut for Alfa Romeo.
That was at the expense of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in 16th, both Aston Martin drivers (substitute Nico Hulkenberg 17th and Lance Stroll 19th), plus McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo between them. Nicholas Latifi was last on the grid for Williams.
Q1 – Ferrari eclipse Red Bull while Haas and Alfa Romeo star
On their first runs, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz shot to the top of the timesheets, Leclerc leading his team mate by 0.096s thanks to a flying lap of 1m 31.471s. Neither Scuderia driver emerged for a second run – nor did Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was three-tenths off and third in Q1.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas raised eyebrows by going fourth, 0.448s off P1, while Haas’s Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top five ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon – who finally showed his hand having forgone soft-tyred runs in FP3.
With AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly in P7, eighth-place Lando Norris (McLaren) was the highest-placed Mercedes-powered driver, beating the Mercedes duo of George Russell (P9) and Lewis Hamilton (P10).
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez missed out on the top 10 but was comfortably through to Q2 ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (P12) and Haas’s Mick Schumacher in P13 and nine-tenths off top spot. For the first time since the 2019 Brazilian GP, both Haas cars were into Q2.
On debut for Alfa Romeo, Zhou Guanyu made it to Q2 in P14 – ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon, the 15th-placed returnee finishing a second ahead of team mate Nicholas Latifi.
A quartet of Mercedes-powered cars joined 16th-place Yuki Tsunoda – who missed FP3 with a hydraulic issue – in the dropzone.
Neither Aston Martin made it through Q1 – substitute Nico Hulkenberg 17th and team mate Lance Stroll 19th – leaving the Williams of Latifi in P20. Splitting the Aston Martins was a disappointed Daniel Ricciardo (P18), who missed pre-season testing with Covid-19.
Knocked out: Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Stroll, Latifi
Q2 – Verstappen nails his flying effort to keep Ferraris behind
Adding to the wide-ranging set of rule changes for 2022, drivers who make it through Q2 no longer need to use the same tyres to start the race, while the soft tyre is now mandatory in Q3.
Verstappen set the fastest time so far with a 1m 30.767s and remained in the pits as the Ferraris emerged for their second runs. Sainz made it to P2, within 0.030s off Verstappen, while Leclerc was third and 0.175s off the reigning champion.
In the other Red Bull, Perez finished fourth – 0.251s off – while Mercedes’ Hamilton was narrowly off in fifth and Russell sixth.
Magnussen pulled out another stunning effort for Haas, finishing seventh in Q2 but the Danish driver was then garage-bound by a hydraulic issue. He finished ahead of Alonso and Gasly, both of whom ensured a Q3 appearance.
Bottas’s late effort put him 10th – meaning the last time he missed Q3 was in Abu Dhabi 2016. That left Ocon missing out on Q3 for Alpine by just 0.065s, while Haas’s Schumacher had to settle for P12 with a mistake on his flying effort.
McLaren failed to get either car into the top 10 as Norris finished 13th ahead of Williams’ Albon (P14) and Alfa Romeo’s Zhou, in P15.
Knocked out – Ocon, Schumacher, Norris, Albon, Zhou
Q3 – The Scuderia stand off against Verstappen
Hamilton and Russell emerged first, the seven-time champion getting a tow off his team mate. Hamilton went quicker than Russell on his first run, but neither were in the fight for pole position.
Leclerc and Sainz, however, were in the fight for P1 – and practically neck-and-neck too, followed very closely by Verstappen after the first runs. Sainz had preliminary pole position ahead of Leclerc then Verstappen – the trio split by just 0.056s.
The second runs, however, saw Leclerc improve while Sainz failed to do so. The Monegasque driver took a first pole position since the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and his second in Bahrain, with a time of 1m 30.556s. Verstappen was 0.123s off by the flag and Sainz ended up 0.129s back in P3.
With Perez back in fourth, Mercedes’ Hamilton rounded out the top five while his former team mate Bottas starred once again, putting his Alfa Romeo sixth on the grid – albeit three-tenths off Hamilton.
Seventh-place Haas driver Magnussen was also a star of qualifying, finishing ahead of Alpine’s Alonso in P8 and the other Mercedes of Russell in ninth – although Magnussen was forced to pull up on track after his final Q3 rin. Rounding out the top 10 was AlphaTauri’s Gasly.
After scoring pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc admitted he was “surprised” to beat Max Verstappen in qualifying. Motorsport.com has the full story.
Ferrari Formula 1’s Charles Leclerc says he was surprised to beat Max Verstappen and Red Bull in Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying after beating the world champion to pole by one tenth.
At the site where he took his first-ever F1 pole in 2019, Leclerc secured the top spot again at Sakhir after a nail-biting qualifying shootout, which featured three drivers within 0.129s.
After the first set of Q3 runs Leclerc had to settle for second behind Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, but on his second lap he went a tenth quicker to keep both the Spaniard and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who nicked second by a mere 0.006s, at bay.
While Ferrari had looked strong all pre-season, Leclerc said the Maranello team was convinced Red Bull would still be quicker over one lap, and he said his pole therefore came as a surprise.
“We were pretty sure that Red Bull was going to be a bit quicker than us in qualifying, but a good surprise, it wasn’t the case,” Leclerc said in parc ferme.
“So now we need to do everything for tomorrow, it is not going to be easy. Tyre management will be important, especially with this increased weight this year, so we need to focus on that and hopefully have a good race tomorrow.”
The Monegasque driver, who scored his 10th pole in F1 and his first since Baku last year, said he still wasn’t completely happy with his driving as drivers and teams are still coming to grips with their all-new machinery for 2022.
“It was a very tricky qualifying session, I was not completely happy with my driving, and managed to do the lap in Q3 and then starting from pole, so very happy,” he added.
“From the driving point, it’s completely different compared to last year. Testing was very useful for this. I tried many different driving styles and still need to find the perfect one. There’s definitely much more to come hopefully from us.”
Leclerc said it was extra rewarding that the team has been able to use the 2022 rules reset to make a leap forward after several low-key years for the Scuderia.
“The last two years have been incredibly difficult for all the team and we were quite hopeful that this year was an opportunity to be back,” he explained.
“I think we have worked extremely well as a team to find ourselves in a position to fight for better places, so I’m very happy with today.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen says Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying runs were “hit and miss”. Motorsport.com provides the details.
Max Verstappen says inconsistencies during his Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying runs meant he narrowly missed out on pole position for the 2022 Formula 1 opener.
The Red Bull driver went into qualifying having topped both FP2 and FP3 and despite also going fastest in Q2, he lost out to Charles Leclerc in the pole position shootout by 0.123s.
The defending F1 world champion conceded his Red Bull car balance wasn’t perfect in Q3 but hinted it could have been down to his team focusing on a stronger car set-up for the race compared to qualifying.
Verstappen was also heard over team radio unhappy about being told to do a slower preparation lap in his first Q3 run.
“I think it was a bit hit and miss, Q2 seemed quite good and Q3 was a bit of a struggle to get the balance together but nevertheless I think it was alright,” Verstappen said.
“We have a good car as well and at the end of the day that is the most important and it’s a good day. It’s a good start to be here.
“Not fantastic but also not too bad, otherwise you cannot be in this position, so there are a few things to look into and try to extract to be better for next time.
“You want to be perfect in qualifying but you also want to make sure your car is working for the race because the points are scored there.
“It was nice, having a good battle with Carlos and Charles at the end who both did a good job over the winter so I hope it will be an exciting race.”
Both Red Bull and Ferrari translated encouraging pre-season and practice pace into locking out the top four spots, with Leclerc and Verstappen on the front row ahead of Carlos Sainz taking third place for Ferrari ahead of Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez in fourth.
It meant Lewis Hamilton led the Mercedes effort in fifth place, over six tenths of a second off Leclerc’s pole lap time, as his teammate George Russell struggled in Q3 by locking up at Turn 1 on his final lap to see him drop to ninth place.
Verstappen suspected Mercedes’ claims of its being off the frontrunning pace were false after pre-season testing but having seen the reigning F1 world constructors’ champions struggle during Bahrain GP qualifying he gave a sarcastic “very, very” in reaction to being asked if he was disappointed to see Mercedes so far down the order.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton “really happy” to qualify fifth for Bahrain Grand Prix. Motorsport.com has the news story.
Lewis Hamilton says he was “generally really happy” to qualify fifth for the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix with a Mercedes that was “a bit of a nightmare to drive”.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton was nearly seven tenths behind polesitter Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, and six tenths behind the Red Bull of 2021 title rival Max Verstappen, admitting that both cars are “in another league”.
But despite qualifying off the front two rows, something which happened to him only once in 2021, Hamilton says he was pleased with how the team had mitigated the handling problems that appear to plague the new Mercedes W13.
After beating new teammate George Russell by nearly a second as the former Williams driver struggled to ninth, Hamilton said: “I’m not gonna say I’m relieved.
“I’m generally really happy with today given where we’ve been in the last two last few weeks, the struggles that we’ve had, the problems we’ve had with the car.
“It’s been a bit of a nightmare to drive but we’ve just kept our heads down and kept working away, so I’m proud of everyone for just staying positive.
“To get fifth in qualifying, those guys ahead of us are in another league so I’m generally happy with where we are. It’s not the front row but we’ll make improvements, and we’ll do the best we can.”
After Friday practice, Hamilton and Russell had already pointed out Red Bull and Ferrari were up to a second quicker on high fuel runs, which resigned the Brackley team to a weekend of damage limitation.
Hamilton acknowledged he wouldn’t be able to compete with either team on Sunday and would instead be focused on the fight for fifth against the likes of Valtteri Bottas, his former teammate who qualified a remarkable sixth for Alfa Romeo, or the equally surprising Haas returnee Kevin Magnussen in seventh.
“Those guys [Red Bull and Ferrari] will be going away, so we’re not in the fight with those,” he admitted.
“They were a second ahead of us yesterday through race pace, so my battle is with the guys behind most likely.
“Of course, I’ll try to be as fast as I can and get ahead. But, as I said, their performance is quite a bit ahead of us.”