The much-awaited 2022 F1 season opener is set to take place this weekend with the Sakhir Grand Prix. After two interesting sessions of pre-season testing in Barcelona and Bahrain, teams, fans, and drivers have tried their best to gauge how the 2022 season is likely to pan out. This weekend, however, the paddock will get a real idea of where each team stands on the grid, setting the tone for the rest of the year.
While teams including Red Bull, Ferrari, and Haas seem to have upped their game this season, especially given the massive rule changes and transformed design, certain teams seem to be struggling to get it right. As we have witnessed before, however, there's a significant difference in the shape in which the cars show up for the first race weekend as compared to where they stood during testing. This makes the upcoming Grand Prix more exciting than ever.
Each team has had a different interpretation of the new rules, which aim to allow for closer wheel-to-wheel battles. Fans are hoping for several title contenders to make the 23-race season one like never before.
2022 official F1 Bahrain Grand Prix schedule
The Bahrain Grand Prix will be the first of a record 23 races that are set to take place this year. The cars will hit the track at 6:00 pm local time on Sunday, March 20, 2022. The starting grid for the race will be determined by the qualifying session, which will take place on Saturday.
Here are the official timings for the 2022 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix for fans in the USA, UK, and India.
USA
Sunday, March 20, 2022: 11:00 am EST
UK
Sunday, March 20, 2022: 03:00 pm GMT
India
Sunday, March 20, 2022: 08:30 pm IST
Fans can tune in to catch the action live on F1 TV (in the locales where it is available), ESPN and ESPN Deportes in the US, Sky Sports in the UK, and Star Sports Select, Star Sports Select HD 2, and Disney+ Hotstar in India.