Formula 1: Bahrain GP 2022 - Rohan's Quali Takeaways

The 2022 F1 season is back with a bang. The cars have been built from the 'ground' up to conform with the new regulations. And with that comes the promise of an exciting new season: cars following each other closely. This will translate into hard-fought battles on the track for each position. A more closely bunched-up midfield and potentially no backmarkers. Much of that remains to be seen in the races that follow. But the first qualifying of the new season has just wrapped up and who has drawn first blood? Here are my thoughts on the performance of the teams as an ardent F1 fan!

1. Roses are Red. Violets are Blue. Ferrari and RedBull get 1-2

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. It's just the first qualifying. I don't like drawing any conclusions based on practice and testing sessions. RedBull was looking like it will run away with both the championships this season after Verstappen's scintillating performance in all three practice sessions. Ferrari looked optimistic but cautious. And how have the tables turned?

It's Charles Leclerc on pole with Max Verstappen in P2 followed by another Ferrari of Carlos Sainz in P3. A tenth of a second separates Ferrari and Redbull and six-thousandths of a second is the gap between Max and Sainz. That's how you mount a comeback to the top of the grid. Clearly, Ferrari is the team to watch out for this season. It is endearing to see the Scuderia fighting for important positions after painfully watching them battle out in the midfield for a long time. If you meet a Tifosi, give them my regards and respect for being ever so faithful!

2. Mercedes is well...PORPOISING

Get used to that headline for two reasons. One, nobody expected Mercedes, eight-time back-to-back world champions on the trot, to trail behind RedBull by three-tenths of a second. Two, proposing seems to be the prominent reason for Mercedes' dismal performance. Mercedes showed up with a radical 0-pod or no side pod design philosophy taking everyone by surprise. And as historical evidence suggests, they sandbag. A lot. Never revealing the true potential of their car in testing and cranking it all the way up in qualifying leaving its competitors in the dust. Not this time. They are the ones eating dust. I'm convinced though that their car has potential. And it's Mercedes. They'll work some magic, just not by tomorrow. Count them out of the podium if nobody ahead of them messes up big time. Ferrari is prone to that!

But let's talk about those who can upset Mercedes.

3. To whom it may concern...

Valtteri Bottas is breathing down the neck of 7 times World Drivers' Champion Lewis Hamilton in his new team Alfa Romeo in P6. He left the Mercedes outfit at the end of last season and replaced another Finn, Kimi Raikkonen. Big shoes to fill but Alfa Romeo wasn't even a midfield team last year. Looks like the combination of Ferrari Power Unit and a race winner in Bottas will reap fortunes for Alfa and put a wide smile on Bottas's face. Clearly the standout driver in qualifying.

But not the only one...

4. What the Haas!!!

Haas just sat through the 2021 season as every student in any engineering class does. When they showed up for testing in Barcelona this season, F1 correspondent Sam Collins reported that Haas has the most developed/advanced car. I was skeptical. I did ask him his reasons on Twitter but of course, I didn't get any reply. Nevertheless, they nursed quite a bit of problem during testing with their car. But the biggest blow was when Nikita Mazepin (Russian driver) was shown the door and replaced with old boy Kevin Magnussen. KMag has been away from F1 for one full season. The car has changed completely from when he used to drive. He didn't take part in Barcelona testing as well. And yet there is no doubt, F1 drivers are just built differently. P7 in qualifying after a hiatus and curtailed time to acclimatize with the new generation car. Team Principal Steiner must be jumping out of his seat and everyone in the paddock, literally everyone would have their mouths wide open after seeing the Haas's on-track heroics today. KMag was nursing a hydraulic issue throughout second and third qualifying and yet managed a surprising starting position for tomorrow's race. He has got the experience to cause an upset to any of the drivers in front of him, especially Mercedes. Watch out for this guy at tomorrow's race if he gets a trouble-free car.

5. Oh the disappointments...

The only other comeback driver who impressed me is Nico Hulkenberg, substituting for the COVID affected Sebastian Vettel for the Aston Martin Racing (AMR) team. Nico was called in on Thursday. Read that again. Nico was called in on THURSDAY to drive for AMR. He out-qualified his teammate Lance Stroll who has been familiar with the car since winter break. Absolutely phenomenal. Sadly, AMR is at the wrong end of the table. More woes for Sebastian when he returns. I feel for you man.

McLaren was, well I have no words to describe my frustration and disappointment. What did you guys even do in the winter break? This team was on the rise last season and along with Ferrari had the maximum potential to exploit the new regs of 2022. And they are at the bottom of the table. There is no saving grace performance from this team in Bahrain so far. Absolutely shattered to see my favorite team at the back of the grid. I have hopes but I can't make up my mind on how much should I realistically hope from McLaren.

So that is my round-up from qualifying.

If you are not an F1 fan, please shoot all questions in the comment because describing them in this post would make me a book publisher.

I appreciate all forms of feedback because there aren't any criticisms.

Whom are you rooting for the race?