The Formula 1 season is about to kick off with the opening Bahrain Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday evening. Here is what to expect from the weekend and local times for the schedule of the highly anticipated race.
The 2022 edition of the Bahrain Grand Prix will take place at the 5.412-kilometre Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir which will have all 10 teams and 20 competitors racing the new-spec challengers for 57 laps in the desert heat.
Important times to look out for:
Practice 1 (18 March) – 14:00 – 15:00
Practice 2 (18 March) – 17:00 – 18:00
Practice 3 (19 March) – 14:00 – 15:00
Qualifying (19 March) – 17:00 – 18:00
Race (19 March) – 17:00 – 19:00
If you are on the go and wont find yourself in front of a screen to witness the biggest regulation change in recent history, you can find live timing here.
Teams spent the three days at the circuit last weekend fettling the performance of their 2022-spec challengers in official pre-season testing but it was Max Verstappen that topped the timesheets. The Dutchman is also favourite to trump the first race weekend since Mercedes still have porpoising issues that need to be resolved. After missing the same weekend due to a positive Covid-19 test, Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo will rejoin teammate Lando Norris in piloting the McLaren MCL 36. Unfortunately, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel suffered the same fate and will miss the first race weekend with Nico Hulkenberg taking his Aston Martin duties.
