Back in action at Bahrain!
Following the testing behind closed doors in Barcelona, Spain, and three days at the track in Bahrain, the first sessions of the 2022 season are this week at the Bahrain International Circuit. It’s been a long wait, but the 2022 Formula One championship season is finally commencing.
There have been a lot of changes since the 2021 season; which was possibly the most memorable championship in recent times. As always, there are new team line-ups and structures to familiarise ourselves with, as well as new technical regulations to wrap our heads around. Valtteri Bottas made the move to Alfa Romeo, alongside rookie Zhou Guanyu, in a fresh new line-up for the Swiss team as a result of Kimi Raikkonen’s retirement and Antonio Giovinazzi’s transition to Formula E. Alfa Romeo will be hoping to climb the team standings after a few years towards the back of the grid. By taking advantage of increased wind tunnel time, along with the new regulations, combined with experienced and fresh driver talent they acquired, they are increasing their chances of improvement.
Bottas’ move to Alfa Romeo created a space at Mercedes, allowing George Russell to finally make the highly anticipated move from Williams. Russell, being a highly rated driver, will be pitted up against a determined seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Time will tell how they fare up against one another, and whether it will be an individual or team game. Alex Albon will make a return to the Formula One grid as he slots into Williams’ empty seat, but remains contracted to Red Bull, hence the sponsoring on his 2022 helmet.
In perhaps the most high profile news so far this season, Nikita Mazepin will not return to Formula 1 with Haas in 2022, nor will Uralkali, Haas’ 2021 title sponsor. In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Haas made the decision to cut ties with the driver and his father’s company, despite the FIA’s ruling that Russian drivers would be allowed to compete. His replacement comes in the form of previous Haas driver, Kevin Magnussen, who said goodbye to the sport at the end of 2020 but is back with a multi-year deal. Pietro Fittipaldi as the team’s reserve driver completed the Bahrain pre-season test alongside Mick Schumacher, but Haas opted to compliment Schumacher’s talent with Magnussen’s experience to maximise their 2022 car. Schumacher dominated his former teammate in 2021, and now he will have a new teammate to compare to.
In 2021, Haas chose to focus on the development of their 2022 car, resulting in a lack of development on their 2021 car, so they will hope to see the fruits of their labour through a rise up the standings. Many other teams started their development later on, and as seen in testing, there are significant differences amongst the grid. The technical regulations introduced this year aim to produce better racing and more opportunities for overtakes by reducing the dirty air F1 cars make, which reduces downforce for following cars. Therefore, the new regulations focus on the ‘ground effect’ which causes a smaller loss of downforce.
This ‘ground effect’ is what is contributing to the ‘porpoising’ that the cars were exhibiting throughout testing. ‘Porpoising’ is where the car is producing so much downforce that it hits the ground and springs back up. This is a continuous action that occurs when the cars are driving at higher speeds, particularly along the straights. This phenomenon could cause a few issues if not resolved, as it can make it more difficult for the drivers to spot their braking points and also cause pain in the drivers backs and necks.
More noticeably, Pirelli have introduced larger 18-inch tyres, and the teams have designed dramatic new sidepods in response to the aerodynamic alterations.
Bahrain testing provided us with a mixed bag of results for us to sift through. Gasly topped the times from day one, with Ferrari’s Leclerc and Sainz close behind. Ferrari’s form continued through to the next day as Carlos Sainz settled at the top of the timesheets ahead of reigning champion Max Verstappen, who topped testing on the third day in Bahrain.
Even though testing has been completed, this will be the week where we will truly be able to see which team has managed to work with the new regulations most effectively.
The finer details…
2022’s Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix will once again take place at the Bahrain International Circuit. Over its 57 laps, 308.238km are covered. It was designed by a renowned name in Formula One design- Hermann Tilke. When the track was being built in 2004, race organisers were concerned that the deadline would not be met, but Bernie Ecclestone, former F1 CEO, and his team of designers and constructors pushed through and the Grand Prix went ahead, though not everything was quite completed.
As seen in 2020, the Bahrain circuit has several layouts. The “outer circuit” was used for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, and F1 have used the same general circuit since 2012. This layout takes us through 15 turns with three DRS zones, the primary one along the start / finish straight which makes Turn 1 a brilliant overtaking opportunity. Turn 1 is tight and slow, but the following two turns accelerate the car and the DRS activated out of Turn 3 creates overtaking opportunities into Turn 4. We have seen quite a few battles through these turns in previous years.
In Sector 2, turns 5, 6 and 7 come in quick succession before the right-hand hairpin at turn 8 slows the car down again. The second DRS activation zone begins out of Turn 10 and concludes before Turn 11.
Sector 3 consists of only three corners, where a good exit out of the final Turn 15 is essential for a good run down the straight.
The Grand Prix takes place under floodlights, and the time leaves teams and drivers to contend with unpredictable and changing temperatures. Free Practice 2 is the most reflective of race conditions, which is something they will have to bear in mind during FP1 and FP3. Finding an efficient setup can be challenging but important. Proof of the unpredictable conditions was obvious in 2021, when Bahrain testing was interrupted by a sandstorm- luckily proceedings were much smoother this year!
Bahrain International Circuit (Photo from: Formula 1 - https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2022/Bahrain/Circuit.html)
Last time out…
Bahrain also commenced the championship last year, and it was Hamilton and Mercedes who were out of the blocks running as the Brit won the first race of the season. The weekend wasn’t completely plain sailing however as it was Max Verstappen who snagged pole position on the Saturday.
Verstappen looked comfortable from the onset, topping all three practice sessions of the week. Mercedes were always a little behind, and alongside Red Bull had a competitive Lando Norris for company at the top. The gap was closed in qualifying, when Q1 saw Verstappen achieve a 1:30.499 to maintain his apparent dominance, and Hamilton a 1:30.617, the two separated by only rookie Yuki Tsunoda. Hamilton did push back ahead in Q2 with a 1:30.085, but it was Q3 that mattered and seven out of the ten drivers dipped below the 1:30 mark. Hamilton managed a 1:29.385, but Verstappen was just too strong with a 1:28.997.
Away from the top of the timing sheets, George Russell started his season in spectacular fashion by slipping into Q2 with his final effort. Proceedings may have been affected by Nikita Mazepin’s yellow flag escapades after several spins, catching out drivers such as Esteban Ocon and Sebastian Vettel, who were knocked out of Q1 and would start the race in P16 and P18 respectively.
The story from Q2 was Perez’s shock knockout as Red Bull opted to go with the medium tyre, whilst many other teams chose the faster, soft compound. The pressure was on the Mexican with his first true outing for his new team, and after having a time deleted for track limits, he failed to recover. Though he would be allowed free tyre choice for Sunday’s race where he would line up P11, Verstappen would be forced to battle his Mercedes rivals alone.
Sunday saw Verstappen take up pole position, defending from Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. Behind and completing the top ten were Leclerc, Gasly, Ricciardo, Norris, Sainz, Alonso and Stroll.
Drama occurred before the race even began when Sergio Perez pulled to the side of the track on the formation lap with an issue. Whilst the rest of the grid were sent on another formation lap, Perez managed to get his car running again and began the race from the pit lane. After lights out, Verstappen’s Red Bull had a smooth start, as the Dutchman defended well from Hamilton into turn 1, maintaining his lead. All action was soon interrupted by a safety car. Mazepin had managed to spin at Turn 3 on lap 1 and hit the wall, closing the curtains on his debut.
Once racing resumed, Hamilton and Mercedes made their move on Lap 13 as they boxed the Brit for the hard tyre. As Verstappen completed four more laps before pitting himself, Hamilton was catching up and after both had changed tyres, the Mercedes was in the lead by a strong seven seconds. The undercut has proven to be powerful in the past, and this certainly adds evidence to that. Verstappen quickly closed the gap however and after only 16 laps on the hard tyre, Hamilton came into the pits for a fresh set. The pole-sitter only pitted on Lap 39, leaving him with much fresher tyres and an 8.5 second gap to chase down to a leading Hamilton. On Lap 53 the two battled it out, as Verstappen made a move on the outside at Turn 4, only to run wide off the track, and gift the place back to Lewis on the rundown to Turn 11. The Red Bull appeared to lose grip stuck behind the Mercedes, and Lewis was able to hold Max off to claim his 96th win and break another Michael Schumacher record: leading 5126 laps by the chequered flag.
Notable moments from previous races…
In 2006, there was a clash between champions: Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. Alonso had won the championship the year prior, and Michael Schumacher was planning to retire.
The race was the first to take place under new qualifying rules, where the session was split into three knockout stages like we see today. Schumacher claimed pole position with his teammate Felipe Massa alongside him. On the first lap however, Alonso moved up into second place and set himself to work, chasing down Schumacher. Massa had spun early in the lap and Alonso narrowly avoided losing positions instead of gaining one.
During the second round of pit stops, Alonso opted to stay out longer than Schumacher and this was effective as he emerged out of the pit lane side by side with Schumacher. Entering the first corner they were wheel to wheel, but Alonso was able to pull out in front of the Ferrari driver. Despite coming under pressure from Michael towards the end, the 2005 champion earnt the victory.
Bahrain, 2006, was also the first outing for several debutants. Scott Speed, Yuji Ide and most notably Nico Rosberg were in the seat for Toro Rosso- Cosworth, Super Aguri-Honda, and Williams Cosworth respectively. Rosberg put in an impressive performance to finish P7, whilst also taking a record previously held by the champion Alonso: the youngest driver to set a fastest lap. He was 20 years old at the time. This record is now held by Max Verstappen, who set his first fastest lap at age 19 and 44 days old.
A slightly different debut came for George Russell in 2020 when he made a temporary step into a seat at Mercedes for the Sakhir Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton, having tested positive for COVID-19, missed the race, handing his car to the Williams driver. Jack Aitken made his own Formula One debut for Williams. Russell looked strong throughout the weekend, topping FP1 and FP2, but it was teammate Valtteri Bottas who claimed pole position ahead of his temporary teammate. Verstappen qualified third, Leclerc in fourth and Perez in fifth. This didn’t last for long as after the lights went out, Russell snatched the lead from Bottas at Turn 1, much to the Finn’s dismay.
Behind, a scrap for third place ended painfully for Leclerc and Verstappen as Leclerc braking too late caused a collision with Perez, who subsequently ran Verstappen off the track and into the barrier. Perez was the only driver who could continue, and after pitting for fresh tyres, he rejoined at the back of the pack.
Towards the end of the race, Russell was on track for a maiden win until a disastrous pit stop ruined his chances. Confusion over the radio meant Russell exited the pit lane illegally with Bottas’ tyres, and Mercedes realised their mistake when Bottas boxed not long after Russell. George was forced to pit again so the team could correct their error and avoid a penalty. Russell sank to P5 with Bottas just ahead. Perez found himself leading the race in his Racing Point, but swiftly came under threat by George Russell, who was on much fresher tyres. Russell had managed to overtake Bottas, Stroll and Ocon to get back into the podium positions. Unfortunately things would only get worse for the Brit. A tyre puncture forced him back into the pits and pushed him down the order to P14, but a gritty fight back saw him earn his first ever championship points, and fastest lap of the race on his fresh tyres. Perez, after a wait of 190 races, took his maiden win, and Ocon earned his first F1 podium.
There was an emotional aftermath after the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, with calls for Bottas to be replaced with Russell after their contrasting performances. Perez’s win was also a factor in his move to Red Bull for 2021.
When to watch…
Formula 1:
(FRIDAY) Formula 1 will return properly with an hour of FP1, 15:00 - 16:00 local time.
(FRIDAY) FP2 will follow a little later at 18:00 - 19:00 local time.
(SATURDAY) FP3 could provide more answers concerning the grid order and will take place after a Formula 3 race at 15:00 - 16:00 local time.
(SATURDAY) Qualifying will set the grid for Sunday and give us a true taste of what to expect in the upcoming season at 18:00 - 19:00 local time.
(SUNDAY) Our first race of the season and first lights out is at 18:00 local time.
Formula 2:
(FRIDAY) F2 starts free practice at 12:35 - 13:20 local time.
(FRIDAY) Qualifying is then at 19:25 - 19:55 local time.
(SATURDAY) The F2 sprint race returns at 19:40 - 20:25 local time.
(SUNDAY) F2 end the first weekend of their championship with the feature race at 13:40 - 14:40 local time.
Formula 3:
(FRIDAY) The first bit of track action at the weekend kicks off with free practice at 11:25 - 12:10 local time.
(FRIDAY) Qualifying follows at 16:25 - 16:55 local time.
(SATURDAY) F3’s first race of the year commences with the sprint at 13:05 - 13:45 local time.
(SUNDAY) The feature race wraps up the Formula 3 weekend at 12:00 - 12:45 local time.
(All times collected and calculated from the official Formula 1 website)
(Information for this post uses previous race data collected from the internet and official sources. No copyright intended)
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