This would be the F1 2022 grid according to the Bahrain tests

The 2022 Formula 1 preseason ended with the Bahrain tests, and after the three days at the Sakhir circuit, it is time to see how the teams and drivers have fared. In this article we have selected the best lap time of each driver to form a starting grid that is obviously not the real one.

Because seeing this you will think that we say that this is how the grid will be next Saturday at the Bahrain GP, but no, it is just an exercise in imagination, certainly interesting and even fun (pay attention to the madness that would come out). It is known by all that in the tests what matters are the sensations, accumulating laps and fine-tuning the car, and that only the teams really know what they have tested.

Said that…

This would be the Formula 1 2022 grid with the times of the Bahrain tests

*AM = morning session; PM = afternoon session

**C1 tires are the hardest, C2 the hard, C3 medium, C4 soft and 5 ultra soft

EXT = Haas got an extra hour on Friday afternoon and an extra two hours on Saturday afternoon to make up for not being in time to shoot on Thursday morning. They had better asphalt conditions

The first thing we must clarify is the situation of Haas, with Mick Schumacher in second position and Magnussen , on his return to the category, closing the top 10. The American team could not go out on the track on Thursday morning because its material did not arrive on time after a flight delay, and got special permission to shoot longer on Friday and Saturday evenings.

There they enjoyed much better asphalt conditions, which allowed Magnussen to lead on the penultimate day (and be tenth overall) and Mick Schumacher to finish second on day three and overall.

The second thing is that Daniel Ricciardo suffered from COVID-19 and could not get into the car on any of the three days, so on this hypothetical grid he would start in last position without time and, to imagine, he would even do it from the pitlane.

The third thing is that obviously the track improved in the afternoons and on the last day the teams pushed harder, so the advantage went to the riders who took part in the afternoon session on Saturday, as you can guess from the table (of the top nine, eight were in those last four hours). In fact, Pirelli admits that the first two days had nothing to do with the last in terms of temperatures, so the drivers who did not ride on Saturday had ‘the ones to lose’.

In addition, it is not known what program each team followed, although for example we could see that Williams attacked the clock more in the mornings to dedicate more time to long runs and with a lot of weight in the afternoon, so they could not take advantage of the best conditions.

For their part, Mercedes spent the last day trying to find the sweet spot for a car that they still don’t have where they want it, which made them focus much more on correcting their problems than looking for a good time. Without going any further, while Red Bull or Ferrari made their best times at the end with Verstappen and Leclerc , at Mercedes they took Russell out with paraffin and made more tests of his latest adjustments.

Obviously the grid above will have nothing to do with the one we will see on Saturday at the Bahrain GP, so no one celebrates (or freaks out) in advance.

The grid in images (from the last to the first position)

21st Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36 (OUT OF TIME)

1 / 21

Photo by: Alessio Morgese

20º Pietro Fittipaldi, Haas VF-22

2/21 _

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

19th Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW44

3 / 21

Photo by: LAT Images

18º Alex Albon, Williams FW44

4 / 21

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

17th Esteban Ocon, Alpine

5 / 21

Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

16º Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13

6/21

Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

15º Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR22

7/21

Foto de: LAT Images

14º Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo C42

8/21 _

Foto de: LAT Images

13º Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03,

9/21 _

Photo by: LAT Images

12th Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

10 / 21

Photo by: LAT Images

11th Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75

11 / 21

Photo by: Carl Bingham/Motorsport Images

10º Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team

12/21 _

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

9th Lando Norris, McLaren MCL36

13 / 21

Photo by: LAT Images

8º Sergio Pérez, Red Bull Racing RB18

14/21 _

Photo by: LAT Images

7º Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT03

15/21 _

Foto de: LAT Images

6th Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C42

16 / 21

Photo by: LAT Images

5º George Russell, Mercedes W13

17/21

Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

4th Fernando Alonso, Alpine A522

18 / 21

Photo by: LAT Images

3rd Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75

19 / 21

Photo by: LAT Images

2º Mick Schumacher, Haas VF-22

20/21 _

Photo de: LAT Images

1º Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18

21/21

Foto de: LAT Images

The fastest times from each F1 2022 test session in Bahrain

Results for Thursday March 10 – Day 1

	Pilot	Equipment	laps	Time (tyre)
1	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	64	1’33 “902
two	Carlos Sainz	ferrari	52	1’34″359
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	53	1’34″531
4	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	50	1’34″736
5	Alex Albon	williams	104	1’35″070
6	Lando Norris	McLaren	50	1’35″356
7	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	66	1’35″395
8	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	39	1’35″706
9	George Russell	Mercedes	60	1’35″941
10	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	138	1’35″977
11	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	62	1’36″365
12	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	24	1’36″365
13	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	42	1’36″768
14	Guanyu Zhou	Alfa Romeo	54	1’37″164
15	Pietro Fittipaldi	Haas	47	1’38 “527

Results for Friday March 11 – Day 2

	Pilot	Equipment	laps	Time (tyre)
1	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	60	1’33 “207
1	Carlos Sainz	ferrari	60	1’33″532
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	86	1’34″011
3	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	70	1’34″064
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	47	1’34″141
5	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	111	1’34″276
6	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	54	1’34″366
7	Lando Norris	McLaren	60	1’34″609
8	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	46	1’36″020
Ten	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	120	1’36 “802
11	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	25	1’36″987
12	Mick Schumacher	Haas	23	1’37″846
13	George Russell	Mercedes	67	1’38″585
14	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	12	1’39″845
15	Guanyu Zhou	Alfa Romeo	48	1’39″984

Results for Saturday March 12 – Day 3

	Pilot	Equipment	laps	Time (tyres)
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	53	1’31″720
2	Mick Schumacher	Haas	85	1’32″241
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	51	1’32″415
4	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	122	1’32″698
5	George Russell	Mercedes	71	1’32″759
6	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	68	1’32″985
7	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	57 57	1’33 “002
8	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	43	1’33″105
9	Lando Norris	McLaren	90	1’33″191
10	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	81	1’33″821
11	Guanyu Zhou	Alfa Romeo	82	1’33″959
12	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	91	1’34 “865
13	Carlos Sainz	ferrari	68	1’34″905
14	Alex Albon	williams	18	1’35″171
15	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	124	1’35″634
16	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	53	1’36″029
17	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	78	1’36″217
18	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	38	1’38 “616