Leclerc won the season opener in Sahir

Starting from pole position, the 24-year-old driver triumphed with excellent racing and reaped the third success of his career.

Ferrari also started the year with double success, with teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. of Spain finishing second behind Leclerc.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, the British rider, was able to rise to the bottom of the podium, and defending champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was forced to stand at the end of the race due to a technical fault.

The first start of the 2022 season was well received by the majority of the members of the leading field, the most spectacular being Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), who slipped back from sixth to twelfth place in one lap. Leclerc, Vertappen, Sainz remained in the first three positions despite minor battles and overtaking attempts, while Kevin Magnussen (Haas) provided entertainment for the spectators in the first few rounds, but moved on to fourth place for a short time, soon falling back to seventh.

The first wheel changes between laps 12 and 16 were at the forefront, with Hamilton, who raced fifth, driving into the pits for new tires, and five laps later he complained on team radio that he was out early.

With the new tires, Leclerc and Verstappen fought a spectacular, tough but sporty battle for first place for three laps, and these scenes confirmed that with the rule changes, F1 drivers achieved their goal of more close combat and overtaking, so the competition became more exciting.

In the sequel, Leclerc managed to step away from Verstappen, and before the second wheel change, his monaco already had a four-second advantage over his Dutch rival. This difference did not decrease significantly after the pit stops, while the other Ferrari Sainz held the third position, followed by Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) in fourth place, then the two Mercedes followed 5-6. place in Hamilton-George Russell order.

Pierre Gasly's (Alpha Tauri) race car caught fire, and the race car sent the safety car to the track for the duration of the technical rescue. So far, the cars had the most gripping but faster-wearing soft tires on top, and the Safety Car let go of the field seven laps before it was knocked down.

The restart remained in order, Leclerc started at a good pace and Verstappen could not react well to his start in Monaco. The Dutch champion defending champion also had technical problems and was forced to give up three races before the end. Hamilton was able to go past Pérez, which had stopped due to an engine problem at the start of the final lap, so he grabbed third place despite the fact that the speeds of the Mercedes were clearly weaker than those of Ferrari and Red Bull.

The World Cup will continue next weekend in Jeddah with the Saudi Grand Prix.

(Source: autokalauz.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)