F1 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc leads 1-2 for Ferrari

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured redemption for 2019 after the Monegasque secured the first win of the season at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was forced to retire.

How the race unfolded…

It was a great start for Leclerc, who got a great start off the line and was able to defend the inside line of turn one against the reigning world champion, Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton tried to get past Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz off the line but the seven-time champion had to settle for fourth as the Haas of Kevin Magnussen put the Mercedes #44 under pressure.

Perez nearly stole fifth from Magnussen, who locked up into the first corner on lap three, but the Danish driver was able to maintain his position into turn two. However, by the exit of turn four, the Mexican driver managed to go side-by-side into turns five and six to take the position from the Dane.

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was placed under investigation for ‘causing a collision’ with the Haas of Mick Schumacher at turn six, on the first lap. Ocon was soon given a five-second time penalty for the incident – which he would serve on his mandatory stop.

Despite his best efforts, Hamilton wasn’t able to keep Perez back after the two drivers went side-by-side down the second straight, the Mexican driver was finally able make the move into turn four on lap 10.

Two laps later, the seven-time world champion was the first driver to venture into the pit lane and swapped his soft compound tyres for the hard, white-ringed, tyres. Hamilton came back onto the track behind Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and ahead of Alfa’s Zhou Guanyu, but he nearly suffered a tank-slapper into the first corner as his tyres couldn’t find traction and Zhou picked up the scraps.

Fortunately, Hamilton was able to regain his lost position a lap later.

Although the undercut nearly worked for Verstappen, after Leclerc returned to the track from the pits on lap 16, the reigning world champion managed to take the lead of the race a lap later, into turn one. However, by turn four, Leclerc regained his lead.

It was another repeat for another two laps as Verstappen regained the lead into turn one and Leclerc stole it back by turn four. However, on lap 19, Verstappen locked up into the first corner and briefly regained the lead before Leclerc regained P1 with ease.

“Think about the 3 stops”

Carlos Sainz to the Ferrari pit wall

At the halfway stage of the race, Leclerc remained out in the lead ahead of Verstappen. While Sainz and Perez occupied the remaining spots in the top four, while Hamilton dropped down to eighth after he made a second pit stop to swap his hard tyres for the yellow-stripped medium tyres.

Verstappen made his second stop as the race bentured into its 31st lap, to swap his soft tyres for the medium compounds. As a result, Leclerc pitted in response at the end of the lap and managed to maintain his track position ahead of the world champion.

On an alternative strategy, Perez followed Sainz into the pit lane at the end of his 33rd lap. While the Ferrari Spaniard was given the medium tyres, Red Bull’s #11 was given the faster, red-ringed soft tyres.

In an unusual decision, Verstappen and Perez both pitted on lap 44 of 57 to swap their tyres around for soft tyres. However, on his out lap, he suffered trouble in the late stages of the race but the Dutchman continued to race.

Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly had to hop out of his car fairly quickly, on lap 46, as his car caught fire on the exit of turn three. As a result, the Virtual Safety Car was briefly deployed before it was upgraded to a full safety car.

The race was finally able to get back under green flag conditions on lap 51, with Leclerc ahead of the pack with Verstappen close behind.

The Dutch world champion put himself into a perilous position down the straight, as Leclerc bolted on the restart, as the #33 had to use a tighter line on the final corner. This allowed Sainz to get a great run on the defending champion but the pecking order remained unchanged.

Verstappen was forced to retire from the Grand Prix after the Dutch driver suffered mechanical issues, on lap 54. The defending world champion crawled into the pit lane after being passed by Perez and Hamilton while the Ferrari duo occupied 1-2, with Leclerc out front.

On the final lap, the race went from bad to worse for Red Bull as Perez suffered a mechanical failure on the first corner. This allowed Hamilton to pick up the scraps and secure the final podium position.

Podium:

1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

That’s it for the article: ‘F1 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc leads 1-2 for Ferrari’ What a race! What did you think of the Grand Prix? Let us know in the comments!

Read more Formula One here!

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

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