F1: Leclerc leads Ferrari 1-2 as both Red Bulls retire in Bahrain

The opening race of the 2022 Formula 1 season provided a lot of surprises, with Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz completing a 1-2 finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton salvaged a podium finish thanks to a double retirement from both Red Bulls.

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen started in second place behind Leclerc and kept the position throughout most of the race. The second Ferrari of Sainz and second Red Bull of Perez kept the status quo in third and fourth for most of the race as well, with the main action up front coming after the first pit stops.

An earlier stop and fresher tyres allowed Verstappen to close the gap to Leclerc, giving the Dutchman the opportunity to overtake the Monegasque after the Ferrari came out of the pits for his first stop. However, the Red Bull may have had great straight line speed in the main straight, but Leclerc was able to fight back in turn 4 to reclaim the lead. The two drivers fought cleanly and switched places a few more times before the Ferrari driver eventually managed to shake the Red Bull out of DRS range.

It looked like the race would finish with the top four cars maintaining their positions, but Verstappen started to complain of steering issues after earlier facing engine breaking problems. a second-place finish would have been fantastic considering the circumstances, but his battery decided to join in the chaos and the car eventually lost power with three laps remaining.

Then, his teammate Perez suffered a similar fate two laps later, with his Red Bull giving up in the middle of a corner, sending him into a spin in the middle of the track. The retirements gifted Hamilton a podium finish, which is a lot more than what Toto Wolff expected from this weekend. Hamilton started fifth, and was not able to challenge the cars in front in any manner throughout the race.

New Mercedes driver Russell did a good job of keeping up with the seven-time champion to finish fourth, but it has become clear that Mercedes have a lot of work to do behind the scenes. The other Mercedes powered cars of Aston Martin, Williams and McLaren were all stuck at the back of the pack, making them the weakest looking power unit this season.

The Red Bull Power Trains appear to have the pace, but reliability is an issue with both Red Bulls out and Pierre Gasly's Alpha Tauri also going up in flames towards the end of the race. Verstappen called the race "painful," after the team failed to take home any points from the opening race. Team Principal Christian Horner remains optimistic, saying that the season is a marathon and there is still a long way to go.

For now, it is clear that Ferrari have a major advantage, with even the Ferrari-powered Haas car driven by the returning Kevin Magnussen taking a surprise fifth-place finish followed by Valtteri Bottas in his Alfa Romeo.