Charles Leclerc says Ferrari could not have hoped for a better start to the season after he led a one-two in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Leclerc claimed maximum points as the Scuderia secured their first victory since the 2019 season.

The Monegasque driver took the chequered flag ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz at the Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday, with Lewis Hamilton finishing third in a miserable start to the campaign for Red Bull.

Defending champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez retired late in the race in Sakhir on a dream day for Leclerc.

"[I am] so happy," he said. "The last two years have been incredibly difficult for the team. We knew it would be a big opportunity for us and the guys have done such an incredible job in building this amazing car.

"Starting in the best way possible; pole position, victory, the fastest lap, one-two with Carlos - we couldn't have hoped for any better.

"I was trying to be as clever as possible, brake early in Turn One and twice, it worked out. I took back my first position, and I am incredibly happy to make it work."

Sainz was also elated to see Ferrari back in business.

"First, congrats Charles and Ferrari," he added. "Ferrari are properly back with a one-two, where the team should be. The hard work is paying off, and we are there.

"For me, it's been a very tricky weekend - I'm not going to lie. I didn’t have the pace today, but I managed to hold it and bring the one-two for the team.

"I have some homework to do over the next few days, and I'm sure I'll come back stronger."

Lewis Hamilton made the podium at the Bahrain Grand Prix only due to a double Red Bull retirement but accepted it was the best result he could have hoped for.

As Mercedes' struggles with their new W13 car continued, Hamilton was never in contention on Sunday, running in fifth for much of the race.

But issues for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in the Red Bulls allowed the seven-time champion to profit behind a Ferrari one-two in third.

Hamilton congratulated victor Charles Leclerc and the Scuderia – "they're such a historic, epic team, so it's great to see them up there," he said – but was also content with his own finish.

"It was such a difficult race," he explained. "We struggled throughout practice. This was really the best result we could have got.

"Obviously it was unfortunate for the other two drivers, but we did the best we could and we're grateful for these points."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff agreed, telling Sky Sports: "You can see how we've managed expectations.

"If we'd come in last year third and fourth, it would have been very frustrating, but this year I think we are punching above our weight class with the Red Bulls DNFing. Third and fourth is a fantastic result."

Mercedes must now turn attention to making their car competitive for the rest of the season, yet Hamilton is staying patient.

"I'm hoping [for upgrades]," Hamilton said. "I know the guys are working really hard back at the factory, but it's not going to be a quick turnaround.

"We all know as a team, we've been the best unified team for so long, we all know to keep our head down, keep working. There's a long, long way to go."

Charles Leclerc protected his pole position to lead a Ferrari one-two at the Bahrain Grand Prix as late Red Bull woe allowed an uncompetitive Lewis Hamilton to make the podium in the 2022 Formula One season opener.

For Leclerc, besides a three-lap battle with Max Verstappen, this was a relatively straightforward victory after making good use of Ferrari's pace again.

But there was chaos behind him in the closing stages, when Verstappen reported an issue with his handling after pitting a third time.

A late safety car had appeared to give the defending champion the chance to challenge Leclerc, but it vitally also attached the rest of the field to his tail, meaning Carlos Sainz was able to capitalise on a mechanical failure.

Sergio Perez could not cling on to third as his Red Bull also ground to a halt on the final lap, remarkably clearing a path for Hamilton.

Daniel Ricciardo qualified in 18th on Saturday as McLaren endured a tough start to the Bahrain Grand Prix, but the Australian vowed to "get on with it".

McLaren were fighting with Ferrari at the front of the Formula One midfield in 2021, yet the first weekend of the new season suggests the Scuderia have left their rivals behind.

Ferrari had Charles Leclerc on pole and Carlos Sainz in the top three, with all teams using their engines performing well in qualifying.

By contrast, Ricciardo failed to make Q2, and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris was little better in 13th.

A challenge in Sunday's race appears highly unlikely, but McLaren will continue to work to get their young campaign back on track as soon as possible.

"The only way we're going to move forward is if we put our eyes forward and get on with it," said Ricciardo, who missed the end of pre-season due to coronavirus. "And I think that's important as well for team morale.

"If we just sit and moan and cry... Of course, in qualifying, I'm not happy with 18th, but there's no good being upset about it and not doing anything.

"It's going to require action and effort from all of us, but I think that should motivate us to do better and want to do better. 

"I know we believe that we can be obviously a lot further up the grid, so it's fuel for the fire. It might be a slow burn for now, but that's all we can do to make things better."

Norris is certainly not expecting sudden improvement on Sunday, while he added a turnaround in time for next week's Saudi Arabian GP is also asking a lot.

"There are still a lot of positives – just sadly more negatives than positives," he said. "It's just about time and working on them. I think now we understand them more than ever; it's simply about putting them into action.

"But it's not an overnight job, it's not something that we're going to turn up [on Sunday] and be amazing, or turn up to Saudi and be amazing.

"It will take time, and [the team] are going to be working hard to try to make those improvements."

Mercedes should not be considered challengers for the Bahrain Grand Prix, so says Charles Leclerc, though reigning world champion Max Verstappen remains wary of their threat.

Ferrari driver Leclerc and Red Bull's Verstappen secured pole and second on the grid respectively for Sunday's Formula One curtain-raiser.

Indeed, Ferrari and Red Bull took all four top spots in Sahkir, where Lewis Hamilton ultimately qualified fifth on Saturday, with his new team-mate George Russell down in ninth.

Mercedes have looked off the pace over practice and Leclerc, who claimed his 10th career pole at the circuit where he clinched his first in 2019, predicted the Silver Arrows will struggle to close the gap.

"I personally, still had the doubt after FP3," Leclerc stated of Mercedes' performance. "It was quite obvious that they were not at ease.

"Considering what happens in the years before, they were hiding their gains quite a lot, This year? Well, actually, they weren't hiding their gains. They were struggling more than other years.

"I still expected them maybe to be fighting for [pole position] with us. Then for the race tomorrow. Considering their pace of today, I don't think so but let's wait and see."

Lewis Hamilton claims Ferrari and Red Bull are "in another league" to Mercedes after the seven-time Formula One world champion qualified in fifth for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who missed out on a record-breaking eighth drivers' championship title last year in controversial circumstances after an absorbing battle with Max Verstappen, has previously cast doubt upon Mercedes' ability to compete in 2022.

The 37-year-old insisted that his team would not be competing for early wins at the end of pre-season testing, and impressive performances from Ferrari and Red Bull has done nothing to change Hamilton's opinion.

Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will begin Sunday's season-opener in Bahrain on the front row, either side of defending champion Max Verstappen.

With Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez fourth-fastest, Hamilton claimed that he did not expect to compete with either Ferrari or Red Bull in Bahrain, saying the two teams are "in another league".

"I'm not saying I'm relieved [with fifth place]," Hamilton told Sky Sports. "[But] I'm generally really happy with the day, given where we've been the last few weeks, [with] the struggles that we've had, the problems that we've had with the car.

"It has been a bit of a nightmare to drive, but we've kept our heads down, kept working away and I'm proud of everyone for staying positive.

"The guys ahead of us are in another league. 

"I'm generally happy where we are, it's not the front row, but we will make improvements and we'll do the best we can tomorrow."

Hamilton, who won last year's Bahrain Grand Prix after starting second on the grid, said his task for Sunday would be to ward off pressure from those behind him, including his former Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who will start his first race for Alfa Romeo in sixth.

"These guys [the Red Bull and Ferrari drivers] will be going ahead," Hamilton added.

"We are not in the fight with them, they were a second ahead of us yesterday. My battle is with the guys behind us.

"Of course, I'll try to be as fast as I can and get ahead, but their performance was quite a bit ahead of us."

Mercedes are looking to win a ninth consecutive constructors title this term, with Red Bull last winning the title back in 2013.

Charles Leclerc warned his Formula One rivals there is more to come from himself and Ferrari after he took pole at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Ferrari have impressed in testing as F1 heads into a new era, with significant changes to the aerodynamics of the cars, a freeze on engine development and alterations to tyres hoped to lead to more competitive racing.

The signs were encouraging, predominantly for those cars using Ferrari power units, across the three sessions of qualifying in Sakhir.

Ferrari's form in testing carried through to Saturday's shoot-out for pole, with Leclerc leaving it late to leapfrog team-mate Carlos Sainz and secure his place at the front of the grid for Sunday's race.

Leclerc's time of 1:30.558 gave him his second pole in Bahrain and the 10th of his career.

Defending world champion Max Verstappen (1:30:681) managed to split the Ferraris, with his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez (1:30:921) behind Sainz (1:30.687) in fourth.

Mercedes may have to temper expectations of again contending for the drivers and constructors' championships, their struggles illustrated by Lewis Hamilton qualifying fifth and new team-mate George Russell coming ninth.

"It feels good. The last two years have been incredibly difficult for the team," Leclerc said afterwards, referencing Ferrari's consistent underachievement in recent years. 

"We were quite hopeful that this new opportunity for us was an opportunity to be back in the front and I think we have worked extremely well as a team to find ourselves again in a position to fight for better places."

"I wasn't completely happy with my driving but managed to do that lap in Q3."

Asked if there is more he and the team can do, Leclerc replied: "Of course there is, also from the driving point it's completely different compared to last year. There's definitely much more to come hopefully from us.

"We were pretty sure that Red Bull was going to be quicker than us in qualifying, a little surprised that wasn't the case.

"I will still stay cautious. The pace is there, but the race is long and we need to stay on it."

Describing his performance, Verstappen said: "I think it was a bit hit and miss. Q2 seemed quite good but Q3 it was more of a struggle to get the balance together.

"We have a good race car, which at the end of the day is the most important.

"Here you want to be good in qualifying of course but you also really want to make sure your car is working for the race, because the tyres are really struggling a lot more there and it's a bit different to some other tracks."

Sainz expressed satisfaction despite missing out on pole.

"I'm quite happy with the progress I've made throughout the weekend," he said. "To be even fighting for the pole position was good news for me.

"Charles has been ahead the whole weekend and he deserves the pole position."

Provisional Classification

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:30.558
2. Mex Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.123s
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.129s
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.363s
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.680s
6. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) +1.002s
7. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +1.250s
8. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1.637s
9. George Russell (Mercedes) +1.658s
10. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +1.780s

Michael Masi acted in "good faith" in how he handled the controversial end of last season's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with "human error" leading to the rules surrounding lapped cars not being applied properly, the FIA has said.

Masi was last month removed as Formula One race director following a "detailed analysis" of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen dramatically beat Lewis Hamilton to the drivers' championship last season.

Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap of the final race, denying his rival a record-breaking eighth title.

However, the Red Bull star was only able to stage that late recovery after Masi let the cars between the pair – running first and second but separated by a series of lapped rivals – pass a safety car and allow one lap of racing.

Verstappen, on fresher tyres, prevailed, prompting a protest from Hamilton and Mercedes.

While that bid failed, there has remained a great deal of discussion around the decision-making of Masi, who was replaced by two men in Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas.

But, in confirming the result of the race and 2021 F1 world championship as final, the FIA insisted Masi had not acted with any malice.

In a summary of the findings of its report into the race, an FIA statement read in part: "In combination with the objective to finish under green flag racing conditions applied throughout the 2021 season, the report finds that the race director was acting in good faith and to the best of his knowledge given the difficult circumstances, particularly acknowledging the significant time constraints for decisions to be made and the immense pressure being applied by the teams. 

"The results of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the FIA Formula One World Championship are valid, final and cannot now be changed. In accordance with the rules, Mercedes made a protest to the stewards after the race, seeking to change the race classification.

"The stewards dismissed the protest and Mercedes then had an opportunity to appeal that decision to the FIA International Court of Appeal, but did not do so. There are no other available mechanisms in the rules for amending the race classification.

"The process of identifying lapped cars has up until now been a manual one and human error lead to the fact that not all cars were allowed to un-lap themselves.

"Due to the fact that manual interventions generally carry a higher risk of human error, software has been developed that will, from now on, automate the communication of the list of cars that must un-lap themselves. In addition, the 2022 Formula One Sporting Regulations have been recently updated to clarify that “all” and not “any” cars must be permitted to un-lap themselves.

"This process of identifying lapped cars has been reviewed as part of the recommendations previously announced by the FIA President in his statement of 17 February 2022, which also includes the creation of FIA Remote Operations Centre, the integration of a new and extended team to run trackside operations as well as a review of the interactions between teams and Race Control during track running."

Sergio Perez believes "it makes sense to have a discussion" around the idea of Formula One drivers being allowed to race with coronavirus.

The 2022 season will be the third affected by COVID-19, already impacting the grid for Sunday's opener at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel has contracted the virus, meaning he will be absent for Aston Martin, while Daniel Ricciardo missed the end of pre-season testing but has recovered to take up his McLaren seat.

Red Bull's Perez missed two races in 2020 due to COVID-19 and suggests drivers – already isolated within their cars during races – should not be ruled out if they are otherwise fit and healthy.

"Going forward, we should discuss whether we allow the drivers to race if the symptoms are mild," the Mexican said.

"The drivers can obviously be the judge, but I think it makes sense to have a discussion.

"There is only so much you can do. I think it's just luck-dependent. It is difficult to not do anything. I'm just very sorry for Seb and for Daniel, but it can happen to anyone."

Nico Hulkenberg, Aston Martin's reserve driver, has replaced four-time world champion Vettel this week.

How does Formula One go about following up the epic 2021 season?

Well, until that stunning campaign stole the show, this year was long seen as the one to look forward to with the introduction of new regulations to encourage competitive racing right down the grid.

Lewis Hamilton might have expected a genuine challenge in 2022; instead, in the form of Max Verstappen, it arrived 12 months early.

Excitement for the coming campaign is therefore at an all-time high, with pre-season testing adding to the theory fans should expect the unexpected.

Forecasting the year ahead is tricky, but Stats Perform seeks to identify the key narratives to follow this season ahead of Sunday's 2022 opener in Bahrain.

Max vs Lewis again

For now at least, Verstappen and Hamilton will expect to be the title frontrunners, which should mean another classic campaign.

Verstappen had never even led the standings until winning last year's Monaco Grand Prix, the first of five consecutive Red Bull wins – including four for the Dutchman.

That sequence ended at Silverstone, where contact with Hamilton sent Verstappen into the wall and set the tone for the rest of a frantic season, in which the pair repeatedly went at one another, crashing at Monza.

A titanic back-and-forth deserved a better ending than to be decided by a contentious call from race director Michael Masi in Abu Dhabi.

Now, defending champion Verstappen can attempt to prove he is better than Hamilton regardless of that decision, while the Mercedes man seeks to show his class once again as he pursues a record eighth title.

The midfield challenge

The game-changing 2022 regulations sought to enforce "closer racing", meaning both Verstappen and Hamilton could come under threat rather than simply blowing away the competition.

Early signs are encouraging on that front, with the two title rivals name-checking Ferrari's superb pre-season showing in the past week.

A resurgent Scuderia represent an obvious danger to those two, but so too do McLaren, Ferrari's midfield neighbours in recent seasons.

Lando Norris had four podiums last season before tailing off to finish sixth in the drivers' championship – still two places ahead of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who endured a tough first year with the team despite a famous win at Monza.

Having been aided by changes to the car for 2022, it is up to Ferrari and McLaren to close the gap considerably to Red Bull and Mercedes.

George a genuine threat?

Of course, Verstappen and Hamilton might typically expect their biggest challenges to come from those in the same cars.

However, Sergio Perez played the role of supporting Red Bull team-mate brilliantly in some key moments last year, while Valtteri Bottas continued to do his own thing without worrying Hamilton.

How a change in the Mercedes garage alters things remains to be seen. Bottas has been replaced by George Russell, who will hope to quickly make his mark.

Russell deputised for Hamilton for a single race the year before last and impressed, so it will be interesting to see if he now intends to push his legendary colleague all the way or will initially settle instead for helping his title bid.

Impact of refereeing reform

It is not only the cars that have had a makeover this year, with the officiating structure reorganised in the aftermath of the criticism aimed at Masi.

He is out as race director, with two men, Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas, taking his place, while other changes include the introduction of a "virtual race control room" to "assist the race director in the decision-making process".

Whether these changes suitably appease the team principals, who grew increasingly furious with each controversy last year, remains to be seen.

All parties would agree they would rather see the championship decided on the track – but it is not always as straightforward as that.

Following an eventful, dramatic and – dare we say it – the best Formula One season to date, the 2022 campaign has plenty to live up to.

Lewis Hamilton is going in search of a record eighth world title at the second time of asking after missing out to Max Verstappen on the final lap of the final race in 2021.

Reigning champion Verstappen is himself seeking some personal history this coming campaign, which begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.

Ahead of what will hopefully be an equally as gripping season this time around, Stats Perform picks out some of the key numbers.

Hamilton narrowly missed out on surpassing Michael Schumacher as F1's most successful driver, though he has not missed out on top spot in successive years since joining Mercedes in 2013.

Should he match his achievement from last year, Red Bull's Verstappen (25 years, two months) would surpass Fernandes Alonso (25y, 2m, 23 days) as the second-youngest multiple world champion, behind only Sebastian Vettel (24y, 3m).

Mercedes may have suffered disappointment last time out, but they still finished top of the constructors' standings for a record-extending eighth time in a row. They are one short of equalling Williams as the second-most successful team, though Ferrari (16) are still well out in front.

In terms of other team milestones, Bahrain will be the 250th GP Mercedes have competed in, while they are six fastest laps away from setting 100. McLaren, meanwhile, are seven podiums from reaching 500 in F1.

Joining Hamilton at Mercedes this season is compatriot George Russell, who along with McLaren's Lando Norris is aiming to become the first Briton other than Hamilton to win a race since Jenson Button in 2012.

Bottas is now at Alfa Romeo and is joined by Guanyu Zhou, who will be China's first ever representative on the grid, making them the 39th country to appear in F1. Indeed, it is the first time three Asian countries will be represented, with Alex Albon (Thailand) and Yuki Tsunoda (Japan) also featuring.

Now 14 years on from their most recent constructors' title, Ferrari will equal their worst-such streak – 15 years between 1984 and 1998 – if they again miss out this term.

Carlos Sainz is Ferrari's big hope and he has either matched or bettered his performance from the previous season – both in terms of points and position – over the past six years when racing for just one team.

While his title chances are slim at best, Fernando Alonso has the opportunity to become the driver with the biggest margin between F1 titles of all time, 16 years on from his most recent success. 

Twenty-two events are currently locked in the F1 calendar for this year, with Miami set to become the 77th different circuit used when it hosts its maiden GP in May. It will be the 11th different track used in the United States, which is the most of any country.

McLaren's Lando Norris acknowledges he does not "push the limits" as much as World Champion Max Verstappen does, as he prepares to do battle with the Dutchman in the new Formula One campaign. 

Norris finished sixth in the 2021 Drivers' Championship standings but has been tipped by many to fare better when the 2022 Formula One season begins with Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.

Norris watched on as Verstappen beat Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton to the drivers' title in contentious circumstances last year, attracting criticism from some quarters for what has been perceived as an aggressive driving style. 

Speaking ahead of this weekend's curtain-raiser in Bahrain, the 22-year-old said he was not sure how he would deal with a rival as combative as Verstappen.

"It's a different battle, because of how Max races," Norris said. 

"It's a different breed of drivers. You saw how he drove and changed when it came down to those final races, with aggression.

"It's maybe something you don't experience so much in the midfield because you're not going for a world championship, or some of the drivers don't have that mentality of risking everything.

"You would try and play smart as much as you can [when facing a rival like Verstappen].

"But I'm also a fair racer and, I don't know, maybe don't push the limits quite as much in certain areas."

Both Norris and new Mercedes driver George Russell are aiming to become the first British driver other than Lewis Hamilton to win a race for almost a decade, with Jenson Button the last to do so when winning the Brazilian Grand Prix in November 2012.

Meanwhile, McLaren are just seven podium finishes away from reaching a total of 500 in Formula One, with Norris recording four such finishes across the 2021 campaign.

Sebastian Vettel will miss the opening race of the 2022 Formula One World Championship after the Aston Martin driver was ruled out of the Bahrain Grand Prix following a positive test for COVID-19.

The four-time world champion will be replaced by Nico Hulkenberg for the first event of the season, marking his first F1 race since 2020 and coincidentally taking place at the same venue where he made his debut with Williams in 2010.

Vettel, who headed up Aston Martin's return to F1 last year, secured a second-place podium finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in his maiden season with the team.

But the former Red Bull driver, who dominated the drivers' championship across a four-year stretch between 2010 and 2013, struggled to maintain that form across the rest of the campaign.

Hulkenberg will race alongside Lance Stroll this weekend and will take control of the car from FP1 on Friday.

Elsewhere, McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo will be fit to feature after missing the last week of testing through coronavirus.

The Australian, however, has since returned a negative test and will feature for the team this weekend at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.

McLaren have confirmed Daniel Ricciardo will return to the paddock on Thursday after testing negative for COVID-19.

It had been feared that Ricciardo would miss the first grand prix of the 2022 Formula One season in Bahrain due to contracting the virus.

However, the Australian has now returned several negative tests and, according to his team, has recovered over the course of his isolation period.

"McLaren Team confirms that after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, Daniel has now returned a number of negative tests and will therefore return to the paddock on Thursday ready to compete in this weekend's Bahrain GP," McLaren posted on Twitter on Wednesday.

In his first season with McLaren after leaving Renault, Ricciardo finished eighth in the drivers' championship last year with 115 points, 45 fewer than team-mate Lando Norris, who came sixth.

Ricciardo was able to record a famous win in Italy, but did not finish on the podium in any other race.

Lewis Hamilton was hurting after the remarkable conclusion to the 2021 season, but he has had time to reset and prepare for another tilt at a record-breaking eighth Formula One drivers' championship.

Hamilton was denied the title in dramatic fashion last year, when a highly contentious decision from then race director Michael Masi gave Max Verstappen the opportunity to pass him on the final lap of the season to be crowned champion for the first time.

Mercedes feared Hamilton would quit the sport as a result, but the man Toto Wolff described as a "lion" in last season's run-in is ready to fight again – starting at this week's Bahrain Grand Prix.

Not that Hamilton is expecting this season to be any more straightforward than the last.

Verstappen has proven he can match Hamilton over the course of a campaign, while George Russell will hope to prove more competitive than Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes seat. The new F1 regulations also mean a potential challenge from the midfield, with Ferrari fast in pre-season.

"We're certainly not at the top," a pessimistic Hamilton said last week, but Verstappen dismissed those comments while acknowledging Ferrari's pace.

The Red Bull superstar suggested Hamilton and Mercedes would quickly turn their fortunes around – and that certainly fits with the Briton's career to date.

"He's an exceptional driver," former Ferrari star Felipe Massa told Stats Perform, "one who is undoubtedly the main man in the sport today because of the records he holds in Formula One.

"No one ever imagined that he would even come close to beating [Michael] Schumacher's records. He overtook pretty much everyone else. One more title is missing to go ahead as a record holder."

That eighth title will remain the goal this year, but Hamilton could move ahead of Schumacher in another sense as soon as Sunday; he has won in 15 consecutive F1 seasons since 2007, meaning victory in a 16th would top the German (1992-2006).

Hamilton's happy hunting ground

In pursuit of that new benchmark, Hamilton will be happy to be back in Bahrain, where he has such an outstanding history.

Of the 17 editions of the Bahrain GP, Hamilton has won a record five races, including the past three. No other driver has won three in succession at this event – and that sequence could be extended to four this week.

Mercedes have recorded the most pole positions (six) and podiums (15) at the Bahrain Grand Prix, ranking one ahead of Ferrari in each category.

The Silver Arrows and the Scuderia are tied for Bahrain wins (six) and fastest laps (five) heading into the 2022 race.

We are in a special week for Mercedes, too, as this is the team's 250th grand prix. With 124 victories so far, they could mark the occasion by improving their win rate to an outstanding 50 per cent, the best such performance by any one team.

Red Bull set for reality check?

Verstappen's record at this track is not quite so impressive, even if he almost beat Hamilton last season having started from pole, forced to give his place back after exceeding track limits in passing his rival.

That was Verstappen's seventh Bahrain GP without victory – an eighth fruitless appearance would make this the grand prix he has entered most without winning.

He has retired three times at the Bahrain GP and, including the 2020 Sakhir GP, a career-high four times at this circuit.

The Dutchman at least has the benefit of the confidence of his championship triumph – and a "ridiculously fast" Red Bull, according to Hamilton – but first-time champions have not typically fared well in the first race of their title defence.

Only three of the past 14 first-time defending champions have won on the first weekend of the new season: Michael Schumacher in 1995, Fernando Alonso in 2006 and Sebastian Vettel in 2011.

At least securing pole would mean a positive omen, as Red Bull drivers have gone on to win the title on the four previous occasions they have started the season by qualifying fastest (Vettel in 2010, 2011 and 2013, plus Verstappen last year).

Hamilton in 2015 and 2016 was the last driver to achieve back-to-back Bahrain poles, although only seven Bahrain GP winners have started from the front of the grid.