Key Takeaways from first two Practice sessions at Bahrain GP

Key Takeaways from first two Practice sessions at Bahrain GP

Max Verstappen at FP2 in Bahrain

The 2022 season of F1 has officially commenced today with the start of the first race weekend of the season at Bahrain. The Bahrain Grand Prix is being conducted in the Bahrain International Circuit in the heart of the vast Sakhir desert. The first two practice races of the Bahrain has concluded with results that have already excited fans for the rest of the 2022 campaign of F1.

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly topped the timesheet today in the opening practice session today with a fastest lap timing of 1m 34.193s. He was 0.364s faster than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who secured P2 in FP1. The Monégasque racing driver was followed by teammate Carlos Sainz with Mercedes’ newly recruited driver George Russell close behind at P4. 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was far behind his teammate Russell today at P7 in FP1.

Takeaways from the two practice sessions at Bahrain

Pierre Gasly at FP1 in Bahrain
Pierre Gasly at FP1 in Bahrain

Italian-based racing team Ferrari who have been a clear favourite this season continue to impress as the Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz lock P2 and P3 in both the practice sessions in Bahrain. Their F1-75 has shown spectacular pace and seems to be far ahead from the common issue of porpoising felt majorly by last 8 consecutive constructors’ championship winner Mercedes.

Recently crowned world champion Max Verstappen set the quickest lap in FP2 with a timing of 1m31.936s while going on soft tyres. Newly recruited Mercedes driver George Russell seems to be dealing with the issue of porpoising a lot better than teammate Hamilton by securing P4 in both the practice sessions. Alfa Romeo continued to highlight their reliability issues in FP1 with their C42 as Valtteri Bottas managed to complete only two laps. Haas seems to be having a fantastic time with both drivers Mick Schumacher and recent F1 returnee Kevin Magnussen securing spots in top 10 in FP2.

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon brought out the first red flag in FP1 due to a dramatic issue of the A522’s right-hand side bodywork flying off in the main straight in the Bahrain International Circuit. There is still no proper conclusion from the French-based racing team as to what caused the incident, but they have to get it fixed as soon as possible in order to attain positive results on Sunday in the main race.

Also Read: 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix Free Practice-2 Results: Max Verstappen tops the session, Ferrari continues its domination in top 3