Hamilton breaks yet more F1 records as Ferrari pain ends

Charles Leclerc triumphed for Ferrari after an enthralling Bahrain Grand Prix that saw drama to the very end as F1 returned to action to begin the 2022 season.

It looked for all the world that the Monegasque would lead home Max Verstappen after a stunning midrace battle, only for the Dutchman to suffer a reliability issue.

More drama was to follow, however, with Sergio Perez's last-lap retirement in the second Red Bull further promoting Lewis Hamilton to an unlikely podium to kick the year off.

GPFans brings you all the best stats and facts from the weekend.

Leclerc ends Ferrari pain

Leclerc brought an end to Ferrari's pain in more ways than one over the weekend.

His pole lap was a first for Ferrari in a season-opening race since 2007 when eventual champion Kimi Raikkonen secured the position for the Scuderia in Australia.

It was also the first time this decade that both Ferraris qualified in the top three.

But F1 provides championship warning

Leclerc led every lap of the race to take the team's first victory since Singapore 2019, 45 races ago, which was also a one-two finish.

The win ended Ferrari's second-longest winless streak in its history, with the record remaining 59 in a row between Spain 1990 and Germany 1994.

The last time the team secured a lights-to-flag victory was the Belgian Grand Prix in 2018 and through his success, Leclerc has become the first driver from Monaco to lead the F1 world championship.

However, the winner of the opening race in F1 has finished runner-up every season since 2017.

Hamilton breaks another record

Hamilton's podium ensured he became the first driver ever to finish a race in the top three in 16 consecutive seasons, with the previous record held by Michael Schumacher.

That came after starting fifth on the grid, his joint-lowest starting spot in Bahrain having started from the same position with McLaren in 2009.

The Briton is also the first driver to have scored points in 250 races, with Schumacher second on 221.

Red Bull's disaster

The late drama saw both Red Bulls retire from a grand prix for the first time since Austria in 2020.

Verstappen and Alex Albon both suffered electrical failures on that day.

F1's longest wait continues

With Pierre Gasly, Verstappen and Perez all retiring in the closing stages, F1 retains its record for never having every competitor complete the opening round of a world championship.

Zhou adds his name to history

Guanyu Zhou became the first Chinese driver to compete in F1 by making his debut for Alfa Romeo.

By finishing 10th, Zhou also became the 66th F1 debutant to score points. The last to do so was Yuki Tsunoda in last year's Bahrain Grand Prix.

The return of 1

Whilst reigning champion Verstappen endured a miserable end to a promising weekend, by running the number one he became the first to do so since Sebastian Vettel in 2014.

Hamilton elected to retain 44 when winning his titles, whilst Nico Rosberg immediately retired when becoming champion.

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