F1 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying: Charles Leclerc takes pole position

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc snatched away pole position from Red Bull Racing’s defending world champion Max Verstappen, who finished 0.123 seconds behind the Monegasque.

How qualifying unfolded…

Q1

The pit exit light went green and Nicholas Latifi, in his Williams, was the first driver to venture out onto the track. However, Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was the first driver to complete a flying lap but he was soon beaten by his teammate, Pierre Gasly, who put in a 1:33.016 lap.

It wasn’t long before the front runners came out and toppled Gasly from the top spot. Verstappen topped the time sheets with just over 10 minutes to go with a 1:31.909 lap, this was quickly followed by his teammate, Sergio Perez, who was only 0.474 seconds slower.

Despite a year out of the sport, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen put his VF-22 second place – 0.377 seconds slower than Verstappen. However, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas shot up to P2 but he soon fell down to fourth as the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz topped the table respectively.

Eliminated:

20. Nicholas Latifi, Williams

19. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

18. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren

17. Nico Hulkenberg, Aston Martin

16. Yuki Tsunoda, Alpha Tauri.

Q2

In a similar fashion to Q1, a Williams car was the first out onto the track as the pit exit light went green – with Alexander Albon at the helm. However, Albon returned back into the pit lane despite starting a flying lap.

As a result, Magnussen was the first driver to set a timed lap and the Dane driver set a 1:31.461, the benchmark for the remaining 14 drivers to beat. It wasn’t long before Verstappen topped the timing board with an incredible 1:30.757 lap which was 0.599 seconds quicker than Leclerc, who put himself into P2.

Despite being the first driver out on track, Albon was the last driver to set a lapped time and the London-born Thai could only manage 13th fastest, behind McLaren’s Lando Norris but ahead of Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly.

Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu became the first victim of having his lap time deleted as a result of exceeding track limits.

Eliminated:

15. Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo

14. Alexander Albon, Williams

13. Lando Norris, McLaren

12. Mick Schumacher, Haas

11. Esteban Ocon, Alpine

Q3

As the light went back to green for the final qualifying third of the weekend, Mercedes’ George Russell led the way out of the pit lane ahead of, his seven-time world champion teammate, Lewis Hamilton. Naturally, Russell was the first driver to set the benchmark for the top 10 but he was soon beaten by Hamilton and both Red Bull’s and Ferrari’s.

Sainz was the man on provisional pole.

However, he was soon beaten by Leclerc and Verstappen with the Monegasque on pole position.

While Magnussen had an hydraulic issue at the end of Q2, the Danish driver managed to secure a position in Q3 but he could only conduct one flying lap. The #20 Haas driver could only muster P7 behind Bottas (P6) and Hamilton (P7).

Top 10

10. Pierre Gasly, Alpha Tauri

9. George Russell, Mercedes

8. Fernando Alonso, Alpine

7. Kevin Magnussen, Haas

6.Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo

5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

4. Sergio Perez, Red Bull

3. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari

2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull

1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

That’s it for the article: ‘F1 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying: Charles Leclerc takes pole position.’ With the grid set for the first race of the season, who do you think will win tomorrow? Let us know in the comments!

Read more Formula One here!

• F1 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix: Max Verstappen tops final practice session
• Yuki Tsunoda & Lance Stroll reprimanded in Bahrain
• F1 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix: Max Verstappen tops Practice 2
• F1 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix: Pierre Gasly fastest in Practice 1

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