2022 F1 Bahrain Test: When is it, who’s driving and how can I follow it?

F1’s new era began with a behind-closed-doors three-day shakedown test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which provided plenty of talking points both on and off the track. The championship now heads to Bahrain for the final pre-season test on the 10-12 March.

Mercedes topped the Barcelona test with a 1-2 on the final day of running, Lewis Hamilton setting the fastest lap with a 1m19.138s on the C5 and softest tyres, as the reigning F1 world constructors’ champions laid down an early marker for the rest.

The main area of debate focused on the porpoising phenomenon that appeared to impact every F1 car under the new ground-effects rules, with each team scrambling to find solutions to the unexpected issue.

With just under two weeks between the tests, it will be intriguing to see which teams has found effective solutions to the problem and how that might impact performance levels up and down the grid.

PLUS: The mechanics behind porpoising in F1 - and how to fix it 

Ferrari also impressed at the first test by topping the lap charts with 439 laps, or 2052km, completed over the three days between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. Mercedes (393 laps), McLaren (367 laps), Red Bull (358 laps) and Williams (347 laps) also caught the eye with strong mileage and reliability despite effectively all teams masking true performance potential.

Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari F1-75

Photo by: Erik Junius

AlphaTauri, Alpine and Aston Martin all hit trouble on the final day in Barcelona. Pierre Gasly went off in the AlphaTauri midway through the morning session, while Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel each suffered dramatic car fires, the Alpine’s triggered by a hydraulics problem and Aston Martin’s due to an oil leak.

But it was Alfa Romeo and Haas who endured the toughest time at the Barcelona test, with both teams struggling to notch up mileage and time on track. Alfa Romeo collectively completed 175 laps, held back by a series of technical issues, while Haas managed a total of 160 laps over the three days.

Haas also hit the headlines due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the team opting to drop Russian title sponsor Uralkali and driver Nikita Mazepin in the wake of the conflict. F1 has also cancelled its Russian Grand Prix deal, meaning the Sochi race has kicked off the 2022 race calendar.

Haas reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi is set to step in for the axed Mazepin at the Bahrain F1 test, but a final decision on its race driver alongside Mick Schumacher for the 2022 season is yet to be announced. 

Aerial view of Bahrain International Circuit

Photo by: Sutton Images

2022 F1 Bahrain test schedule

F1 pre-season testing for 2022 has been split between Barcelona and Bahrain, with the first test being called a shakedown at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on the 23-25 February. The test was carried out in a normal format but didn’t have live TV coverage, live timing and wasn’t open to fans.

The second pre-season test in Bahrain will revert to the traditional format with fans allowed to attend, live TV coverage and live timing. The test will take place on 10-12 March, the week before the 2022 F1 opener the Bahrain GP on 18-20 March.

The Bahrain test will see the track open at 7am GMT until 4pm GMT, with a one-hour lunch break which can be used to extend track time if needed due to poor weather conditions or red flags. The action starts an hour later in the day local time, due to both the better weather conditions and floodlights at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Driver line-up for the 2022 F1 Bahrain pre-season test

F1 rules mean each team can only run one car during the test (except for mule cars permitted for tyre testing at the request of Pirelli), meaning the teams have split the driving responsibility between each of its drivers plus any reserve or test drivers. This is also a cost-preventing method while also stops bigger teams from out-developing rivals simply by being able to run two or more cars.

Here’s the current list of what drivers are in action for each team for the Bahrain F1 test on the 10-12 March. The list will be updated with further announcements.

Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo C42

Photo by: Alfa Romeo

How can I follow the F1 Bahrain pre-season test?

The F1 Bahrain test will have live TV coverage, after the Barcelona shakedown test was run behind-closed-doors without live TV coverage of live timing.

Autosport will be running live text coverage on the F1 Bahrain test across all three days. The opening day live text commentary can be found here. 

In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports will be live broadcasting the F1 Bahrain pre-season test, with all three days of the test shown live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event.

• Channels: Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event
• Start time: 06:50am GMT for all three days – 10-12 March

Sky Sports is teaming up with F1’s own broadcasting team to cover the Bahrain pre-season test, with coverage starting at 06:50am GMT, 10 minutes before the track action begins with the morning session. The live coverage will finish with a 10-minute recap on the morning session, before repeating the same format for the afternoon session starting at 11:50am GMT.

Fernando Alonso, Alpine F1 A522

Photo by: Erik Junius

Why is the Bahrain test being televised but the Barcelona test wasn't?

As part of the preparations for the new generation and new rules in F1, the championship’s bosses agreed to host a shakedown test at Barcelona for all teams to get up to speed with the new cars. As part of this agreement F1 would not live broadcast the three days of action as Barcelona, with this agreement also still covering Bahrain’s deal as the full 2022 F1 ‘opener’ which included both the pre-season test and first grand prix of the new era.

Therefore the Barcelona event was treated and called a shakedown rather than an official test, meaning no live TV broadcasting or live timing would be transmitted, while the event was also closed to fans.

Bahrain’s pre-season test is considered a traditional test meaning previous formats apply allowing it to be broadcast live on TV, with live timing displayed and the event being open to fans – effectively like a normal grand prix weekend.

Why is testing being split between two tracks this year?

Given the better ambient temperatures and weather conditions in Barcelona and track characteristics providing a variety of high, medium and low speed corners, the circuit has been the traditional venue for pre-season testing in recent years.

Its relatively central location for all F1 teams, with easy transport access to Barcelona airport, also allows F1 teams to fly in new parts or late developments during the test compared to long haul journeys to venues like Bahrain.

Bahrain will host the second pre-season test due to it also being an ideal test venue due to weather and track characteristics, and provide a comparable reference point to the Barcelona running. The Bahrain International Circuit is also hosting the 2022 opening race meaning it is easier logistically for teams to remain at the track with one week between the test and the race.

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR22

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

What are the F1 car rule changes for 2022?

The 2022 F1 rule changes are focused on the return to a ground-effect formula, with the aerodynamic rule alterations aimed to make cars easier to follow and therefore produce closer and more exciting racing.

Ground-effect underbody tunnels have not been permitted in Formula 1 since 1982, but the calls for their reintroduction have become rather loud in recent years.

F1 has sought to reduce the current reliance on wings for downforce, which have been blamed for the ‘dirty air’ that has made close-quarters racing difficult in modern times, which meant the idea of a return to ground effects was more attractive to the rulemakers. Here’s a full explanation on the new F1 car rules. 

This year F1 will also move to 18-inch rim tyres as part of the wider aerodynamic rule changes, while DRS will remain part of the rules but can be revised if the new cars produce the desired on-track action.

The new rules also introduce measures to limit costs for F1 teams, including a further reduction in the team cost cap for 2022, plus a sliding scale of windtunnel and CFD development time has been introduced as a way to provide better competition – with the worst-performing team given the most windtunnel time and the best team given the least.

Standardised and listed parts have also been defined and increased to help lower costs on areas of the cars with little to no performance advantage.