Four takeaways from 2022 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season test

The pre-season is done, a week before the lights go out at the Bahrain International Circuit to start the 2022 F1 season. What were four takeaways we learnt?

The F1 season will finally return next week after three months since the chequered flag on the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen secured his first world drivers championship.

After two round of pre-season tests, at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and Bahrain’s international circuit, speculation has already started regarding the pecking order for the season. However, it doesn’t look like Mercedes will start on top.

Mercedes misery or sandbagging?

Mercedes topped out the final day of testing in Barcelona with a one-two, Lewis Hamilton out in front with new teammate George Russell behind.

However, the Silver Arrows failed to return to that position in the Bahrain test as both drivers maxed out at P4 – Hamilton, day two and Russell, day three.

Due to the non-competitive nature of pre-season testing, essentially ensuring the cars have adequate reliability to complete a race distance, Mercedes’ lack of performance could be described as ‘sandbagging’ – a bluff.

At the minute, it looks like Mercedes have a seven-day turnaround to work out a solution to their performance issues ahead of the season opener this weekend. However, Hamilton doesn’t believe Mercedes will be capable of fighting for race wins at the beginning of the season.

Ferrari’s conclusion?

Since 2020, Ferrari have been on an arch which will see them return to the front of the pack. This came after the team were accused of using an illegal engine for the 2019 season. However, after the pre-season test in Bahrain it looks like the Maranello have one of the most competitive packages on the grid.

Across the three-day pre-season test, at least one Ferrari driver was found to finish in the top three across any given day. On the first day of running, Carlos Sainz was second with Charles Leclerc third. Day two saw Leclerc sixth while Sainz topped the leaderboard. On the final day of running, Leclerc finally pipped his teammate on the time sheet – second fastest, while the Spaniard could only manage 13th.

After a painful two seasons for the Italian team, and their fan base, it finally looks like they will be able to compete at the front. Thus, it will provide the iconic red team with a pleasant conclusion in their return to the top of the field.

Haas.

It has been one pre-season the American F1 team would like to forget as they had to miss out the first morning session of the Bahrain test, when their freight was stuck in England.

However, it wasn’t all bad. While they may not find themselves as regulars at the front of the pack, they have certainly attracted the attention of the teams, journalists and fans with their surprising performance in testing.

Granted with permission to run extra testing, to make up for lost time in the first morning session as the freight delay was out of their control, the Haas looked fairly quick. Slight reliability issues hindered the team but they were constantly fixed in quick fashion.

In the final bout of testing, Haas’ Mick Schumacher put his VF-22 second by the end of the final day with a 1:32.241 lap.

In a press release, Schumacher said:

“We obviously haven’t been driving as much as we would’ve liked to.

“It’s a matter of are we quick or not and that’s what is positive – we are. We have a good car, we have something we can work with so everyone can be really happy and proud of themselves that we’ve achieved that.

“Now we have to be able to put it down on track when it matters, and that’s next week. I’m very much looking forward to what’s coming this year.”

Less-than-optimal test for McLaren

While McLaren performed particularly well in Barcelona, the team had the polar opposite experience in Bahrain. Their Australian driver, Daniel Ricciardo, missed the first day of running in the desert as he felt unwell but he was later diagnosed with Covid-19, meaning he was forced to miss out all three days of testing.

Their second bout of testing was severely hindered by reliability issues for the Woking-based team. While they were quick when they were out on track, McLaren’s 2022 F1 car had spent a fair amount of time in the garage after braking and overheating issues limited their ability to run the car.

With a handful of days to go before the 2022 season officially starts with the first practice session on Friday, the team has some work to do in overcoming their recent reliability niggles.

That’s it for the article: ‘Four takeaways from 2022 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season test.’ With only days to go before the season opener in Bahrain, how do you feel the team’s will order up? Let us know in the comments!

Read more Formula One here!

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• F1 Bahrain 2022 Testing: How to watch and what time?
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