5 questions that need answers at F1 testing in Bahrain

The second and final testing period is nearly upon us as the 2022 Formula 1 season draws ever nearer.

The teams have all arrived in Bahrain and will be looking to use the next three days as a real opportunity to start seeing how the land lies ahead of the first race of the season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, on March 20th.

It certainly looks set to be a fascinating few days and so, with that in mind, here are 5 questions that will need answering from Thursday through to Saturday…

What new innovations will we see?

This is the big question.

Many teams are being tipped to have tweaked their cars considerably between Barcelona and now, with Ted Kravitz saying on Sky that it could be a week of protests for the FIA to deal with as engineers take a look at what their rivals have done.

Expect some surprises tomorrow morning when the cars roll out in Bahrain.

How are Haas going to go?

It’s been a tough start to the 2022 campaign for Haas and that’s without a wheel being turned in anger.

They’ve parted ways with their chief sponsor and with Nikita Mazepin thanks to Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine and they are set to miss the start of day one with delays to flights to Bahrain meaning their car won’t be ready from the off.

They’ll just hope once they do get out on track that Mick Schumacher and reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi can post some decent lap times.

Will Ferrari and McLaren continue to impress?

Ferrari and McLaren looked strong over the first test period in Barcelona and it seemed, as much as you can suggest with such secrecy around ultimate performance, as though they’d closed the gap to Red Bull and Mercedes.

Will they continue to look strong in Sakhir, then? They’ll certainly be hoping so.

Will Alpine get over