Bahrain GP qualifying as it happened

By: James Newbold, Megan White, Haydn Cobb, Stephen Lickorish

Summary


	Summary: Leclerc takes a surprise pole for Bahrain GP, beating Verstappen by a tenth Sainz is third, from Perez while Hamilton is fifth Russell makes a mistake on his flying lap and is only ninth, behind Bottas's Alfa Romeo and Magnussen's Haas Out in Q2: Ocon, Schumacher, Norris, Albon, Zhou Out in Q1: Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Stroll, Latifi
	Leaderboard: Leclerc, Ferrari - 1m30.558s Verstappen, Red Bull - 1m30.681s Sainz, Ferrari - 1m30.687s Perez, Red Bull - 1m30.921s Hamilton, Mercedes - 1m31.238s Bottas, Alfa Romeo - 1m31.550s Magnussen, Haas - 1m31.808s Alonso, Alpine - 1m32.195s Russell, Mercedes - 1m32.216s Gasly, AlphaTauri - 1m32.338s

Status: Stopped

18:32 It is all still to fight for tomorrow, but the early advantage remains with Ferrari and Red Bull. What will the race bring? Find out tomorrow and join us for the big one, with the Bahrain GP starting at 3pm GMT. Until then have a lovely evening and go well!

18:28

18:24 An equal amount of praise deserves to go to Bottas and Alfa Romeo with sixth place. He'll line up alongside Hamilton on the grid tomorrow, so a familiar situation but in different colours.

18:19 Also a big shoutout to Magnussen and Haas, from what that team has been through in recent weeks to put a car seventh on the grid is mighty impressive:

18:15 Here's the full report on the opening F1 qualifying of 2022: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-bahrain-gp-leclerc-beats-verstappen-to-pole-position/9138272/

18:14 What a superb afternoon for Italy, Ferrari on pole and Italy win a game in the Six Nations. Bravo!

18:11

Sainz on qualifying in third: "There was that extra tenth that Charles was able to extract at the end. I was really struggling earlier and how to drive this car, being half a second back in practice, so to fight for pole is good. But I think Charles deserves this pole."

18:09 Verstappen on second place in qualifying: "It was a bit of hit and miss, Q2 seemed quite good, Q3 was a struggle with the balance and to get it together. But we have a good race car and it is a good start for tomorrow."

18:06 Leclerc on his pole: "It feels good, the last two years have been incredibly difficult for the team and we knew this year's rules would be an opportunity for us. I am very happy today in a tricky qualifying session, I wasn't happy with my driving."

18:05

Magnussen comes to a stop at Turn 1 which brings out the yellow flags at the end of Q3, but it won't impact anyone with all the lap times set.

18:04 Russell's poor final Q3 effort has really cost him as he's been shuffled back to ninth place behind Bottas, Magnussen and Alonso. Ouch.

18:03 Magnussen comes to a stop at Turn 1 which brings out the yellow flags at the end of Q3, but it won't impact anyone with all the lap times set.

18:03 A real mix of cars further back, with Perez fourth and Hamilton fifth, as Bottas claims sixth for Alfa Romeo! While Magnussen is seventh for Haas! Wow!

18:01 Sainz doesn't improve, while Verstappen's 1m30.681s put him second - that gives Leclerc pole position for the 2022 F1 opener!

18:00 Leclerc puts in a 1m30.558s to go on provisional pole, what can Sainz or Verstappen do to reply?

18:00 Russell's last lap leaves him in sixth place, while Hamilton also doesn't move up and stays fifth fastest.

17:58 Final Q3 run time, all 10 drivers are on track including Magnussen, with Haas solving his earlier hydraulics issue.

17:57 Not great laps from either Mercedes driver on the first run, but it is safe to assume they were on used softs being over a second slower than the top four.

17:56 On team radio Verstappen is unhappy about being told to do a slow out-lap in preparation for his first run in Q3. He was mighty close to provisional pole with just 0.056s splitting the top three.

The 2022 Formula 1 season is underway, with qualifying on Saturday for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

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