Charles Leclerc throws up his arms after winning the 2022 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix

2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

Sunday, March 20, 2022
Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix
F1 World Championship

Charles Leclerc led team-mate Carlos Sainz to victory at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix, stoking Ferrari's F1 championship hopes, as both Red Bull cars dropped out late in the race

Lewis Hamilton’s biggest championship advantage over Max Verstappen during 2021 was 14 points after the opening four races. He already leads the defending champion by a greater margin this year, and he didn’t even win the race.

In fact, it was a race Hamilton never was in contention for, but Verstappen also faced a tough task to win as he fought thrillingly with Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari that has well and truly returned to the sharp end.

Leclerc was already a happy driver after taking pole position on Saturday as it confirmed Ferrari’s pre-season testing pace, but Verstappen was the more confident when it came to race potential after the way his car had handled in pre-season. So it appeared crucial that Leclerc kept the lead on the opening lap, and he duly did so as both Lewis Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen made strong starts to move ahead of Sergio Perez into fourth and fifth respectively.

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