It was a consistently strong performance from Ferrari during qualifying for the opening race of the 2022 season. 

F1 returnee Kevin Magnussen drove superbly to secure seventh place in what has been an unexpected comeback. The returning Haas F1 Team driver also benefited from a team that shares components with Ferrari, and he made excellent use of the machinery available to him. Fernando Alonso once again demonstrated that his natural speed remains a formidable asset, although his performance also highlighted the shortcomings of the Alpine. It is fair to say Alonso extracted more from the car than it perhaps deserved.

Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team. McLaren Racing was arguably the biggest disappointment, carrying its winter testing struggles into the first qualifying session of the season. Lando Norriscould manage only 13th, while teammate Daniel Ricciardo slumped to 18th for Sunday’s race. Former Red Bull driver Alexander Albon extracted as much as possible from his Williams Racing, securing a credible 14th place on the grid, while teammate Nicholas Latifi started last.

Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team appeared completely uncompetitive and looked set to occupy the back of the grid for the foreseeable future. Based on qualifying pace alone, Ferrari was clearly the team to beat. The team also appeared to have encouraging race pace based on practice simulations. However, this was only the opening race of the season, and in Formula One, it is always on Sunday that points are truly won or lost.

Crucially, two fiercely competitive drivers lined up first and second on the grid. How aggressive would Verstappen be? Leclerc can be equally ruthless when required, though he arguably possesses cleaner racecraft and greater racing etiquette than the reigning world champion. The key question was how much either driver would be willing to risk in the battle to be first into Turn 1.2022 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying:

1. Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:30.558

2. Max Verstappen Red Bull 0.123s

3. Carlos Sainz Ferrari 0.129s

4. Sergio Perez Red Bull 0.363s

5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 0.680s

6. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo Racing 1.002s

7. Kevin Magnussen Haas 1.250s

8. Fernando Alonso Alpine 1.637s

9. George Russell Mercedes 1.658s

10. Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1.780s

11. Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:31.782

12. Mick Schumacher Haas 1:31.998

13. Lando Norris McLaren 1:32.008

14. Alex Albon Williams 1:32.664

15. Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo Racing 1:33.543

16. Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:32.750

17. Nico Hulkenberg Aston Martin 1:32.777

18. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1:32.945

19. Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:33.032

20. Nicholas Latifi Williams 1:33.634