Two years after engine problems cost him the Bahrain Grand Prix by just three laps, Charles Leclerc found salvation in Sakhir.
He won the Formula 1 season Grand Prix and led every lap in the process.
Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz followed him home in second place, with Lewis Hamilton finishing the podium after both Red Bulls suffered engine failure in the final laps. George Russell crossed the line in fourth place, while Kevin Magnussen placed his hat on fifth place, recording the team’s first points since the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix.
The victory was an understandable emotional event after the fortune Ferrari has experienced since 2020.
“So happy. I think I repeat myself over and over again, but the last two years have been incredibly difficult for the team,” said Leclerc. “We knew this was going to be a great opportunity for the team, and the boys did such an incredible job building this amazing car.
It starts best: Pole position, victory, fastest lap, 1-2 today with Carlos. We could not have hoped for better. “
Ferrari’s high tempo was evident as soon as the lights went out. Leclerc was undefeated by Max Verstappen of the line, while Sainz retained his third place in the opening of the race.
Verstappen sought to challenge Leclerc for the lead, coming off the first round of pit stops after half a second of lead. The two dueled violently, and exchanged the lead of rounds 17 – 19. But multiple blocks in Tour 1 mean Verstappen’s tire life was cut short, and Leclerc rolled into the distance.
A late-race safety car was deployed after Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri ground was stopped at the exit of the Tour 3 with an overheated engine. That meant the field would be summed up and left with seven laps left, so Verstappen and Sergio Perez once again put on the Ferraris distance, with a free pit stop for a good measure.
Fate had other ideas. Verstappen had struggled in the last half of the race with vibrations and power steering issues, but looked to keep Sainz from restarting. Nevertheless, on lap 55, the 2021 champion started complaining about power issues before his engine did not issue four corners later in total.
The next round, Perez also noticed that his power was going down. The very next round, the Mexican suffered a motor injury, causing his Red Bull to knock to the side in Tour 1. That gave Hamilton third place and left both Red Bulls outside of points.
In addition to Magnussen’s shocking pace over the weekend, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu finished sixth and 10th for Alfa Romeo. Mick Schumacher also posted the best finish of his career, bringing his hatred to 11th place at the end of the day.
Fortune did not fare so well for McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, who were out of pace at the lights and hooked flags. The best that the orange squad could grab were the 15th and 14th respectively. A long fall for a team that Monza won just last year.
The F1 circuit will next visit the Jeddah Corniche circuit for the second run of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The screening begins Sunday, March 27, at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The final order for the Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 is:
1. Leclerc
2. Sainz
3. Hamilton
4. Russell
5. Magnussen
6. Bottas
7. Esteban Ocon
8. Yuki Tsunoda
9. Fernando Alonso
10. Zhou
11. Schumacher
12. Lance Stroll
13. Alex Albon
14. Ricciardo
15. Norris
16. Nicolas Latifi
17. Nico Hulkenberg
18. Perez
19. Verstappen
20. Gasly
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