2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

The season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix marks the fourth time Bahrain has hosted the Formula One season opener, after 2006, 2010, and 2021. Mercedes have won six of the previous eight Bahrain Grands Prix, including five with Lewis Hamilton; Hamilton and Mercedes arrive on a streak of three consecutive victories at this event.

At the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max Verstappen won his first Drivers’ Championship in controversial fashion: a safety car restart on the final lap allowed him to pass Hamilton and deny him a record-breaking eighth title. Race director Michael Masi was subsequently removed and replaced by Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich, who alternate in the role for 2022.

Entrants

Sebastian Vettel tested positive for coronavirus before the race weekend and is replaced by Aston Martin reserve driver Nico Hülkenberg, who last raced at the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix. Vettel is expected to return at the Australian Grand Prix.

All other new driver pairings — Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu at Alfa Romeo, George Russell at Mercedes, Alex Albon at Williams, and Kevin Magnussen at Haas — make their debuts for their new teams this weekend.

Tyre choices

Pirelli brings the C1, C2, and C3 compounds (hard, medium, soft). These are a step harder than the compounds used in 2021, when C2, C3, and C4 were available. Drivers who advance to Q3 are no longer required to start on their Q2 tyre — a rule scrapped for 2022.

Practice

Pierre Gasly topped the first free practice session on soft tyres. The session was red-flagged when Esteban Ocon’s Alpine shed its sidepod bodywork on the main straight.

Max Verstappen topped both the second and third sessions, with Charles Leclerc narrowly behind in each. Mercedes struggled for pace throughout, placing no higher than fourth on the timesheets; Hamilton described the team as being “a long way off” from the front. Yuki Tsunoda did not set a time in FP3, returning to the garage before completing a lap with a hydraulic leak.