THE RACE TYRE STORY
* Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led a Ferrari one-two from pole using a three-stop strategy in Bahrain: two initial stints on the P Zero Red soft C3 followed by a stint on the P Zero Yellow medium C2 and a final run again on the soft tyre after pitting under the safety car with 11 laps to go. Leclerc also set the fastest lap of the race on the soft tyre, shortly before the finish. His team mate Carlos Sainz followed the same strategy.
* Under the 2022 regulations, all the drivers had an entirely free choice of tyres at the start. Everyone opted to start the race on the soft tyre, with the exception of the two McLarens, which fitted the medium for the first stint.
* Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton made the first 18-inch tyre racing pit stop of the year, moving from the soft to the P Zero White hard tyre on lap 11.
* The race got underway at 6pm with temperatures of 24 degrees centigrade ambient and 27 degrees on track – slightly warmer than the previous evenings – before dropping a couple of degrees by the finish.

HOW THE COMPOUNDS MADE THE DIFFERENCE
HARD C1: This compound was used by seven drivers during the race. It proved to be slower but more consistent than the other compounds, although required a longer warm up time with tyre blanket temperatures restricted to 70 degrees, making the undercut less effective. Mercedes used the hard for the second stint.
MEDIUM C2: A central tyre to the race. It performed well, with degradation in line with the values that had been previously measured. The majority of the teams had just one set available, but those with two used both of them.
SOFT C3: ·The key compound to the race, which offered an advantage in terms of performance at the start, and that’s the reason why it was used by all the drivers apart from McLaren. Degradation levels were again in line with what had been seen over the previous days.

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“The championship debut of the new Formula 1 regulations with our latest 18-inch tyres delivered a race with plenty of excitement from start to finish and some great battles. We are satisfied with how the tyres performed. The soft and medium compounds were key here, while the hard represented an alternative and more consistent choice. The lower temperature of the tyre blankets this year also contributed to the challenge of putting the tyres in the correct window, making the undercut for the hard less powerful than usual, while the abrasive nature of the track ensured that it was going to be at least two stops for every driver. The strategy was also influenced by the late safety car, which finally led to three stops and set up a dramatic sprint finish to the race. Congratulations to Ferrari for their one-two!”