Results and summary of F1 Friday at the 2022 Bahrain GP

Pierre Gasly was the fastest in the first session with the AlphaTauri car, but the Dutchman set the fastest time of the day under the moonlight with a 1:31.936.

Charles Leclerc followed him with the Ferrari at just 87 thousandths, although he finished ahead of his teammate, Carlos Sainz, and one of the main rivals, George Russell. On the other side of the Mercedes garage, Lewis Hamilton could only manage ninth, with many complaining about porpoising and brake problems.

Free Practice 1 results of the 2022 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix

Cla	Pilot		laps	Weather	Difference	Interval	Km/h
1	Pierre Gasly		23	1’34.193			206,843
2	Charles Leclerc		22	1’34.557	0.364	0.364	206.047
3	Carlos Sainz Jr.		23	1,34,611	0.418	0.054	205,929
4	George Russell		23	1’34.629	0.436	0.018	205.890
5	Max Verstappen		22	1’34.742	0.549	0.113	205.644
6	Lance Stroll		22	1’34.814	0.621	0.072	205.488
7	Lewis Hamilton		17	1’34.943	0.750	0.129	205.209
8	Fernando Alonso		14	1’35.000	0.807	0.057	205.086
9	Yuki Tsunoda		20	1’35.028	0.835	0.028	205.025
10	Sergio Perez		23	1’35,050	0.857	0.022	204,978
11	Guanyu Zhou		20	1’35.053	0.860	0.003	204.971
12	Esteban Ocon		15	1’35.151	0.958	0.098	204.760
13	Nicholas Latifi		15	1’35.644	1.451	0.493	203.705
14	Nico Hulkenberg		23	1’35.815	1.622	0.171	203.341
15	Alexander Albon		17	1’35.923	1,730	0.108	203.112
16	Lando Norris		22	1’36.304	2.111	0.381	202.309
17	Daniel Ricciardo		20	1’36.402	2.209	0.098	202.103
18	Mick Schumacher		23	1’36.536	2.343	0.134	201.823
19	Kevin Magnussen		21	1’36.804	2.611	0.268	201.264
20	Valtteri Bottas		2
see results

What happened in Free Practice 1 of the 2022 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix?

The first practice session took place with the sun still in the sky, which means it was not fully representative for qualifying and the race, which will take place under moonlight and floodlights.

The McLarens of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo set the pace in the opening minutes, in what was the official premiere of the new 2022 single-seaters, although the first red flag of the season soon appeared due to a piece of Esteban Ocon’s Alpine It went flying down the finish straight and the track needed to be cleaned.

Nico Hulkenberg, who replaces Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin for this round, was right behind, although he had no trouble pulling away. Fernando Alonso was the first to return to the track, taking the lead, but Max Verstappen beat him by more than four tenths on medium tyres, first with a 1m34.783s and then a 1m34.742s.

As more teams switched to softs, George Russell, who also lost a piece of his car, took the lead with a 1m34.629s, just as Charles Leclerc spun the Ferrari.

With 13 minutes to go, Pierre Gasly, with the AlphaTauri, set a 1:34.193 which helped him finish the first session of the year at the top of the standings, followed by the two single-seaters from Maranello, with Leclerc by ahead of Sainz, both with the medium compounds.

Verstappen was fifth, ahead of Lance Stroll, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Yuki Tsunoda and Sergio Pérez, who rounded out the top 10.

Results of Free Practice 2 of the 2022 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix

Cla	Pilot		laps	Weather	Difference	Interval	Km/h
1	Max Verstappen		20	1’31.936			211.921
2	Charles Leclerc		20	1’32.023	0.087	0.087	211.720
3	Carlos Sainz Jr.		22	1’32,520	0.584	0.497	210,583
4	George Russell		25	1’32.529	0.593	0.009	210.563
5	Fernando Alonso		24	1’32.877	0.941	0.348	209.774
6	Valtteri Bottas		30	1’32.951	1.015	0.074	209.607
7	Sergio Perez		twenty	1’32.958	1,022	0.007	209,591
8	Mick Schumacher		24	1’33.085	1.149	0.127	209.305
9	Lewis Hamilton		23	1’33.144	1.208	0.059	209.172
10	Kevin Magnussen		23	1’33.183	1.247	0.039	209.085
11	Lando Norris		27	1’33.280	1.344	0.097	208.867
12	Esteban Ocon		25	1’33.360	1.424	0.080	208.688
13	Pierre Gasly		24	1’33.621	1,685	0.261	208.107
14	Yuki Tsunoda		26	1’33.789	1.853	0.168	207.734
15	Guanyu Zhou		27	1’33.953	2.017	0.164	207.371
16	Lance Stroll		25	1’33.958	2.022	0.005	207.360
17	Nico Hulkenberg		28	1’34.061	2.125	0.103	207.133
18	Daniel Ricciardo		12	1’34.166	2.230	0.105	206.902
19	Nicholas Latifi		28	1’34.486	2.550	0.320	206.201
20	Alexander Albon		22	1’34.735	2.799	0.249	205.659
see results

What happened in Free Practice 2 of the 2022 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix?

From the beginning of the second practice session, already under the lights, Leclerc set the first reference with a 1:33.121, one second faster than Gasly’s time in Free Practice 1, and with the media.

The Monegasque led Ferrari’s first 1-2, with Alonso in third, ahead of his Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon. Verstappen, still with means, flew to second, five tenths behind Leclerc, while Hamilton climbed to fifth place, but complained of porpoising on the straights.

Valtteri Bottas moved up to fourth place in the Alfa Romeo, recovering from a first session in which he had engine problems, although he was ahead of Pérez.

The soft tires appeared more, and Kevin Magnussen took advantage of it to get second, just 62 thousandths behind the Ferrari, while Sainz was just under two tenths behind his garage mate.

Leclerc retook the lead after Alonso took it from him with a 1:32.877, as he dropped the mark by six tenths, with Bottas recording the third fastest time, followed by Pérez.

Verstappen raised the bar 28 minutes from the end, and would put a 1:31.936 in the classification that no one would be able to beat, so he would keep the fastest lap of the day. Leclerc responded with a 1:32.023, just 87 thousandths behind, and Sainz finished third on the softs, although more than half a second behind the leader.

Russell, meanwhile, was fourth, ahead of Alonso, Bottas, Pérez, Mick Schumacher, Hamilton and Magnussen. The driver who led Free Practice 1, Gasly, could only be 13th, more than a second and a half behind the head.