Charles Leclerc’s stunning lap in qualifying put Ferrari on pole position for the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was the fastest in Q3 on Saturday. The Monegasque will now start the Bahrain Grand Prix on pole position tomorrow, ahead of reigning world champion Max Verstappen.
The highly-anticipated first qualifying session of the season didn’t disappoint. It was Ferrari vs Red Bull for pole position under the lights at the Bahrain international circuit.
Verstappen initially looked set to take pole position after a 1m 30.757s lap in Q2. However, Leclerc managed to push his Ferrari to the limit in the final segment of qualifying as he set the fastest lap of this year’s qualifying with a 1m 30.558s to snatch the top spot on the timesheet.
Saturday’s pole position was Leclerc’s 10th of his F1 career. He had previously claimed pole position at the Bahrain GP in 2019 but failed to get the win after a gearbox problem. He did finish 3rd that year but will be hoping to keep a hold of that 1st place tomorrow.
However, fans on social media were buzzing after Leclerc’s pole lap this year. ‘Ferrari are back’ was also trending on Twitter.
Fans React to Charles Leclerc taking pole
The Tifosi fans were in full voice after Leclerc’s final qualifying lap on Saturday.
Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz will take third place on the grid with Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez in fourth. Mercedes struggled with pace as Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and George Russell 9th.
Valtteri Bottas grabbed 6th place in his new Alfa Romeo while Kevin Magnussen impressed on his Haas return with P7. Fernando Alonso took P8 with Pierre Gasly making up the top 10 for tomorrow’s line-up.
Here’s the full grid for the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday:
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