F1 2022: Charles Leclerc secures pole position at Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of Verstappen and Sainz

The fight between Ferrari and Red Bull in the first qualifying session of the 2022

Formula One

season was very close, with both teams giving their all in a bid to grab a pole position at this year's

Bahrain Grand Prix

. Here is how qualifying for the first race of the 2022 Formula One season went at the 5.412 km long Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir -

2022 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying Q1 Results

In the first qualifying of the season, the Scuderia Ferrari team swept the first two spots, with

Charles Leclerc

finishing first, and Carlos Sainz securing the second spot. The reigning champion Max

Verstappen

managed to finish third. Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Nicholas Latifi were the last five respectively, and out of the rest of the qualifying session.

2022 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying Q2 ResultsIn Q2, Verstappen finished at top, while Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc took the other two podium positions. Sergio Perez finished fourth, followed by

Lewis Hamilton

and George Russell in fifth and sixth positions respectively. Esteban Ocon, Mick Schumacher, Lando Norris, Alex Albon, and Guanyu Zhou were eliminated in the second qualifying, meaning they will be taking 11th to 15th positions on the grid respectively.

2022 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying Q3 Results

In the final qualifying of the day, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari managed to secure the pole position, followed by Max Verstappen who was only +0.123 seconds behind. Carlos Sainz (3rd) and Sergio Perez (4th) will start on the second row, followed by Lewis

Hamilton

in fifth. Hamilton's ex-teammate Valteri Bottas, now in Alfa Romeo, will be starting on sixth.

Kevin Magnussen of Haas, who was out of the last Formula One season, managed to grab the seventh position in his first qualifying after return. Alex Albon starts at eighth, while George Russell will start from the ninth spot in his first race driving the Mercedes AMG Petronas car. Pierre Gasly of Alpha Tauri will be starting at the tenth position at the Bahrain Grand Prix.