Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali is buoyed by Ferrari's resurgence, saying it is ultimately good for the sport.

Charles Leclerc's win in the 2022 season opener in Bahrain on Sunday was Ferrari's first since 2019, and the last time Ferrari claimed a win from pole position in the season opener was with Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, who went on to win that year's driver's championship.

Along with passing on his congratulations to the team, Domenicali - a former team principal with Ferrari - believes it will invigorate interest in the sport.

"Next week there will be another race, then there is Melbourne and then Imola," he told Sky Sport. "I am convinced that we will find the [stands at the] Tosa and Rivazza corners as full as in the good old days.

"The satisfaction for the new regulations lay in seeing a beautiful, intense and interesting race for everyone.

"Then seeing Ferrari so competitive is an extraordinary sign. I say this with caution, but I am very happy. I was certainly pleased for Mattia [Binotto, the current team principal], for the drivers and for everyone who works there."

Ferrari's return to the top step on the podium has come with changes to Formula One regulations, which Domenicali and managing director Ross Brawn were tasked with implementing.

The 56-year-old believes technical regulations have allowed for unprecedented variety in design and engineering, which will positively impact the championship.

"The new F1 brings the technological challenge back to the centre. Last year I remember how many people said F1 would flatten out and talked about the cars all the same," he said.

"I have been in F1 since 1991 and there has never been such a great diversity between the cars, from a technical and technological point of view. This will also affect the competitiveness of the championship. There will be faster cars on some tracks and some faster cars on others."

Lewis Hamilton admitted he does not think Mercedes will be more competitive at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but believes his podium finish in Bahrain has still boosted spirits.

Mercedes struggled with their new W13 car through much of the weekend at Sakhir, but came away with a surprise third-place finish after both Red Bulls failed in the final laps, allowing Hamilton – who had qualified fifth – to capitalise.

While Hamilton has already stated their result was "the best result we could have got" in the circumstances, the seven-time world champion doubts they will be up to the pace in Jeddah.

"No, I don't think so," he said in a news conference. "Of course we've learned a lot from this week. The car was very hard to drive but it could always be worse.

"I’m hoping for the next race we manage to find some improvements but it's a fundamental issue that's going to take a little bit longer I think to fix."

Mercedes previously considered their objective in Bahrain to be damage limitation given their disadvantage, but Hamilton agreed they had been lifted by their unexpected reward.

"I think [it is] incredibly motivating for the whole team," he added. "Everyone’s stayed positive, everyone's just kept their head down and kept working. No one moaned.

"In terms of our processes, in terms of squeezing absolutely everything out of the car, I think that's what we did today. I think that's a true showing of strength within.

"It is such a long season. It's going to be such a hard battle but we love a challenge. I really do enjoy a challenge."

Hamilton would have missed third without the double retirement that hit both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, but the seven-time world champion refused to consider it karma for last year's Abu Dhabi final.

"I don't have a response to it," he added. "I just focused on our job. Obviously it was unfortunate for them today but, yeah, I just focus on positives."

Charles Leclerc and Carlos claimed a Ferrari one-two to emerge as the early pacesetters of the season.

Formula One managing director Ross Brawn is tentatively satisfied by the racing impact of new regulations, following the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.

Following an era dominated by the Mercedes team, significant regulation changes have been made for the 2022 season, to allow for closer racing.

Brawn, who was tasked with implementing the regulation changes by Formula One, praised the "raceability" of the current cars in comparison to previous years.

"We're delighted," Brawn told Sky Sports F1 post-race. "It is the first race so we have to be careful but all the signs are that we have moved in the direction that we wanted to move in, and the ability of the cars to race each other has improved.

"In the past we have always focused on car safety and performance. Now we should focus on raceability. That should be in there as well, because there's never been any attention paid to it."

Some of the biggest regulation changes for 2022 relate to aerodynamic output and cleaning up the turbulent wake that quickly overheated following cars in recent past, affecting the potential of wheel-to-wheel racing, despite the optimal increase in performance.

Though lap times during winter testing reflect slower overall performance, Charles Leclerc's win at Sakhir on Sunday didn't come until after a closely fought battle with reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

Brawn believes Formula One is on the path to finding balance.

"We could see from previous cars, you could simply see the downforce or the aerodynamic performance of the car that was following degrading hugely when it was behind another car," he said.

"We (Formula One) can't see the data because we're the commercial rights holder, but the FIA will now look at all the data of the cars and from that, put that into the research program to see how we can improve it further.

"I think anecdotally, you could see the cars can race a lot better."

Carlos Sainz declared Ferrari "properly back" after finishing second in a Scuderia one-two that gave Mattia Binotto sweet relief following two barren years.

Ferrari had not celebrated a race win in Formula One since Sebastian Vettel led a one-two at the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc was the junior driver on that occasion, but in Bahrain on Sunday he moved to the top of the drivers' standings for the first time in his career.

Leclerc was a deserving winner, while Sainz profited from a double Red Bull retirement to claim second.

"Ferrari is back and properly back with a one-two, where the team should be and should have been the last few years," Sainz said afterwards. "The hard work is paying off and we are there."

Team principal Binotto had expected Red Bull to be "stronger" and expects both they and Mercedes will "come back very soon", but for now he enjoyed being able to revel in a precious victory.

"It's a relief, it's fantastic. A one-two was unexpected," he told Sky Sports. "It has been a great race and Charles defended the position.

"It was nice to see him battling and fighting for the position, for the win.

"In the end, it was a bit lucky, certainly. It was a heart attack for me on the pit wall, when you're consolidating the position and you've got the safety car 10 laps from the end [before Verstappen retired]."

There is always expectation on Ferrari, so this result should go some way to easing the pressure very slightly.

"The pressure is high, very, very high," Binotto said, "but what we need to do is try to focus on what we are doing and forget about it; otherwise, I think it would be too much stress.

"We came here focused on the performance, trying to have a clean race. The drivers have done the job."

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen reflected on a "brutal" Bahrain Grand Prix – but one in which they saw cause for optimism.

Red Bull failed to earn a single point in the first race of the 2022 Formula One season after both defending champion Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez were forced to retire in the closing stages.

Verstappen had been on course for P2, while Perez was battling with Carlos Sainz to make the podium, with Ferrari instead claiming a one-two as Charles Leclerc triumphed.

Team principal Horner was still waiting to identify the exact nature of the mechanical failure that cost Red Bull, although he clarified it was unrelated to either a handling issue for Verstappen or a fire onboard Pierre Gasly's AlphaTauri.

"It was a brutal finish to that race for us," Horner told Sky Sports. "What looked like a decent haul of points suddenly evaporated in the last couple of laps.

"It looks like a similar issue on both cars. We don't know exactly what it is yet, whether it's a lift pump, whether it's a collector or something along those lines. We've got to get into it and find out exactly what's caused it."

That Red Bull were competing with pre-season pace-setters Ferrari until that point was a clear positive for Horner, however.

"Zero points for us is tough," he said. "The positives we can take is we've had a competitive car.

"We were fighting for the race win at different points of that race, and we've got to get on top of these issues quickly.

"It's a long season, 23 races, so we've got to get this behind us and get stuck into the next event."

Verstappen had been frustrated for much of his drive and was not happy with Red Bull's performance, even if he agreed there were signs they could still compete.

"It was not great today. We didn't really show what we could do, for whatever reason," he said. "There is potential, for sure, otherwise you are not up there.

"We've lost a lot of points again in one race weekend, so that's really not good. I know one retirement means it's not over, but I would prefer to have at least 18 points."

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari could not have hoped for a better start to the season after he led a one-two in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Leclerc claimed maximum points as the Scuderia secured their first victory since the 2019 season.

The Monegasque driver took the chequered flag ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz at the Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday, with Lewis Hamilton finishing third in a miserable start to the campaign for Red Bull.

Defending champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez retired late in the race in Sakhir on a dream day for Leclerc.

"[I am] so happy," he said. "The last two years have been incredibly difficult for the team. We knew it would be a big opportunity for us and the guys have done such an incredible job in building this amazing car.

"Starting in the best way possible; pole position, victory, the fastest lap, one-two with Carlos - we couldn't have hoped for any better.

"I was trying to be as clever as possible, brake early in Turn One and twice, it worked out. I took back my first position, and I am incredibly happy to make it work."

Sainz was also elated to see Ferrari back in business.

"First, congrats Charles and Ferrari," he added. "Ferrari are properly back with a one-two, where the team should be. The hard work is paying off, and we are there.

"For me, it's been a very tricky weekend - I'm not going to lie. I didn’t have the pace today, but I managed to hold it and bring the one-two for the team.

"I have some homework to do over the next few days, and I'm sure I'll come back stronger."

Lewis Hamilton made the podium at the Bahrain Grand Prix only due to a double Red Bull retirement but accepted it was the best result he could have hoped for.

As Mercedes' struggles with their new W13 car continued, Hamilton was never in contention on Sunday, running in fifth for much of the race.

But issues for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in the Red Bulls allowed the seven-time champion to profit behind a Ferrari one-two in third.

Hamilton congratulated victor Charles Leclerc and the Scuderia – "they're such a historic, epic team, so it's great to see them up there," he said – but was also content with his own finish.

"It was such a difficult race," he explained. "We struggled throughout practice. This was really the best result we could have got.

"Obviously it was unfortunate for the other two drivers, but we did the best we could and we're grateful for these points."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff agreed, telling Sky Sports: "You can see how we've managed expectations.

"If we'd come in last year third and fourth, it would have been very frustrating, but this year I think we are punching above our weight class with the Red Bulls DNFing. Third and fourth is a fantastic result."

Mercedes must now turn attention to making their car competitive for the rest of the season, yet Hamilton is staying patient.

"I'm hoping [for upgrades]," Hamilton said. "I know the guys are working really hard back at the factory, but it's not going to be a quick turnaround.

"We all know as a team, we've been the best unified team for so long, we all know to keep our head down, keep working. There's a long, long way to go."

Charles Leclerc protected his pole position to lead a Ferrari one-two at the Bahrain Grand Prix as late Red Bull woe allowed an uncompetitive Lewis Hamilton to make the podium in the 2022 Formula One season opener.

For Leclerc, besides a three-lap battle with Max Verstappen, this was a relatively straightforward victory after making good use of Ferrari's pace again.

But there was chaos behind him in the closing stages, when Verstappen reported an issue with his handling after pitting a third time.

A late safety car had appeared to give the defending champion the chance to challenge Leclerc, but it vitally also attached the rest of the field to his tail, meaning Carlos Sainz was able to capitalise on a mechanical failure.

Sergio Perez could not cling on to third as his Red Bull also ground to a halt on the final lap, remarkably clearing a path for Hamilton.

Daniel Ricciardo qualified in 18th on Saturday as McLaren endured a tough start to the Bahrain Grand Prix, but the Australian vowed to "get on with it".

McLaren were fighting with Ferrari at the front of the Formula One midfield in 2021, yet the first weekend of the new season suggests the Scuderia have left their rivals behind.

Ferrari had Charles Leclerc on pole and Carlos Sainz in the top three, with all teams using their engines performing well in qualifying.

By contrast, Ricciardo failed to make Q2, and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris was little better in 13th.

A challenge in Sunday's race appears highly unlikely, but McLaren will continue to work to get their young campaign back on track as soon as possible.

"The only way we're going to move forward is if we put our eyes forward and get on with it," said Ricciardo, who missed the end of pre-season due to coronavirus. "And I think that's important as well for team morale.

"If we just sit and moan and cry... Of course, in qualifying, I'm not happy with 18th, but there's no good being upset about it and not doing anything.

"It's going to require action and effort from all of us, but I think that should motivate us to do better and want to do better. 

"I know we believe that we can be obviously a lot further up the grid, so it's fuel for the fire. It might be a slow burn for now, but that's all we can do to make things better."

Norris is certainly not expecting sudden improvement on Sunday, while he added a turnaround in time for next week's Saudi Arabian GP is also asking a lot.

"There are still a lot of positives – just sadly more negatives than positives," he said. "It's just about time and working on them. I think now we understand them more than ever; it's simply about putting them into action.

"But it's not an overnight job, it's not something that we're going to turn up [on Sunday] and be amazing, or turn up to Saudi and be amazing.

"It will take time, and [the team] are going to be working hard to try to make those improvements."

Miguel Oliveira described his victory in Indonesia as an emotional rollercoaster as the Red Bull KTM rider triumphed in tricky conditions.

Oliveira finished more than two seconds clear of world champion Fabio Quartararo in a curtailed race at the Mandalika International Street Circuit, which started over an hour late due to torrential rain.

Quartararo qualified in pole position but was passed by Oliveira and Jack Miller, who held the early lead before the Portuguese made the most of superior pace.

The 27-year-old then navigated the wet track superbly to claim a fourth race win in MotoGP and back up his claims in the build-up that he can compete for the title.

"Emotionally, it was a rollercoaster," he said in parc ferme. "The start was perfect and in wet conditions, it is so difficult to find the limit.

"I followed Jack and knew I could be faster. I opened [a gap] and then it was a matter of managing it to the end.

"It hasn't been easy, the last few months haven't been easy for me. I promised my daughter I'd get a trophy in Indonesia – this one's for you.

"Let's go to Argentina, let's see what we can do, but now I'm really happy to be here."

Quartararo dropped to fifth before a supreme ride in the second half of the race saw him end a run of four consecutive non-podium finishes.

The Monster Energy Yamaha star felt the points could prove valuable come the business end of the season.

"I didn't expect it," he said. "Honestly, since the warm-up, I felt that we had something more than usual because we know that with wet conditions we always have more difficulties.

"When it's completely wet and with traction, I know my potential, but today I was better than I expected. I saw an opportunity and took it.

"These are super important points. It was my first podium with a full wet floor."

Miguel Oliveira won a delayed Indonesian Grand Prix on Sunday as he held off a late surge from world champion Fabio Quartararo.

Quartararo had qualified in pole position but dropped to fifth in the difficult conditions as Oliveira built what proved to be an unassailable lead.

Champion Quartararo was on a run of four consecutive races without a podium finish but produced a brilliant ride in the second half of the race to take second ahead of Johann Zarco.

Jack Miller, who led in the early stages, finished fourth and Alex Rins fifth, with Enea Bastianini, winner in Qatar's season opener, down in 12th.

Six-time world champion Marc Marquez was forced to miss the race after a heavy crash during the warm-up left him with concussion.

The action got underway after more than an hour's delay, during which torrential rain fell and lightning struck the edge of the track, with the race shortened to 20 laps.

Miller and Oliveira pulled away from Quartararo after adjusting more quickly to the conditions and the latter surged into the lead as his pace became too much for the Australian.

Jorge Martin crashed at Turn 1 after catching a puddle with his front wheel, highlighting just how treacherous the track remained even after the rain had ceased and the surface began to dry.

Quartararo overtook Rins with eight laps to go before passing Miller and Zarco in a gripping battle for a podium place, the French rider eventually pulling away.

There was not enough time to catch Oliveira, though, the Red Bull KTM man claiming his fourth career win in exemplary fashion.

TOP 10

1. Miguel OIiveira (Red Bull KTM)
2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +2.205 seconds
3. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +3.158s
4. Jack Miller (Ducati) +5.663s
5. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +7.044s
6. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +7.832s
7. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha) +21.115s
8. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +32.413s
9. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +32.586s
10. Darryn Binder (RNF Racing) +32.901s

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Riders

1. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) 30
2. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) 28
3. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 27
4. Miguel OIiveira (Red Bull KTM) 25
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 24

Teams

1. Red Bull KTM 53
2. Monster Energy Yamaha 41
3. Suzuki Ecstar 40
4. Repsol Honda 31
5. Gresini Racing 30

Marc Marquez was forced to miss the Indonesian Grand Prix on Sunday after a crash during the warm-up.

The six-time world champion suffered a huge highside at Turn 7 and was left dazed on the ground after a heavy landing. He was taken to hospital for a check-up.

Race organisers later confirmed Marquez had suffered concussion and was not fit to start the first grand prix in Indonesia since 1997.

MotoGP medical director Dr. Angel Charte said: "Marc is fine. He had a high energy crash in the warm-up, which resulted in a head injury.

"Initially, we examined him here and then referred him to the hospital in Lombok. He underwent several radiological tests, which were negative.

"In agreement with the rider and the team, and due to the fact that this type of pathology requires a period of observation between 12 and 24 hours, the rider, the team and the MotoGP medical staff have decided to declare him as unfit."

The 29-year-old crashed twice during Saturday's qualifying session and had been due to start in 14th place, Franco Morbidelli's grid penalty pushing him up one spot.

The race at the Mandalika circuit was delayed by over an hour due to torrential rain, with television cameras capturing the dramatic moment that lightning struck the side of the track.

It had previously been decided to shorten the race to 20 laps as extreme heat had prompted concerns over tyre safety.

Reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo qualified in pole position ahead of Jorge Martin, with Enea Bastianini – who won the season opener in Qatar – starting in fifth.

Mercedes should not be considered challengers for the Bahrain Grand Prix, so says Charles Leclerc, though reigning world champion Max Verstappen remains wary of their threat.

Ferrari driver Leclerc and Red Bull's Verstappen secured pole and second on the grid respectively for Sunday's Formula One curtain-raiser.

Indeed, Ferrari and Red Bull took all four top spots in Sahkir, where Lewis Hamilton ultimately qualified fifth on Saturday, with his new team-mate George Russell down in ninth.

Mercedes have looked off the pace over practice and Leclerc, who claimed his 10th career pole at the circuit where he clinched his first in 2019, predicted the Silver Arrows will struggle to close the gap.

"I personally, still had the doubt after FP3," Leclerc stated of Mercedes' performance. "It was quite obvious that they were not at ease.

"Considering what happens in the years before, they were hiding their gains quite a lot, This year? Well, actually, they weren't hiding their gains. They were struggling more than other years.

"I still expected them maybe to be fighting for [pole position] with us. Then for the race tomorrow. Considering their pace of today, I don't think so but let's wait and see."

Lewis Hamilton claims Ferrari and Red Bull are "in another league" to Mercedes after the seven-time Formula One world champion qualified in fifth for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who missed out on a record-breaking eighth drivers' championship title last year in controversial circumstances after an absorbing battle with Max Verstappen, has previously cast doubt upon Mercedes' ability to compete in 2022.

The 37-year-old insisted that his team would not be competing for early wins at the end of pre-season testing, and impressive performances from Ferrari and Red Bull has done nothing to change Hamilton's opinion.

Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will begin Sunday's season-opener in Bahrain on the front row, either side of defending champion Max Verstappen.

With Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez fourth-fastest, Hamilton claimed that he did not expect to compete with either Ferrari or Red Bull in Bahrain, saying the two teams are "in another league".

"I'm not saying I'm relieved [with fifth place]," Hamilton told Sky Sports. "[But] I'm generally really happy with the day, given where we've been the last few weeks, [with] the struggles that we've had, the problems that we've had with the car.

"It has been a bit of a nightmare to drive, but we've kept our heads down, kept working away and I'm proud of everyone for staying positive.

"The guys ahead of us are in another league. 

"I'm generally happy where we are, it's not the front row, but we will make improvements and we'll do the best we can tomorrow."

Hamilton, who won last year's Bahrain Grand Prix after starting second on the grid, said his task for Sunday would be to ward off pressure from those behind him, including his former Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who will start his first race for Alfa Romeo in sixth.

"These guys [the Red Bull and Ferrari drivers] will be going ahead," Hamilton added.

"We are not in the fight with them, they were a second ahead of us yesterday. My battle is with the guys behind us.

"Of course, I'll try to be as fast as I can and get ahead, but their performance was quite a bit ahead of us."

Mercedes are looking to win a ninth consecutive constructors title this term, with Red Bull last winning the title back in 2013.

Charles Leclerc warned his Formula One rivals there is more to come from himself and Ferrari after he took pole at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Ferrari have impressed in testing as F1 heads into a new era, with significant changes to the aerodynamics of the cars, a freeze on engine development and alterations to tyres hoped to lead to more competitive racing.

The signs were encouraging, predominantly for those cars using Ferrari power units, across the three sessions of qualifying in Sakhir.

Ferrari's form in testing carried through to Saturday's shoot-out for pole, with Leclerc leaving it late to leapfrog team-mate Carlos Sainz and secure his place at the front of the grid for Sunday's race.

Leclerc's time of 1:30.558 gave him his second pole in Bahrain and the 10th of his career.

Defending world champion Max Verstappen (1:30:681) managed to split the Ferraris, with his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez (1:30:921) behind Sainz (1:30.687) in fourth.

Mercedes may have to temper expectations of again contending for the drivers and constructors' championships, their struggles illustrated by Lewis Hamilton qualifying fifth and new team-mate George Russell coming ninth.

"It feels good. The last two years have been incredibly difficult for the team," Leclerc said afterwards, referencing Ferrari's consistent underachievement in recent years. 

"We were quite hopeful that this new opportunity for us was an opportunity to be back in the front and I think we have worked extremely well as a team to find ourselves again in a position to fight for better places."

"I wasn't completely happy with my driving but managed to do that lap in Q3."

Asked if there is more he and the team can do, Leclerc replied: "Of course there is, also from the driving point it's completely different compared to last year. There's definitely much more to come hopefully from us.

"We were pretty sure that Red Bull was going to be quicker than us in qualifying, a little surprised that wasn't the case.

"I will still stay cautious. The pace is there, but the race is long and we need to stay on it."

Describing his performance, Verstappen said: "I think it was a bit hit and miss. Q2 seemed quite good but Q3 it was more of a struggle to get the balance together.

"We have a good race car, which at the end of the day is the most important.

"Here you want to be good in qualifying of course but you also really want to make sure your car is working for the race, because the tyres are really struggling a lot more there and it's a bit different to some other tracks."

Sainz expressed satisfaction despite missing out on pole.

"I'm quite happy with the progress I've made throughout the weekend," he said. "To be even fighting for the pole position was good news for me.

"Charles has been ahead the whole weekend and he deserves the pole position."

Provisional Classification

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:30.558
2. Mex Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.123s
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.129s
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.363s
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.680s
6. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) +1.002s
7. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +1.250s
8. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1.637s
9. George Russell (Mercedes) +1.658s
10. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +1.780s