F1 update

The first 2 rounds of the new Formula 1 season have been completed and it has seen 2 different winners from the first 2 races of the season.

The first race of the year was the Bahrain Grand Prix which saw Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc lead team mate Carlos Sainz for the first Ferrari 1-2 since Singapore 2019 with Leclerc scoring Ferrari’s first win since Singapore 2019. Mercedes filled the next places (3rd and 4th) with Sir Lewis Hamilton finishing ahead of team mate George Russell, whilst Kevin Magnussen on his return race for Haas finished 5th.

Bahrain GP top 5:

• 1st: Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
• 2nd: Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
• 3rd: Sir Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
• 4th: George Russell – Mercedes
• 5th Kevin Magnussen – Haas

Bahrain GP highlights and news:

• Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly retired with an engine failure on lap 46 which in turn caused the deployment of the safety car.
• Both Red Bull’s of reigining champion Max Verstappen and team mate Sergio Perez both retired with mechnical problems.
• Alfa Romeo’s rookie driver Guanyu Zhou became the first Chinese driver to start and F1 race and to score points by finishing 10th.
• 4 time world champion Sebastian Vettel tested positive for Covid and was replaced by Nico Hulkenburg at Aston Martin Racing.

The second race of the year was the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and after finishing second in last years race, Red Bull’s reigining champion Max Verstappen took victory after passing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with 4 laps to go, Leclerc would go on to finish 2nd with his team mate Carlos Sainz 3rd. After starting from pole for the very first time Red Bull’s Sergio Perez would finish 4th with George Russell 5th for Mercedes.

Saudia Arabian GP top 5:

• 1st: Max Verstappen – Red Bull
• 2nd: Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
• 3rd: Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
• 4th: Sergio Perez – Red Bull
• 5th: George Russell – Mercedes

Saudi Arabian GP highlights and news:

On his 216th start Red Bull’s Sergio Perez took his maiden pole position.

• Haas’s Mick Schumacher suffered a 170 mph crash during qualifying rulling him out of the race.
• Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda suffered a mechincal failure on the reconnaissance lap to the grid which meant he was out of the race before it began.
• William’s Nicholas Latifi crashed out on lap 13 which caused the deployment of the safety car.
• There were also mechanical failures for Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas within seconds of each other.
• 4 time world champion Sebastian Vettel still tested positive for Covid so for second race running Nico Hulkenburg deputised at Aston Martin Racing.
• Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou was first handed a 5 second time penalty for going off track and gaining advantage, but he didn’t serve the penalty and was therefore handed a drive through penalty instead.
• William’s Alex Albon retired with 3 laps to go, but will serve a 3 place grid penalty for the Australia Grand Prix after he was found to cause the collision with Aston Martin Racing’s Lance Stroll.

Other news:

• A new race in Las Vegas will join the Formula 1 calendar in 2023 which will be a night race as well.

• Round 3 of the 2022 Formula 1 season will take in Melbourne, Australia round the Albert Park circuit on the weekend of 8th – 10th April which will also see the return of 4 time world champion Sebastian Vettel.