Charles Leclerc

Ferrari's Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were first and second in the season-opener, with Lewis Hamilton third after the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Pérez had to ...

The fight remained close to the final stages as the teams searched for an edge through the stops. After the first stops the pair went nose to tail and Verstappen flung himself up the inside with DRS on the straight. For Ferrari, their car is, on the form of this opening weekend, one of the best they have produced since they last won the drivers’ title with Kimi Räikkönen in 2007. “This is the best result we could have got, we did the best we could and are grateful for these points,” he said. Verstappen’s duel with Leclerc had been an enthralling, joyous affair but his car’s demise was a moment of bitter disappointment for driver and team, when he retired having lost power with three laps to go. Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez both retired at the very death, allowing Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to capitalise with an unlikely place on the podium.

The final lap of Charles Leclerc's dominant 2022 Formula 1 season-opening win at Bahrain International Circuit wasn't without a "scare".

So on the final lap of Sunday’s race, just moments after the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Sergio Perez had been forced to retire with mechanical issues themselves, the 24-year-old Monesgasque thought it would be funny to play a little joke on his team and give them a little “scare”, reminiscent of the reality that was the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix. During pit stops, Sainz led the only two laps not led by Leclerc. The win was also Ferrari’s first victory since 2019.

Charles Leclerc claimed a brilliant victory at the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix, with team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr a superb second.

Starting the season with a 1-2 is the perfect reward for the tireless work they have done over the last two years and congrats to Charles on a solid win. Despite all of this, Sainz Jr made it a 1-2 for the Prancing Horses for the first-time since the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix. Whenever I had a bit of margin behind me, I felt in control of the race and was managing the gap well. I knew I had to do the best restart possible and I am glad I got the job done well. This gap disintegrated however when a late Safety Car was brought out due to a fiery Scuderia AlphaTauri. Pierre Gasly grinded to a halt on the exit of Turn 3, with his AT03 quickly going up in flames. Leclerc held on beautifully though and got back into complete control of the race, opening up a reasonable gap in the process.

Ferrari clinched a 1-2 finish with Charles Leclerc winning the race, almost six seconds ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. Lewis Hamilton, who lost the title so ...

“It looked like a fuel pump issue, there was no fuel coming to the engine. Then, after the race had restarted with a safety car, Verstappen became increasingly panicky on race radio as he struggled with steering. It was quickly put out and the Frenchman walked away unharmed.

It's the first win for Ferrari since 2019 as Lewis Hamilton stole third place on the final lap.

Ferrari had not won a race in two years. In just one offseason, they're the championship favorite once again.

DRS gave him a massive advantage, sure, but he was able to lunge past for the lead twice and miss out on the lead on a third move. Verstappen, who told Road & Track last season that the previous generation of cars could not stay close to one another on track without DRS help while within a second and a half, was able to hang in the direct wake of Leclerc for entire laps. In the biggest surprise of the race weekend, the returning Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top five for Haas. That finish was enough to earn more points in one race than the Haas team had scored over the past two full seasons. That promoted teammate Sergio Perez to third, but Lewis Hamilton had been close behind Perez the entire restart and quickly got to pressuring the second Red Bull. Perez, reporting mechanical issues of his own, would go on to spin in turn 1 on the final lap and fall out of the points entirely. The team has retooled significantly since, moving on from marquee signing Sebastian Vettel and building an entirely new competition structure with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. entering this season as equals at a historic team that has for so long been run with one clear lead driver. That means Lewis Hamilton, who started fifth in what has proven to be a much slower Mercedes than what he had been used to in the past eight seasons, finished the podium.

SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Formula One champion Max Verstappen's title defense turned into a nightmare when the Red Bull star retired near the end of the ...

It was quickly put out and the Frenchman walked away unharmed. Leclerc was leading comfortably from Verstappen when the back of Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri car caught fire forcing him to park it on the side of the track. SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Formula One champion Max Verstappen’s title defense turned into a nightmare when the Red Bull star retired near the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, allowing Ferrari to clinch a 1-2 finish with Charles Leclerc winning ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz Jr.

Ferrari recorded a one-two while Lewis Hamilton brought his Mercedes home in third.

Up front, Leclerc and Verstappen were embroiled in a battel royale. Hamilton pulled in for fresh rubber two laps later, taking on the hardest tyres. Leclerc blasted away from his marks to keep Verstappen at bay into the opening corner, with Hamilton moving up one spot from fifth as he passed Perez through the second corner.