[akash_v12]

Formula One returns at Sakhir, for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The 2022 season is expected to be the longest season with a 23-race calendar which includes new circuits like Miami, classics like Monza and Silverstone and circuits returning from the alternate calendar of last year incl. Imola.

Driver Lineup

Mercedes - HAM-RUS (W13)
RedBull - VER-PER (RB18)
McLaren - NOR-RIC (MCL36)
Aston Martin- HUL-STR (AMR22)
Alpine - OCO-ALO (A522)
Ferrari - LEC-SAI (F1-75)
AlphaTauri - GAS-TSU (AT03)
Alfa Romeo - BOT-ZHO (C42)
Haas - MSC-MAG (VF-22)
Williams - ALB-LAT (FW44)

The Schedule



The Circuit



The Tyres



Weather

[deetjohn]

After watching both sessions live, it looks like its between the Red Bull & Ferrari this weekend. But if we know something from the last 8 championships, it is to never discount that Mercedes.

Yes, they got severe porpoising even after updating the floor. So, the car is not optimal currently with regard to suspension or ride height. Once they nail that, that Merc could have a higher ceiling - its got downforce and that body is as slippery as it gets!

They know its better to start the year with an aggressive package that can be improved massively over the course of this long season. The question is just how long will it take them to find that balance? Will it be today or will it take a few races??

I also think that Mercedes PU got a few more clicks up its sleeve compared to others and we will see the full potential come qualifying today. I am also eager to see how Russell compares to Lewis in qualifying - with a tricky car or otherwise.

With all the sound bytes coming from George recently, he is already very much at home! He didn't even spare poor Bottas yesterday!

[RedTerrano]

Firstly I just love the new car design. Sexy is back again!
The porpoising effect was kind of funny to watch till I realised it was slo mo. At high speeds it can lead to severe safety issues. I am glad almost all teams have a handle on the problem and as far as I understood many managed to fix it.

The cars seem fast and we are in for an exciting season ahead. Can't wait.
Of course, I will be rooting for Ferrari.

[ajmat]

Have been camping out at T1 watching them during practice

Ferraris, Aston and Red Bulls don’t look very fast as they are pretty stable under cornering nd under acceleration.

MacLaren were a bit twitchy Mercedes are fast but were initially twitchy during FP1. Haas are trying very hard ultimate in late braking. A long night for them, I guess!

[Chetan_Rao]

My favorite 'lookers' so far are the papaya McLaren (looks rather retro), blue Williams and green Aston Martin. Honorable mention to the Alfa Romeo.

The fluorescent bits ruin the Ferrari color scheme for me, and Red Bull and Mercedes look B-O-R-I-N-G. A monochrome Merc sans the Petronas cyan would look great.

[speedmiester]

A great start to 2022 season.
Good to see scarlet car on the pole after a long time.
It's advantage Ferrari as Sainz will be on the money against Max. Perez is a bit slow. All to play for at the top three.

Big surprise is Bottas in Alfa Romeo just behind Hamilton. Also Magnussen in Haas is quite quick.
Russell lost in the final lap to start 9th.

Can't wait for tomorrow. We will be seeing a lot of on track action tom.

[Chetan_Rao]

A quick Ferrari, finally!

Early days but looks promising. A shame Merc seem off the pace to start with but at least it's a two-way fight at the front.

[SShandilya]

It’s so good to see the Ferrari in the front again.
A very close battle between the Bulls vs Ferrari with a lot of pressure on Verstappen as both Ferrari drivers look strong.
Looks like Mercedes weren’t sandbagging and Sir Hamilton is sandwich’d between Perez and Bottas.

[VRJ]

What a brilliant start to the 2022 season. Phenomenal lap by Charles The Ferrari PU is doing wonders for Alpha Romeo and Haas. KMag is the highlight of the day if you ask me. He out-qualified a Mercedes. Who would’ve thought a Haas is capable of that? And guess what? Bottas is starting right beside Hamilton at P6. It’s going to be a great race tomorrow. Hopefully no ‘inchident’ in Turn 1, lol.
A request to the mods, can we please have a pole for our predictions for tomorrows race? It’ll be exciting to see which driver gets the maximum support from BHP’ians.

Cheers!

[aim120]

Latifi was just that bad that made Russel standout. Now Albon is doing the same to Latifi.

Mick is in F1 due to his fathers legacy. Mazepin was slower then Mick. Kevin Magnussen just destroyed Mick. Haas would have perhaps finished ahead of Latifi in 2021, if Kevin was driving.

Stroll is in F1 due to his father. Nico Hulkenberg is again doing a good job.
Bottas qualifying ahead of Russel.

Drivers who don't deserve to be in F1 are Latifi, Stroll, Giovinazzi.

[museycal]

All Ferrari powered teams seems to have benefitted from getting higher allotment of development time owing to their low positions in 2020 and 2021 championships. We know Haas wrote-off their 2021 campaign, so did Alfa Romeo, and to an extent, Ferrari too (bringing only a PU upgrade and marginal aero updates last year).

Add to that, the Ferrari have been real adamant on improving their PU as PU designs are now frozen upto 2025.

Let's see if Ferrari can mount and sustain a title challenge. As a Ferrari fan, fingers crossed! However recent anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. Mercedes are going to be at the sharp end in 2-3 races at the most. Who knows, we may soon see 3 way battles for victories once again.

[Mat095]

Did Haas and Alfa Romeo out-qualify a Mercedes?

Bottas qualifying ahead of Russel is a hint that it wasn’t just the Mercedes these four years, good for Bottas!

Guenther said in Drive to Survive that “I would just like to be competitive for once” he definitely got that today.

Lastly, Ferrari performing like that brought a huge smile on my face, it’s too soon to make anything of this but like every Ferrari fan, I’m hopeful for their performance.

[deetjohn]

Sunday is always nice when a Ferrari is on Pole. And I am still cracking a smile every time I think about it. All the more better when my other team in red, Arsenal is up there as well.

The F-74 looked good in the tests. But that they always do. So, I was really curious to understand the performance from the new PU. And the news is great, I really like the way the car accelerates. So happy for Binotto and team there! And they deserve this for the big suffering in the last two years.

As a total package, I still think Red Bull & Max is the car to beat on Saturday. Ferrari might be a better match in race trim. So, it was a stellar lap from Charles yesterday. And there is really nothing between the top 3. Not sure why Carlos is beating himself down so much! He will up there soon!

Mercedes sacrificed some performance to counter the severe porpoising! So, it is going going to take a bit of time for them to get that balance right. But there is a monster of a car underneath and that's why they brought this upgrade forward. I just hope for the sake of the season that they don't run away with this again when that potential is unlocked! fingers crossed!

George and Mick made mistakes and they got soundly beaten! Lovely stuff from Bottas. Apparently, he also sent a text to Toto.

And what about Hulk eh? That dude hasn't raced anything in the past 2 years almost, let alone F1 and he puts daddy's rich boy in his place! It is totally unfair Hulk doesn't have a proper seat! These new heavy cars will suit him better too! I hope it happens!

The biggest disappointment was McLaren. I expected more fight from Lando, but it looks like the team needs more time to bounce from that disaster of a second test.

Can't wait for the race today!

[motorworks]

My 9 year old son and I were literally screaming in excitement at the end of Q3! I know this is only the first race, but the fact that Ferrari has some real pace is so much of a relief! Leclerc got 2 poles last year too, but we all know that those poles were a result of curtailed Q3 sessions, but now it seems like a genuinely deserved pole! I think Sainz was always in the hunt for pole as well, he was so close!

But all reports indicate that Redbull have the faster race car, in their long runs during testing and Free practice they are supposed to have been at least 0.2 to 0.3 seconds faster per lap. So it’s still RedBull leading the pack, but I’m happy ferrari is at least in the hunt!

Some pleasant surprises along the grid with Alfa Romeo and Haas really doing well. However teams like Aston Martin, Alpine, Mclaren and Williams seem like they are really struggling at the moment.

Mercedes? Well, no one can write them off as yet. They will come back strong, they will surely resolve the issues they are currently facing and you never know, we could be having a 3 way fight every race this season!

[shibujp]

A humdinger of a qualifying start. No team except perhaps Aston and Williams look particularly weak and even Williams had one car in Q2. I hope this is sets a pattern for the season going forward which will be epic to say the least.

Ferrari have started with a bang. Both the drivers looking extremely pacy and what's interesting is that as a pair they look stronger than any other combination. Post the 2019 collapse, Ferrari needed a start like this.

If there was a car whose performance looked effortless it was Red Bull. An Adrian Newey car in the hands of Verstappen. Consistently on the pace with great reliability which by the way, Ferrari enjoyed as well. While Verstappen narrowly missed pole I think the race will be a different story. As many drivers have found starting in front of and alongside Verstappen is not really much of a guarantee. However with a resurgent Ferrari Red Bull is going to need Sergio Perez consistently in the first five or even first three to nail the constructors points.

Alfa Romeo and Haas seem to be very strong in Bahrain definitely among the mid field with Alfa Romeo in the hands of Bottas potentially promising to be an occasional race winner. Bottas in a familiar position alongside Hamilton. Hope Hamilton does not expect any favors from the "wingman".

And what a chance for Magnussen. Really rewarding Haas callback by immediately putting the car into the top 10. And Mick Schumacher proving to be no flash in the pan either with a strong P12 ahead of the likes of Norris in the McLaren. If there is one team I dearly wish to see sort out their problems ASAP it's the McLaren team. Would be a terrible pity to have them drop off after a strong showing last year.

It's going to be a battle of sidepod philosophies this time if it was the battle of rake philosophies last season. Lots of unknowns with respect to engine reliability, cooling, aero etc. Porpoising is going to be another big issue, with Mercedes already being the loser in that race. What a great leveler this new era is promising to be. Kind of like in Rally 1 where the new hybrid WRC cars have suddenly brought Ford and M-Sport right back into the game I would love to see one of the underdogs offer stiff competition to the top outfits.

If the start is anything to go by we are in for a riot of a season!

Drive on,
Shibu