Bahrain Grand Prix - The rematch of the Verstappen-Hamilton duel begins

It is the beginning of a new era that will hopefully - and in all likelihood, experts say - not just about the battle of defending champion Max Verstappen against seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

In the sport, there have been a change of staff during the winter break, for example, Michael Masi, a former race director who has been reassigned, has been ousted following last year’s closing season, and will now have two race directors, assisted by consultants. At the close of 2021, some experts and supporters also felt that Hamilton had been deprived of his eighth World Cup title after Verstappen overtook his rival in the final round of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, was also needed.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) was also replaced in December, with Jean Todt taking over as president from Dubai's Mohammed ben Sulayem, and Masi's ousting and the creation of a new race administration system were under his leadership.

The protagonists of last year's World Cup title may be fighting for the final triumph again this year, but it is not yet clear which of the race cars that have undergone a major redesign as a result of the rule changes will be the most likely to win. During the winter tests, Red Bull seemed in a good position with which Verstappen would defend its title, but Ferrari came up, while Mercedes are still unsure whether they can compete with the best in their car.

The 24-year-old Dutch defending champion has changed his chosen start number and will start with the world champion 1, and his assistant will be Sergio Pérez of Mexico, who performed excellently in this role last year.

Hamilton, meanwhile, was given an ambitious young teammate in the person of George Russell, who was also British. The 24-year-old behind the wheel of Williams has repeatedly shown over the past two years that it was no accident that he had been noticed earlier by Mercedes, which had seen the time last year to replace the Valtteri Bottas in Finland. Winning eight constructors 'world championships in the series, the record-breaking German stable would triumph in the teams' points race for the ninth time this year.

Ferrari has a good chance of getting involved in the battle between Red Bull and Mercedes, as the experts and rivals say they have developed well by 2022, their solutions have adapted well to the framework of the rule changes and they will be able to fight for race victories again. The Maranello team would also be successful, as it has not been able to win any competitions since 2019, and it has not won a world title since 2008.

Two of the forges of Ferrari’s success could be Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Carlos Sainz Jr. of Spain, but McLaren, who employs Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Lando Norris of Britain, may also be at the forefront, according to pre-season tests.

The race calendar was originally designed with a record 23 races for Formula One riders, but due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Sochi race scheduled for September 25 was canceled and the contract was even terminated with a race track built around the 2014 Winter Olympics facilities. It is not yet known which venue will be held this year instead of Sochi. On the other hand, it has already been decided that three of the sprint running weekends introduced last year will be held again this year, in Imola, Spielberg and Sao Paulo.

The only rookie in the field is China’s Zhou Kuan, who will make his debut in the colors of Alfa Romeo in F1, and his teammate will be Bottas, who left Mercedes. Alexander Albon of Thailand returns to the elite category of motorsport after a year’s break at Williams. The other big returnee, Kevin Magnussen of Denmark, who was actually "embedded" in the war in Ukraine, broke his contract with Russian rider Nikita Mazepin after the outbreak of the conflict and was replaced by a 29-year-old with 119 F1 races. He confirmed Magnussen. The Danish pilot's teammate will be Mick, the son of the legendary seven-time World Cup winner German Michael Schumacher.

The Formula 1 field will visit Hungary at the end of July, and like the Bahrain, the Formula 2 and Formula 3 will compete in the Hungaroring. In the latter category, similarly to last year, there will be Hungarian interest this year as well, László Tóth will start in the colors of the Czech Charouz Racing System in the F3 series, so he will also take part in the season opener in Bahrain.

The time trial of the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix will take place on Saturday at 4 pm Hungarian time, and the 57-lap race will take place at 4 pm on Sunday.

(Source: Source: sportrajongo.hu, mti / Photo: pixabay, mti)