Bahrain Grand Prix 2022: Leclerc (Ferrari) and the cursed pole, Hamilton the galley or the record: the GP in question

What time does the race start?

At 4 p.m. French time.

What has changed for the drivers in the top 10 of the grid?

The FIA ​​this year ended the obligation for participants in Q3 to start the race with the gear used to set the fastest time in Q2. In order to open the field of strategies for pilots.

Is pole position a guarantee of success for Sakhir?

Seven drivers have doubled pole position – victory in 17 rounds since the creation of the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2004. In 2021, victory had eluded poleman Max Verstappen (Red Bull).

Track limit: what has changed?

Impossible to find this Sunday the scenario of a pilot like Max Verstappen, forced last year to restore his position after having overtaken Lewis Hamilton off the track. Niels Wittich, the race director who will officiate alternately this season with Eduardo Freitas, warned the competitors well: the white line is the limit not to be crossed, on all the circuits of the championship, otherwise warnings will be granted until penalty.

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) on pole, what does it look like at the finish?

Lots of frustration. The Monegasque has only converted two of his previous nine top positions into victories, at Spa and Monza in 2019. That year, Sakhir had illustrated his difficulty in converting his initial advantage: his V6 only turning over five cylinders, he had to let Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) slip away.

Can the F1 75s hold up against the Red Bulls?

Yes, on this point the Scuderia is confident. “We’ve been focused on short runs so far this weekend in preparation for qualifying and we’ve done a lot of laps with the tank full of fuel in testing, so we got to know the car in different situations and it was good“, said Charles Leclerc after his pole position.

What are the problems of the Mercedes W13?

Besides the car’s instability problem on bumps (“porpoising”), Toto Wolff revealed the extent of the ailments plaguing the 2022 Silver Arrow.”It’s hard to judge our engine: our data shows we have more drag than anyone else, and you can see we lose on the main straight, but not so much elsewhere on the lap.explained the team director and shareholder. We will do an evaluation after two races to find out if we are lacking in power. Objectively, we are missing half a second per lap.”

“We know we have to improve before we think about fighting for the win, our goal is really to limit the damage to the championship“, summed up Andrew Shovlin, engineer in charge of track engineering.

What results for Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Alpine?

Tenth at the start, the winner of the 2020 Italian Grand Prix especially wants to see the checkered flag. “Going into Q3 is a bit surprising, I’m happy with my lap but, at the same time, it shows us that we have work to do in the next races because the cars powered by Ferrari – Haas and Alfa Romeo in addition to the Scuderia – are extremely fastsaid Gasly. We will have to find a little more rhythm to fight with these guys. Our long stints seemed a bit better than the short ones in practice. The most important thing is to cross the finish line, which we didn’t do last year, that’s the main objective.”

“The objective is to score points from the first race“, just specified Esteban Ocon (Alpine), qualified 11th. Three rows ahead of him at kick-off, Fernando Alonso also has a small margin of maneuver with the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas (6th) and the Haas of his great friend Kevin Magnussen (7th) just ahead of him.

Will the new regulations offer more overtaking?

Yes, according to the comments which invariably go in the same direction on this subject. “It seems that following the cars in front of us is easier than before, said Fernando Alonso again. We’ll see if it offers more action on the track, but the first laps will be interesting.”

What strategy for the 57 towers?

“With the abrasive tarmac and the demanding layout, the Grand Prix will probably be two stops away, as in past years. A single stop is not completely out of the question, but it will be slower“, says Pirelli.

What record can fall?

That of the number of consecutive years with at least one victory. Lewis Hamilton shares with Michael Schumacher the record of 15 straight seasons with at least one victory and the Briton can go down in history on Sunday with a 104th victory.