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Formula 1 Bahrain GP

F1 Bahrain GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 and Qualifying

Saturday's Formula 1 action from the Bahrain International Circuit

Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari F1-75

After two extensive pre-season tests split between Barcelona and Bahrain, the new generation of F1 starts this weekend with the season opener Bahrain GP.

Friday practice saw Max Verstappen and Red Bull end FP2 on top ahead of Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr, while Mercedes endured a tough opening day with George Russell fourth, over half a second off Verstappen’s lap time, and Lewis Hamilton down in ninth place.

Sebastian Vettel has been ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19, with Aston Martin reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg taking on the super-sub role which he undertook for the team on three occasions in 2020.

Daniel Ricciardo is back in action for McLaren after recovering from his own positive COVID-19 test which forced him to miss the Bahrain pre-season test last week.

FP3 starts at 12pm GMT (3pm local time) and will run for one hour, with qualifying taking place at 3pm GMT (6pm local time) and will also run for one hour.

Live Standings

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Summary

  • Summary:
    • Leclerc takes a surprise pole for Bahrain GP, beating Verstappen by a tenth
    • Sainz is third, from Perez while Hamilton is fifth
    • Russell makes a mistake on his flying lap and is only ninth, behind Bottas's Alfa Romeo and Magnussen's Haas
    • Out in Q2: Ocon, Schumacher, Norris, Albon, Zhou
    • Out in Q1: Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Stroll, Latifi
  • Leaderboard:
    1. Leclerc, Ferrari - 1m30.558s
    2. Verstappen, Red Bull - 1m30.681s
    3. Sainz, Ferrari - 1m30.687s
    4. Perez, Red Bull - 1m30.921s
    5. Hamilton, Mercedes - 1m31.238s
    6. Bottas, Alfa Romeo - 1m31.550s
    7. Magnussen, Haas - 1m31.808s
    8. Alonso, Alpine - 1m32.195s
    9. Russell, Mercedes - 1m32.216s
    10. Gasly, AlphaTauri - 1m32.338s

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Checkered flag
It is all still to fight for tomorrow, but the early advantage remains with Ferrari and Red Bull. What will the race bring? Find out tomorrow and join us for the big one, with the Bahrain GP starting at 3pm GMT. Until then have a lovely evening and go well!
An equal amount of praise deserves to go to Bottas and Alfa Romeo with sixth place. He'll line up alongside Hamilton on the grid tomorrow, so a familiar situation but in different colours.
Breaking news
Here's the full report on the opening F1 qualifying of 2022: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-bahrain-gp-leclerc-beats-verstappen-to-pole-position/9138272/
What a superb afternoon for Italy, Ferrari on pole and Italy win a game in the Six Nations. Bravo!
Quote

Sainz on qualifying in third: "There was that extra tenth that Charles was able to extract at the end. I was really struggling earlier and how to drive this car, being half a second back in practice, so to fight for pole is good. But I think Charles deserves this pole."

Quote
Verstappen on second place in qualifying: "It was a bit of hit and miss, Q2 seemed quite good, Q3 was a struggle with the balance and to get it together. But we have a good race car and it is a good start for tomorrow."
Quote
Leclerc on his pole: "It feels good, the last two years have been incredibly difficult for the team and we knew this year's rules would be an opportunity for us. I am very happy today in a tricky qualifying session, I wasn't happy with my driving."
Yellow flag

Magnussen comes to a stop at Turn 1 which brings out the yellow flags at the end of Q3, but it won't impact anyone with all the lap times set.

Russell's poor final Q3 effort has really cost him as he's been shuffled back to ninth place behind Bottas, Magnussen and Alonso. Ouch.
Yellow flag
Magnussen comes to a stop at Turn 1 which brings out the yellow flags at the end of Q3, but it won't impact anyone with all the lap times set.
A real mix of cars further back, with Perez fourth and Hamilton fifth, as Bottas claims sixth for Alfa Romeo! While Magnussen is seventh for Haas! Wow!
Checkered flag
Sainz doesn't improve, while Verstappen's 1m30.681s put him second - that gives Leclerc pole position for the 2022 F1 opener!
Stopwatch
Leclerc puts in a 1m30.558s to go on provisional pole, what can Sainz or Verstappen do to reply?
Russell's last lap leaves him in sixth place, while Hamilton also doesn't move up and stays fifth fastest.
Final Q3 run time, all 10 drivers are on track including Magnussen, with Haas solving his earlier hydraulics issue.
Not great laps from either Mercedes driver on the first run, but it is safe to assume they were on used softs being over a second slower than the top four.
On team radio Verstappen is unhappy about being told to do a slow out-lap in preparation for his first run in Q3. He was mighty close to provisional pole with just 0.056s splitting the top three.
Stopwatch
Verstappen's first effort is a 1m30.743s which puts him third behind the Ferraris. Perez is fourth ahead of both Mercedes, with Hamilton fifth and Russell sixth.
Stopwatch
Sainz sets the time to beat with a 1m30.687s, half a tenth quicker than team-mate Leclerc. What can Verstappen do in response?
First Q3 lap times coming up, with Verstappen looking rapid through Sector 1.
Gasly ruins the two-by-two formation by also heading out but we won't hold it against him. Magnussen, Alonso and Bottas look set for a one-run go at Q3 later on.

The top six are out on track already - two Red Bulls, two Mercedes, two Ferraris - which is symmetrically satisfising.

Lights green
Q3 is underway! This'll be fun.

Two weeks ago Magnussen was on a beach in Florida not even thinking about F1, now he's in Q3 for Haas for the 2022 opener.

Verstappen ended Q2 on top by just 0.020s from Sainz, as three-tenths covers the top five.
Out in Q2: P11 Ocon, P12 Schumacher, P13 Norris, P14 Albon and P15 Zhou.
Checkered flag
Gasly charges into Q3 with his final lap, going P9 with a 1m31.635s which pushes Ocon out in P11. Zhou also lost his best lap time for track limits at Turn 5 so drops to P15.
Final laps coming up in Q2, what can the rest do?
Magnussen has Verstappen and Albon for company in the pits - the Red Bull driver looks confident of his Q3 progress while the Williams driver appears to be done too, accepting his Q2 exit.
Magnussen has a hydraulics issue with his Haas. The Dane is currently fourth in this session so in a good place to make Q3, even if he can't take part in it later.
Albon's first timed Q2 effort is a 1m32.664s to go 13th above Gasly and Zhou. He needs to find about 0.8s to reach the top 10 which is a big ask.
Aside from Albon all the drivers in Q2 have a time to their name, so the bottom five with work to do are: P11 Schumacher, P12 Norris, P13 Gasly, P14 Zhou and P15 Albon.
Stopwatch
Leclerc splits the Red Bull drivers at the top with a 1m31.356s - almost six-tenths off Verstappen. Further back Hamilton slots into P5 and Russell into P6.
Stopwatch
Here they come with all drivers on track, Verstappen goes top with a 1m30.757s from Perez, Magnussen, Bottas and Schumacher.
Albon again completes his first stint without setting a lap time. So still no times on the board in Q2 yet...
A rule change for 2022 means the tyres the drivers progress from Q2 on now won't be the tyres they start the race from. So very much open choice for all.

By: autosport.com

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