Charles Leclerc won the opening race of the new Formula One season with a dominant win at the Bahrain Grand Prix. He took a Ferrari one-two with his teammate Carlos Sainz after a dramatic race where Red Bull’s challenge fell to pieces in the final laps, with the reigning champion, Max Verstappen, and his teammate Sergio Pérez going out with engine problems.
This allowed Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to grab an unlikely third and fourth place for Mercedes, with Kevin Magnussen taking an impressive fifth for Haas.
Leclerc and Verstappen had grappled in a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle in the mid part of the race, a fight which had looked to be going the distance until both Red Bulls went out with power unit failures. Mercedes, who had expected to be off the pace, toiled in their uncompetitive car, but did everything required to be in position to take advantage when their chance came at the very last.
In pace terms, Ferrari and Red Bu …
- March 21, 2022
