SAKHIR, BAHRAIN — The first grid of the 2022 Formula 1 season is set, and the Ferrari hype was real: Charles Leclerc starts in pole position.
Leclerc finished the session .123 seconds ahead of reigning champion Max Verstappen, who sits alongside the Monegasque on the front row.
In Q1, the big story was Mercedes drivers new and old, as Valtteri Bottas incredibly ranked as 4th-fastest. His Mercedes replacement, George Russell, and former teammate, Lewis Hamilton, could only scrape into 9th and 10th, respectively.
It was an awful showing for Aston Martin, with stand-in Niko Hulkenberg in 17th and Canadian Lance Stroll 19th.
Through Q2, Verstappen rose into top spot, while Mercedes started unloading the “sandbags”, as Hamilton and Russell ranked 5th and 6th.
MORE: Watch Formula 1 live with fuboTV (Free trial)
However, they couldn’t improve in Q3 – and, in fact, Russell fell back behind Bottas. The Finnish star will have an extremely wide grin on his face tonight, as he starts 6th on the grid for his first race with Alfa Romeo.
But Q3 was all about Leclerc, who clocked in at 1:30.558. Verstappen tried to bite back right at the end of the session, going faster through sector one, but ultimately couldn’t get the job done.
Ferrari and Red Bull repeated that order through 3rd and 4th, via Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, ahead of seven-time world champion Hamilton.
It was also a promising day for Haas, with Kevin Magnussen surprisingly taking 7th spot. The full grid follows:
The ESPN family of networks will broadcast all 2022 F1 races in the United States using Sky Sports’ feed, with select races airing on ABC later earlier the season.
ESPN Deportes serves as the exclusive Spanish-language home for all 2022 F1 races in the U.S.
The 11 a.m. ET start time for Sunday’s race means the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix will start at 6 p.m. local time. Lights out will likely take place just after 11 a.m. ET. ESPN’s pre-race show usually airs in the hour before the start of the race.
Below is the complete TV schedule for the weekend’s F1 events at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. All times are Eastern.
For those who don’t have a cable or satellite subscription, there are five major OTT TV streaming options that carry ESPN — fuboTV, Sling, Hulu, YouTubeTV and AT&T Now. Of the five, Hulu, fuboTV and YouTubeTV offer free-trial options.
Below are links to each.
For those who do have a cable or satellite subscription but are not in front of a TV, Formula 1 races in 2021 can be streamed live via phones, tablets and other devices on the ESPN app with authentication.
For fans in Canada, TSN will carry the English telecast of races. For those looking for the French broadcast, RDS will have you covered.
Races can also be streamed via TSN’s streaming service, TSN Direct.
Viewers located in the United Kingdom can catch all F1 action on Sky Sports F1, the dedicated F1 channel. For viewers planning to live stream F1 in 2022, you can purchase a Sky Sports Pass on NOW TV.
Fox Sports will carry all races in Australia, with Channel 10 broadcasting the Australian GP on Channel 10.
In total, there are 22 scheduled events on the F1 docket for 2022, one race shy of tying the mark for longest F1 calendar.
The season starts in Bahrain on March 20, and ends with its customary Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, although a bit earlier than usual, in November. If the schedule stands, this will be the earliest end of the Formula 1 season since it ended on Nov. 4 in 2013.
Returning to the 2022 F1 slate are the Canadian and Japanese Grand Prix, both of which were canceled in 2021 amidst fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
The calendar also holds the maiden voyage for the Miami Grand Prix, the first of two races in the United States in 2022, with the customary United States GP taking place in October.
The Russian Grand Prix, originally scheduled for Sept. 25, was canceled due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Here’s the latest schedule (subject to change):
