F1 pundit sets a rough pecking order after testing in Bahrain

F1 journalist Will Buxton has shared his thoughts on the pecking order the sport may see in the upcoming season. In a series of tweets, the journalist laid out his assessment of each entrant on the F1 grid and there were some surprises.

Buxton touched on Red Bull and Mercedes first, as would be expected of the frontrunners. Christian Horner's side look balanced and rapid and have no cause for concern. The Silver Arrows have some work to do according to his analysis, and currently look like a midfield team to him.

His take on Ferrari will leave the Tifosi optimistic ahead of the first Grand Prix in a week's time in Bahrain. Buxton wrote:

“Ferrari - best pre season I’ve seen from them in years. Without RBR [Red Bull Racing] final 30 minutes they’d likely be P1.”

Buxton deemed McLaren to be too fast for their own brakes, alluding to Lando Norris' brake issues in Bahrain. The Briton was the only driver in testing for the team after Daniel Ricciardo tested positive for COVID-19.

Alfa Romeo seems fast but fragile at the same time, according to him. Haas and AlphaTauri are his dark horses for now.

Alpine and Aston Martin have a long road ahead of them, while Williams has plenty of potential and promise.

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Pirelli confirm tire compounds for first three F1 Grands Prix of 2022 season

Pirelli has confirmed the compounds that will be provided to teams for the Grand Prix in Bahrain and the subsequent races in Saudi Arabia and Australia.

The season opener will see all teams using the three hardest compounds, the C1, C2, and C3 tires for the March 20 event.

For the race in Saudi Arabia, Pirelli will repeat the same combination used from 2021. Teams will have to work with the C2, C3, and C4 tire compounds at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

The third Grand Prix of the year sees the sport return to Albert Park after a two-year hiatus from the Australian sub-continent. Pirelli's tire choice for this race is split.

The Italian brand intends to offer the C2 and C3 compounds as the hard tires. Instead of making a natural progression to the next step, which is C4, the softest tire compound in Melbourne will be the C5.

This will be the first time Pirelli has not chosen successive compounds for a race since 2018 for a Grand Prix weekend.