Sunday in Bahrain | Ferrari is back, disaster weekend for Red Bull

The 2022 Formula 1 season kicked off with a blistering race at the Bahrain International Circuit. That race could not have turned out better for Ferrari, who opened the season with a double victory. For Red Bull Racing, on the other hand, it turned out to be a disaster of a weekend.

Disaster weekend for Red Bull

For Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, the Bahrain Grand Prix was one to forget quickly. Both drivers were hit by engine problems in the final phase of the race, which most likely stemmed from a problem with the fuel supply.

Strong start of Verstappen to no avail

It seemed like it all weekend, but not long after the start it was confirmed: the battle for victory would be between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. Verstappen got away clearly better at the start, but saw the Ferrari accelerate faster, allowing Leclerc to keep him behind.

Meanwhile, Kevin Magnussen had an insane start: the Haas driver came from seventh on the grid to P5. There he met Lewis Hamilton, who also made a strong start and managed to win a place.

It soon became clear that Leclerc with his Ferrari-F1-75 was the man to beat at the Bahrain International Circuit. After the first lap he was already outside DRS distance of Verstappen, who could do no more than put his rival under as much pressure as possible.

Blistering battle between Verstappen and Leclerc

At the pitstops it became clear that Red Bull Racing was anything but hopeless for the win. By performing an undercut with Verstappen, the Dutchman made up the gap to Leclerc, who returned to the track just ahead of Verstappen after his own pit stop.

What followed was a sensational battle for the leading position, with Verstappen overtaking the Ferrari driver several times, but then losing the first place again in a counterattack by the Monegasque. When Verstappen braked, the battle was over for that moment.

Disastrous Final Phase for Red Bull

In the closing stages of the race, Verstappen came in for the third time, changing to the soft tyre. There was not much time to wait for a possible answer from Ferrari, because not long after Pierre Gasly's AlphaTauri appeared to be on fire along the track. A safety car followed, of which Ferrari could make good use by calling Leclerc in.

At the restart Verstappen was mainly busy fending off the attacks of Carlos Sainz, who was frantically trying to take second place from his former teammate. Initially, this did not succeed, but three laps before the end Verstappen reported on the board radio with problems: he suddenly lost power and was forced to drive the car back to the pits.

Not long after, Perez, who also reported a loss of power on the board radio, also retired. Despite this he managed to keep Lewis Hamilton behind him for a while, but his hopes for a podium place evaporated when he spun in the last lap. That spin turned out to have the same cause as Verstappen's technical problems.

For Ferrari, Red Bull Racing's drama meant a dream result: the team booked its first double victory in a long time. After two difficult seasons, the Italian Scuderia is back on track.