Leclerc heads Ferrari 1-2 as Verstappen retires in Bahrain GP
Polesitter Leclerc twice had to overtake Verstappen in a thrilling duel for the lead during the opening stint of the race as the pair swapped positions several times.
Verstappen hit engine trouble following a late Safety Car period and was passed by Carlos Sainz into Turn 11, before the Dutchman peeled into the pits and into retirement three laps from the end.
It was a nightmare conclusion to the opening race of the new season for Red Bull as both of its cars failed to finish, with Sergio Perez dropping out of third on the final lap with a bizarre spin into the first corner.
Red Bull’s late trouble enabled Lewis Hamilton to score an unlikely third place to complete the podium, ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell.
Mercedes had struggled to keep up with the superior pace of its main rivals and at one stage looked destined for a best result of fifth and sixth until the late drama unfolded.
After a dominant performance that was capped off with the fastest lap bonus point, Leclerc now finds himself leading the world championship for the first time in his career with Ferrari enjoying the perfect start to 2022.
It marks Ferrari's first victory since 2019 and it is also the first time that the Italian outfit has taken a 1-2 finish at a season opener since the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Kevin Magnussen took a brilliant fifth place for Haas on his return to F1, while Valtteri Bottas recovered from an awful first lap to finish where he started with sixth on his Alfa Romeo debut.
Despite picking up a five-second time penalty for spinning Mick Schumacher around on the first lap, Esteban Ocon took seventh place, ahead of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso who was ninth.
Guanyu Zhou rose from 15th to claim a point on his F1 debut as the sport’s first-ever Chinese driver rounded out the top 10 to ensure a double points haul for Alfa Romeo.
It was a woeful start to F1's new era for Mercedes' customer teams, particularly McLaren, as Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris finished a lowly 14th and 15th, ahead of only Nicholas Latifi's Williams and Aston Martin stand-in Nico Hulkenberg.
Pierre Gasly joined the two Red Bulls on the sidelines after his AlphaTauri caught fire and stopped on track, causing the late Safety Car period.
Full results from the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix.
