Bahrain Grand Prix 2022: Pierre Gasly tops FP1 – After a wait of roughly three months, the Formula 1 season commences in full swing as the new F1 2022 season brought out quite a few surprises. From new rules and new car changes, we saw it all in the Free Practice 1 (FP1) as Pierre Gasly of Alpha Tauri set the quickest time of 1m34.193s while title contenders Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and seventh respectively. Follow Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 Live and Formula 1 updates on InsideSport.IN
Mercedes did manage to minimize their porpoising effect but proper Mercedes pace through the straights which has been the trademark of Mercedes over the years has been missing. New Addition George Russell ended the session on the fourth spot while Lewis Hamilton finished at a mere seventh place.
Bahrain Grand Prix 2022: Lewis Hamiton and Max Verstappen have work on their hand, as Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly tops charts in Free Practice 1
FP1 REPORT: Pierre Gasly and the Ferrari duo lead the way in the first session of 2022#BahrainGP #F1 https://t.co/omt7lJ23Vq
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 18, 2022
It was quite a moderately well session for Red Bull as defending champion Max Verstappen finished on the fifth spot with medium compound tyres. Max’s partner Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez however was a let down as the experienced driver finished tenth fastest overall.
Ferrari was the most comfortable constructor with both their drivers’ Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished second and third on medium compound tyres contrary to Gasly’s fastest time in soft compound tyres.
Bahrain Grand Prix 2022: Lewis Hamiton and Max Verstappen have work on their hand, as Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly tops charts in Free Practice 1
With a couple of minutes after the start of the race, there was a long pause as the session was red-flagged after a substantial portion of the right sidepod of Esteban Ocon flung out from the car. From misfortunes, we saw Valtteri Bottas failing to set time on the board. On his first installation lap he complained of misfiring and returned to his pit.
After a long haul of 50 minutes when he came back on the track, he experienced similar problems and had to retire to the garage. Daniel Ricciardo who returned on the track after missing the Bahrain Pre-season testing was only 17th fastest.
The Free Practice 2 would be the one to look out for. With track temperatures dropping and matching the qualifications and race conditions, we would be expecting to see quite a few changes in the settings of these cars. Each team would try out their qualifying pace in the upcoming session and compare where they stand in comparison to others.
Bahrain Grand Prix 2022: Lewis Hamiton and Max Verstappen have work on their hand, as Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly tops charts in Free Practice 1
