Charles Lec🌸lerc pipped current Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen to the first pole position of the year at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Leclerc trailed Ferra𝄹ri teammate Carlos Sainz after the first runs in Q3, but a superb last-ditch effort put him top of the pile to secure pole position ahead of Vers🌃tappen. 

Since making their respective F1 debuts, Verstappen and Leclerc have established th🅰emselves as two of the most aggressiv꧅e drivers on the grid.

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With the pair☂ set to battle it out for the victory, F1 could be set for some early fireworks in the first round of the 2022 season.

Fireworks at the front?

A front-row shared by Leclerc and Verstappen is💎 a tasty proposition as the fight for supremacy begins in Bahrain.&nbsꦫp;

The 2021 title race was dominated by numerous on-track battles between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, with the latter often ba♋cking down to avoid an incident (Silverstone aside). 

It remains to be seen whether Leclerc will be willing to do the saꦚme given he h🐈asn’t stood on the top step since 2019 and unlike Hamilton, doesn’t have countless grand prix victories and titles already under his belt.

Even in Leclerc’s first year with Ferrari, we saw a glimpse into this potential rivalry with Verstappen when the pair battled ha♔rd for the v💫ictory at the Red Bull Ring in 2019.

The Dutchman came out on top as he pushed Leclerc of🐻f the track at Turn 3 in a typical aggressive Verstappen fashion to win the 2019 Austrian Grand🏅 Prix.

It was a useful lesson for the Monegasque as the pair went wheel-to-wheel in Britꦯain a couple of rounds later with Leclerc considerably more aggressive.

The duo’s rivalry stems back to karting with a🐲 highly-watched YouTube video of a young Leclerc and Verstappen both angry after a race during their jꦜunior days.

It’s only the first r🐈ace of the season but both drivers will be keen to lay down an early marker and won’t want to give any incentive to each other.

Can Mercedes challenge?

Mercedes endured one of its worst qualif𝓀ying performances in the hybrid era as Lewis Hamilton could only manage fifth on the grid, just under 0.7s off Leclerc. 

It was unclear throughout testing and Friday p♛ractice if Mercedes was sandbagging or whether its W13 currently lacks raw speed.&nbs𝔉p;

The latter appears to be the case at present with Mercedes clearly the third-fastest team but with the development race expected to be at a rapid rate in 2022, it would be foolish to rule out the eight-time champions as the season prog𓃲resses. 

For the present time at least, it seem🐽s Mercedes isn’t a match for Red Bull or Ferrari even in race trim.

Hamilton has already played down Mercedes’ chances, conceding that bo♊th teams💮 are “in another league” and revealed it was one-second shy during the FP2 race simulations.

It’s probably going to be a case of damage limitation for Hamilton, while teammat🐻e George Russell will have to get past his prede𝐆cessor Valtteri Bottas after a poor day left him down in ninth.

F1’s new cars put to the test

F1’s new rules are being put to the test for the first time as a𝐆ll 20 cars will be out on track battling for position in Bahrain.

One of the big reasons for F1’s shake-up for this year with its technical regulations was to ‘improve the show’ and allow drivers to follow each other mo𓂃re easily.

Simplified aerodynamic concepts, the introduction of the groun🐻d effect floor and 18-inch t🔯yres are all expected to improve the racing.

The early signs based on what the drivers have said dur⭕ing pre-season testing has been positive but this is the acid test as to whether F1’s new generation of cars can achiev𒈔e what Ross Brawn and his team hoped for when the regulations were devised.

wuqian0821.com’s Prediction

The battle at the fr🅺ont looks to be between two teams wi🐷th Ferrari and Red Bull locking out the front two rows on the grid. 

Red Bull had ✨the best race pace on Friday and without Verstappen’s small wobble at the final corner, he could have be🌠en on pole position.

It’s going to be tight at the front meaning emphasis will be placed on the teams as a two-stop strategy is expected given the high♛ tyre degradation in Ba💫hrain.

Red Bull is usually switched on when it comes to strategy and with Sergio Perez in the mix - one of the best when it comes to looking after his tyres - the Milton ❀Keynes outfit would be a safe bet to improve on its qualifying position on race day.

Sticking with my pre-race weekend prediction of Verstapp🔯en winning the Bahrain GP ahead of Leclerc, while Perez will get ahead of Sainz for third.

Third: Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

Second: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

Winner: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)