The 2022 Formula One season was off to a flier on Saturday under the night-sky of Bahrain; Charles Leclerc pipped defending champion, Max Verstappen, to secure his first pole position since Baku 2021. What’s more, his Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, too, managed to tag along, grabbing onto P3 ahead of the other Red Bull driver, Sergio Perez.

On the other side of the headlines stood Lewis Hamilton and his ever-dominant outfit, Mercedes AMG Petronas. After having dominated their way through the hybrid era, the 2022 season seems to have put an end to it as the highest they could secure was a P5.

While the seven-time world champion had to consider the top-5 start his best possible result on Saturday, his new teammate, George Russell, endured a horror qualifying show, securing P9. Hence, now, with the grid absolutely scrambled from P1 to P20, the end result could go in any direction.

Ferrari looking to end their poor run of form

Of course, two pole positions and a top 2 start in 2021 for Ferrari along with several podium finishes. However, that didn’t suffice the team even a bit, as the Reds continued to aim for the highest possible results. In fact, Sainz ended the 2021 season on a high note by claiming the final spot on the podium in Abu Dhabi. And yet, the frown was quite visible on the faces of the entire Ferrari crew.

But, now, the time has come for Ferrari to rekindle their dominance from the pre-hybrid era. There are some incredible dry runs and records that the Scuderia are on the verge of breaking this weekend. One is the 1-2 finish; The last time Ferrari had both their cars in the top 2 was back in 2019 at the Singapore GP.

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45 races later, they are finally in a similar position and could end this in Bahrain tonight. The other record being exclusively dedicated to Sainz. If he does win the race, he will become only the second Spanish driver since Fernando Alonso to win a Grand Prix.

Furthermore, the Spanish national anthem would engulf the podium for the first time since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix where Alonso won his last F1 race.

Predictions for the Bahrain GP?

Mercedes were wary of their pace since the start of pre-season testing in Barcelona and nobody cared much. However, now that we’ve managed to see it ourselves on Saturday, there is no denying that Hamilton and Russell will have a hard time fending off threats from Alfa Romeo, Haas, and Alpine.

For the first time since 2014, the Silver Arrows will be hoping to finish in the top 10 rather than the top 3. This also increases the chances of Hamilton engaging in battles with his former teammate, Valtteri Bottas. Hence, an interesting battle for P5 is on cards between the four teams, and who knows, maybe, Alfa Romeo could even take on Red Bull in the race.

Similarly, out-of-position Mick Schumacher will look to gain places in the fierce-looking Haas. Unfortunately, though, McLaren, who were contending for the top 3 in the constructor’s championship may well have to settle for a zero-point haul in Bahrain today considering their awry pace all weekend.

The same applies to the other Mercedes-powered team, Aston Martin; Both Lance Stroll and super-sub, Nico Hulkenberg have got themselves stranded in the bottom-five. Hence, only a drama-induced evening could save the two historic outfits from enduring a pitiful start to 2022.

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