March 20, (THEWILL) – In a qualifying session that went down to the wire in Bahrain, Charles Leclerc, claimed the first pole position of the 2022 Formula One World Championship, ahead of defending champion Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.
In Q1, Ferarri’s Leclerc was the fastest, but Red Bull’s Verstappen fought back in Q2, qualifying for the top-10 shootout in one go. In Q3, the stage was set for a showdown between the champion and the Scuderia.
Leclerc subsequently established a new track record of 1m 30.558s, securing his second Bahrain Grand Prix pole. Verstappen was only 0.123s behind Sainz, who could not improve on his first run and finished third by 0.129s. Perez, Verstappen’s teammate, finished fourth in a distant P4.
Mercedes advanced in Q3 — the only Mercedes-powered cars to do so – but were unable to qualify in the front row. Sir Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, while Valtteri Bottas, a former teammate, finished a surprising sixth for Alfa Romeo.
Both Haas drivers qualified in Q2 for the first time since the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. However, Kevin Magnussen qualified seventh, ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso. Mercedes’ George Russell finished ninth, with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly completing out the top ten.
Lando Norris (P13) of McLaren and Esteban Ocon (P11) of Alpine were both eliminated unexpectedly in Q2, with Mick Schumacher of Haas dividing the two for P12.
On his first Williams appearance, Alex Albon qualified 14th, while Alfa Romeo rookie Zhou Guanyu qualified 15th in his debut.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
