In Pictures: Bahrain 2022
A 1-2 for Ferrari! The team’s 85th one-two finish in Formula 1!
The first race of the new era had lots of questions with almost no answers, particularly which teams had done a better job and will be up front. During practices, it appears the Red Bull were the strongest, followed by Ferrari, and a mix of unknowns, Mercedes, Alpine, Haas, Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri, with Williams, Aston Martin, and McLaren the slowest.
During Qualifying, the Ferrari fought against the Red Bulls for top honors, which in the end saw Charles Leclerc taking his 10th Pole Position, just ahead of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.
And then came the race on Sunday…
WHAT A BATTLE!
Fantastic racing between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen for the lead of the Grand Prix. Red Bull changed tires on Verstappen’s RB18 on lap 16 with Ferrari doing the same with Leclerc a lap later, coming out just a bit ahead of the Red Bull. And then, what a show they gave us for a few laps. Amazing racing!
On lap, Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri caught fire and the French driver stopped on the right of the track in the 46th lap of the race. Initially, a virtual safety car came out, later followed by a safety car, and a green flag on the 51st lap.
Regretfully at the restart, Max’s RB18 had a problem and ended up retiring from the race. Then, with just one lap left, Sergio Perez’s engine stopped, also retiring from the race. Double DNF for the Austrian’s outfit.
At the close, it was Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, and Lewis Hamilton the first podium of the season.
Last time Ferrari ended up with a 1-2 at a Grand Prix was Singapore. A dream start not only for the team, but for Charles Leclerc. Pole position, Fastest lap and Win…
““Coming into this season, we knew we would be in a better position than we have been for the past two years, but we didn’t know exactly where we would stand. To be back on top with a car that is capable of winning feels incredible. A huge thank you to our whole team, you’ve done an amazing job and this victory is for all of you. The race was tough and I gave it my all. Whenever I had a bit of margin behind me, I felt in control of the race and was managing the gap well. But after the first stop, things became more tricky. Max challenged me three times and I had to position myself in the right way to reclaim my position each time he passed me. Once the Safety Car came out, we lost the gap we had created and had to start again from zero. I knew I had to do the best restart possible and I am glad I got the job done well. Car development will be more significant than in previous years and we have to stay on top of our game. As for this weekend – we did everything right. Pole, fastest lap, the victory and second place for our team. Forza Ferrari!””
““This is definitely a day to celebrate for the entire team. Starting the season with a 1-2 is the perfect reward for the tireless work they have done over the last two years and congrats to Charles on a solid win. We also want to share our joy with all our tifosi around the world because we always felt their support even when we were not fighting at the top. For me, I’m very happy with the result but I’m not particularly happy with my race. It was probably one of the hardest ones since I joined Ferrari. I wasn’t feeling at home with the car and we need to understand why. But today it’s time to celebrate this amazing result all together. The great effort to bring Ferrari back to the top, where it belongs, has paid off today and everyone deserves to enjoy it. We’ll keep pushing next week in Saudi. Forza Ferrari!””
““A big, big congratulations to Ferrari, I’m so happy to see them doing well again, they are such a historic and epic team.
It was a difficult race for us today, we’ve struggled throughout practice and this is really the best result we could have got. Of course it was unfortunate for the other two drivers but we did the best we could and we are grateful for these points. I know the guys are working really hard back at the factory and it is not going to be a quick turnaround but we’ve been the best unified team for so long, we all know to just keep your head down, keep working, there’s a long way to go. We’ve got to maximize our weekends and at some point, we’ll be back in the fight.””
Here’s a selection of photos from that weekend:
