Sainz touches the 'pole' in the first hand blow of Ferrari

• Starting grid Classification and times

• Mercedes, without solutions What happens to Hamilton?

• Free Practice 3 Red Bull commands in the last free practice sessions

Everything pointed out by Ferrari came to be confirmed, almost point by point, at the moment of truth in Sakhir.

, always a reference in one of his favorite circuits, scored a

(1:30.558), the first of the 2022 World Cup, which could well have fallen on the side of

, the fastest in the first round of Q3 .

Finally,

also relegated the man from Madrid -only by six thousandths- to third position on the grid.

Nothing can be objected, however, to this Saturday of the

, which moved away almost seven tenths from

.

The seven-time champion may well be satisfied with this fifth place on the grid, because his Mercedes never felt competitive under the desert night.

Nor should

feel disappointed , because his eighth position will allow him to fight for the points after a preseason with too many mishaps in Alpine.

In his only attempt in Q3, the two-time champion stopped the clock in 1:32.195, two hundredths ahead of

's W13 .

In any case, these factors seem like mere trifles compared to the display of power by Ferrari, the sovereign protagonist in Bahrain.

The engine designed in Maranello multiplies the performance of the aerodynamic package, with those eye-catching bathtub-shaped pontoons.

Rising on its back, Sainz and Leclerc led the time table from the start.

And the man from Madrid was left with that certain bitterness.

In the absence of the last attempt he had five hundredths of a margin against his partner and six over Verstappen.

Although he ended up delivering 12 against both, the dream of the first

seems within reach.

Given the speed of the red cars, on this

track , Verstappen will have to oppose that strength of pace shown during the simulations.

, fourth, will do enough to contain the attempts of the Silver Arrows, while others, until recently stone guests, will encourage the roost from behind.

Who would have imagined just a few months ago this unusual spectacle.

It was clear from Q1, with Hamilton sandwiched between

in an Alfa Romeo and

in a Haas.

The two worst cars in the 2021 World Cup were seen with renewed strength thanks to the engine supplied by Ferrari.

Both had the luxury of closing the first screen just two tenths behind Verstappen.

Between

, sixth, and

, eighteenth, 13 drivers lapped in the same second.

McLaren, overwhelmed by the overheating of its brakes, could not take

much further .

Pretty much what was expected in the Woking garage.

The elimination of the British coincided with that of another illustrious such as Ocon, 16 hundredths slower than Alonso.

In that battle for the middle sector, it will be necessary to take into account regular supporting actors, such as

with the Williams or

with the Haas.

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Know more

• Lewis Hamilton

• Max Verstappen

• Fernando Alonso

• Carlos Sainz Jr.

• Sergio Perez

Formula 1Mercedes, without solutions in Sakhir: What happens to Hamilton?

Formula 1 Ferrari confirms its strength and Ocon gives Alpine a scare

Formula 1 Red Bull and Ferrari seduce at the premiere

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