Ferrari immediately grabbed a one-two punch with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on Sunday in Bahrain. The Monegasque was then named Driver of the Day, but GPblog readers saw another driver rise above himself in Bahrain.

Alfa Romeo and Magnussen started 2022 strong

Several drivers started the new F1 season well beyond expectations. Guanyu Zhou immediately grabbed a point for Alfa Romeo in his debut race, something that visibly emotionalized him after the Grand Prix. Teammate Valtteri Bottas started the race poorly, but eventually climbed back up to a very solid sixth place. Although the Alfa Romeo drivers' results were good, it was not enough to become GPblog Driver of the Day.

Kevin Magnussen managed to make an immediate impact in his return to racing for Haas F1. After a fantastic qualifying session on Saturday that earned him a seventh starting spot, he improved on this in the race. He crossed the line in fifth place, which means ten points for Haas. The best result since Austria in 2018 for the American team. Magnussen ultimately received 36% of the GPblog votes.

Victory to Leclerc after all

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton scored 8% and 7% of the votes respectively, already significantly less than Magnussen. The score of 36% was not enough for the Dane, because Charles Leclerc received 45% of all votes. The Monegasque had a great fight with Verstappen, whom he mastered. It was ultimately not only enough for victory, but also for GPblog Driver of the Day.