Verstappen and Red Bull dominate the first round in Bahrain as usual. Ferrari second strength.
Nothing neweverything exactly as predicted: Max Verstappen on Red Bull is still and always the dominator of Formula 1. First F1 race in Bahrain, first pole and first victory. Right away grand slam: he never left first position, not even during the pit stops. The usual perfect race for the Dutch ace who didn’t waver for a moment in the entirety of the 57 laps. A phenomenon, little to add.
The absolute values already seem well defined: Red Bull naturally very first, followed by a Ferrari however distant. Behind them, Russell’s Mercedes held up against the reds for more than half the race, while Hamilton did worse, finishing seventh and distant from his teammate. Then there are the McLarens, evidently downsized. Not as much as the Aston Martins, who sadly finished in the last two places for points. Too bad for those who last year were defined as “third Red Bull”. Within the teams, apart from the Red Bull hierarchy which it would be superfluous to talk about, the duels in Ferrari and Mercedes will be interesting, especially after the contractual announcements of recent weeks. Sainz and Hamilton experienced two opposing races: the Spaniard, in fact, performed better than his much-renovated teammate, while a truly difficult season awaits the future Ferrari driver alongside George Russell, who becomes more and more the image man of the German team every day.
Support Sportellate: associates Our work is based on the commitment and passion of a young editorial staff. Through the association you help us grow and always improve the quality of the content. Join now!
Charles Leclerc’s race was a nightmare for a good three quarters. Immediately after the start, the terrible discovery: the brakes are working badly, the right front is on over temp 100 degrees to the left. Disaster. Race compromised after a few meters. Leclerc sees himself overtaken by everyone, first by Russell, then by Perez, finally by Sainz, in great form in Bahrain. After the final pit stop, with an evidently smaller fuel load, the car became drivable again and Leclerc began to chase Russell, miraculously finishing fourth. Sainz, however, excluding Mad Max, was probably the MVP of the evening. Only slower than the world champion, he maintained the same times as the second Red Bull for a long time. The very personal duel with his teammate was won, in a season that to define as complicated for him would be an understatement.
Ferrari is undoubtedly the second force in the F1 world championship, and the Bahrain race is further confirmation of this after the tests. Small consolation, some will say. True, we answer, but we are aware that the season is too long for us not to enjoy anything from the first race. Second strength means that upon Verstappen’s first retirement (which hasn’t happened in 42 consecutive grands prix, for the record) Ferrari could be there to play for the victory together with Perez, who lapped for a long time at Carlos Sainz’s times. It is a palliative, we are aware of it. Just as we know that not even any developments will be able to bring the red car closer to Red Bull which, for a long time, has been updating the car like no one else. However, knowing that you can compete for the podium in all the races is an aspect that should not be underestimated. Especially in the era of Adrian Newey paired with Max Verstappen.
There was no particular exploit among the little ones in the F1 GP in Bahrain. Those who had to go scored points, namely Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin, in strict order of arrival. Alone Zhou, for a moment, deluded everyone that he could bring his Sauber to the podium. The dream, however, lasted until the second stop; the second hard he immediately dampened his ambitions. Bad for them Visa Racing Bulls, finished 13th and 14th, significantly downsized after the triumphalist announcements of the tests. The Alpines are terrible, but we already knew this. The French team confirms itself as the last force in the championship and, if it hadn’t been for the troubles suffered by Sergeant and Bottas, they would have finished 19th and 20th.