The first big prize was won by Ferrari. The winner, Leclerc, second Sainz – Ferrari dominated the first grand prize. The winner is Leclerc, second Sainz

Charles Leclerc from Monaco triumphed at the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first race of the F1 series in the 2022 season. The double Ferrari was completed by the Spanish Spaniard Carlos Sainz. Lewis Hamilton finished third on Mercedes.

The reigning world champion Max Verstappen headed to the podium at the Red Bull, but in the 55th round he was betrayed by a monopost, which gradually lost power and the Dutchman did not finish the race. His teammate Sergio Pérez, who was eliminated in the last 57th round, had the same fate.

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For 24-year-old Leclerc, it was the 3rd victory in his career and the 14th podium. There are 22 races in the F1 calendar for the 2022 season. The following are scheduled for next weekend, with the Saudi Grand Prix starting on Sunday at 7pm CET.

The four-time world champion German Sebastian Vettel did not start the first races of the season, who was replaced in the Aston Martin by a compatriot and former driver of the team Nico Hülkenberg.

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Leclerc did not underestimate the start after the 10th pole position in his career and stayed ahead of Verstappen. Fifth Hamilton already improved his position in the opening meters when he overtook Pérez.

Brit was the first to overtake and had problems in an effort to warm up the tires, after which he was overtaken by the Chinese F1 debut Kuan-jüm in the 13th round. From the 16th round, Leclerc’s duel with Verstappen attracted attention, in which they both performed several impressive overtaking maneuvers.

Continuously, the second Verstappen changed the tires up to three times, his shortfall on Leclerca increased to almost half a minute. In the 46th lap, the race received a new plot when Gasly put down a monopost that started burning.

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A safety car arrived on the track, whose presence Leclerc used for the third crossing. Although Verstappen, thanks to the neutralization of the starting field, pulled the shortfall to Leclerc, but after the restart he had to face the attacks of the third Sainz.

This effort came out in the 54th round, when he waited for a chance and in one of the corners he overtook Verstappen, whose monopost subsequently lost power. Shortly after that, the race ended for him and his teammate Pérez immediately got into similar problems.

This was attacked by the fourth Hamilton, who easily came to third place in the end, as Pérez’s engine turned off in a right-hand turn and also ended prematurely.