Grand Prix 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

F1 is back!

After the excitement and controversy of 2021, the 2022 season gets underway at the Bahrain International Circuit this weekend. We have a "traditional" practice and qualifying, so no sprint race, with both qualifying and the race at 3.00 pm UK time. A late evening start in Bahrain which will run on in to the night.

What has testing (and the not testing session) told us? Personally, I have no idea which cars are fast or slow. I expect we will see the usual suspects at the front come qualie and the race, but this new formula has thrown up some very interesting aero developments, with each team pursuing quite different routes to try and make their car the fastest.

There are some new drivers, some team changes, and, totally unexpectedly, the return of Kevin Magnusson at Haas.

Will 2022 be another Hamilton/Verstappen battle for the Championship, or will we see George Russell, and the drivers at Ferrari and McLaren getting involved? I have my doubts that any of the other teams will be pushing for race wins, but I do anticipate the mid-field will be closer and more competitive. Don't be surprised if one team drops in a major change at some point in the season and leapfrogs up the grid as they get to grips with the new design rules.

It promises to be an exciting season. Hopefully the changes the FIA have made to the stewarding and race control personnel will help overcome some of the rather unpleasant "lobbying" we saw from many of the team in 2021. We certainly don't need any more moments of interpretation of the rule book from the officials at any of the races, either at the beginning or end of the season.

FP1 starts at midday on 18th, enjoy.

 

[Dartman]

Unless RB and its associated company are playing about with the fuel pumps there would have been failures on other cars, still reckon on hydraulic failure, Christian would doing his nut if it was a supplied part failure, unless they have been doing a bit of modifying

 

[Brogan]

Unless RB and its associated company are playing about with the fuel pumps there would have been failures on other cars

Not necessarily true.

It depends how it is implemented into the overall system.

Only the blue items are spec.

The part has been under scrutiny this weekend.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Finally caught up with the race.

Thank god I'm wearing a tight T-Shirt otherwise I fear my sides would have split.

There is only one emoji for the occasion:



Great drive from Leclerc. Huge tip of the hat to Magnusson and Zhou for great drives.

But McLaren, oh dear, oh dear oh dear.

Red Bull how sad, never mind.

 

[P1]

I'm wondering if there is something wrong with the Mercedes power unit. Specifically if it is the weakest of all. I mean except for Red Bull, the lowest finishing cars are generally Mercedes powered. Hamilton was saying they lack top-line speed compared with Red Bull and Ferrari. Not sure the speed issue is aero.

 

[Speshal]

There is only one emoji for the occasion:



Great drive from Leclerc.

Red Bull how sad, never mind.

What he said ^^^^

Also, how do you spell schadenfreude?

 

[Il_leone]

I'm wondering if there is something wrong with the Mercedes power unit. Specifically if it is the weakest of all. I mean except for Red Bull, the lowest finishing cars are generally Mercedes powered. Hamilton was saying they lack top-line speed compared with Red Bull and Ferrari. Not sure the speed issue is aero.

I think it's aero seeing Mclaren were so slow

I think the track conditions seems to impact the performance of the Merc and Mclaren more

 

[Il_leone]

The cheers when the Red Bulls went out were unbelievable - I think that Red Bull are quite unpopular at the moment!

The Dutch fans are all quiet

 

[F1Brits_90]

ah the highest & lows of F1

is horner going to protest about the unlapping of cars under the safety car. everyone knows that you only unlap the middle 5

 

[Jimbob]

....

I think the track conditions seems to impact the performance of the Merc and Mclaren more

The number of Mercedes powered cars which performed poorly surely suggests power unit rather than aero?

 

[sobriety]

It'd be interesting to know if any of the teams are running the optional backup pump.

 

[cider_and_toast]

I'm wondering if there is something wrong with the Mercedes power unit. Specifically if it is the weakest of all. I mean except for Red Bull, the lowest finishing cars are generally Mercedes powered. Hamilton was saying they lack top-line speed compared with Red Bull and Ferrari. Not sure the speed issue is aero.

It's possible that it's not as quick as the other units but as well as that perhaps it's more to do with the way the engine is packaged. I know Aston, McLaren and Mercedes have all been running extra ride height due to the aero induced bouncers.

 

[F1Brits_90]

i thought it was an average race until them last 10 laps. i think racing is better & we have to take 2021 out of the equation because we were spolit rotten last season, it was highly likely the greatest season of televised F1 there has been.but the cars can follow & it was far better than we had in 2014 - 2020. i really enjoyed the battle on lap 18/19/20

on the race, leclerc picking up where he left off in 2019, by leading brilliantly & looking like he's always been there. i thought despite everything i thought both mercedes drove well lewis did what he had to. get the best result he can which was qualify 5th & be 5th. then take advantage if others misfortune. if it happens. even russell recovered straight away from 9th - 7th off the grid, then despatched magnussen quickly (bottas wouldve likely stay behind him until the end of 1st stint) & stayed 6th until he was kept out too long lost 3 secs a lap. only 5 seconds from hamilton, which is quite a decent mercedes "debut"

brilliant for Haas, 5th what a result, just looking since we came back from 2019 summer break Haas in 49 races scored 5 points Magnussen just scored 10. then finally McLaren what has happened, even Riccardio doesnt know said in a interview that they were pleased leaving Barcelona thinking they had good car. but that was a very painful afternoon for mclaren it was painful for me just to see how they struggled to make any progress. that maybe even worse than the GP2 engine days

 

[P1]

Magnussen is going to show us something I have always believed - which is that Mick Schumacher is not very good.

I think this season could be amazing. 2 closely matched Ferrari drivers, Red Bull in the mix, ability to have close racing. And Mercedes becoming a factor through the season. The only thing I don't like about this season is Verstappen having a shot at a championship. I'd rather that guy disappear in guantanamo. I get PTSD every time I see his face. It was a huge relief to see he didn't make the Podium.

 

[P1]

It's possible that it's not as quick as the other units but as well as that perhaps it's more to do with the way the engine is packaged. I know Aston, McLaren and Mercedes have all been running extra ride height due to the aero induced bouncers.

Could be both. Here is what Hamilton said:

“The thing is with our car, we have a car that’s bouncing a lot everywhere,” said Hamilton. “It’s not just in a straight line. We have very poor rear end through all the low-speed corners and all the medium-speed corners.

“The only place that is generally quite good is, relatively, in the high [speed corners] and then we are very slow in the straight line. So, I don’t know if it’s drag or if it’s power, we haven’t figured that out yet.

“The others, we cannot keep up with them, even with the DRS. We do have a lot of work, and what that means is that you are just sliding a lot on the rear, and the tyres just get hotter and hotter and they degrade. So that’s where we’ve got a lot of [performance] to try and catch up on.”

 

[Il_leone]

Magnussen is going to show us something I have always believed - which is that Mick Schumacher is not very good.

I think this season could be amazing. 2 closely matched Ferrari drivers, Red Bull in the mix, ability to have close racing. And Mercedes becoming a factor through the season. The only thing I don't like about this season is Verstappen having a shot at a championship. I'd rather that guy disappear in guantanamo. I get PTSD every time I see his face. It was a huge relief to see he didn't make the Podium.

If KMag can prove this 2nd chance he has then he may still funnily end up.back at Mclaren. Schumacher to Ferrari hype will die down finally

The roar that Red Bulls went out and the excuses they are coming out with is laughable post race

 

[Il_leone]

Could be both. Here is what Hamilton said:

To reduce the bouncing they are carrying more drag but that slows them on the straight.for Merc. Mclaren have other problems namely the brakes.

Maybe the track and desert conditions seem to impact Mercs power more

At Jeddah coming Mercedes should be closer due to the high speed nature of the track

 

[vintly]

Fairly uneventful race until the end, but good to see some overtaking at the front after the pit stops, bodes well for the season. Downer for me obvs to see the RBS go out but very gracious of them to provide a healthy points start to their rivals, not to mention fodder for the rabid mob of RB haters out there, and in here. Great to see Ferrari on song, that is huge. I never expected them to suddenly come good like this. Haas too although they need a few good races in a row to consolidate. A tentatively good start to the season for F1.

 

[The Artist.....]

To reduce the bouncing they are carrying more drag but that slows them on the straight.for Merc. Mclaren have other problems namely the brakes.

Maybe the track and desert conditions seem to impact Mercs power more

At Jeddah coming Mercedes should be closer due to the high speed nature of the track

That would be my suspicion... McLaren might actually be in a better position come Melbourne as well - given that the brake issues are temperature related, and Melbourne is a step cooler than Bahrain (and Saudi) - so they may be able to run their original brake shrouds...

However, I'd expect the real step forward for McLaren at San Marino. (Sorry, I know that it's the Emilia Romagna GP, but any GP around Imola is, in my mind, the San Marino GP)...

 

[F1Brits_90]

Magnussen is going to show us something I have always believed - which is that Mick Schumacher is not very good.

im hit & miss on him because in the 1st season of F2 i wasnt sure on him because we have all these great drivers who won F3 & F2 consecutively. thought he was overrated as Schumacher came 13th in championship. but then he won the title very well & did quite well in very tough circumstances last season

 

[RasputinLives]

Well I actually sat and watched this one so must have been good. Well done to LeClerc because that was a very cool drive under a lot of pressure.

I do have to say though (old man rant) that whilst they were really trying to push how big the rule changes were on us in the race build up (the biggest since the last biggest. Something to tell your grandchildren apparently) it all seemed a very familiar situation to me. Adrian Newy has built a really fast car that breaks easily, Mclaren have come out of a big rule change unprepared and already talking about the huge development steps they are going to take - and the best driver on the grid has a crap car which he is somehow sneaking to a podium.

All seems very familiar. I like it but it familiar