It can be said that the first of twenty-three races of this Formula 1 season begins with an unexpected pathos at the end, even if the protagonists were very predictable: Hamilton and Verstappen. Between the two, the reigning six-time world champion wins. Not for full merit: in the very last laps, the discriminating factor was an erroneous assessment of the young Verstappen, who however had just become the protagonist of a beautiful and progressive comeback, which resulted in a decisive and incisive overtaking for the leadership when there were five laps to go. .
The first band and Mercedes-Red Bull
Unfortunately for him, due to “oga” and exceeding the permitted lines, from the Red Bull wall he was asked to return the position and, from there, that advantage of tires and confidence to overcome it again, vanished like snow in the sun. In registering another Mercedes victory and in verifying a decidedly grown Red Bull thanks to the latest technical updates of the Honda engine, we can begin to sketch a first balance of forces in the field of this vintage 2021, identifying the two of them again as a first-tier team. . While McLaren and Ferrari, albeit a step backwards as well as in the first draft of the provisional classification of the constructors’ championship, are close enough to allow us to hope for significant room for improvement and pleasant surprises in the months to come. Removed the head duel, with a delay between the first two of less than a second, in fact, there was a bit of “empty” until Bottas’ third place, never really emerged and also penalized by a faulty pneumatic pistol at the tire change, which made him lose at least 8 seconds, but always “there”, in front, doing his job as a faithful “squire” and “cap” on the podium for the rival teams. In short, it is a bit boring to have him driving a Mercedes so fast this year but without ever putting on a show, never a sharp personality, never a flicker of grit, a rush of passion.
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What’s the weather like at Ferrari
It hurts, then, to see immediately behind a deserving Norris (Mc Laren) fourth, while he fought for over half a race: even those who do not have a British passport, perhaps a little bit sorry. The same goes for Perez, fifth, however satisfied to have led the Red Bull so well at the end, despite a serious problem at the start, when his car suddenly stopped in the formation lap, forcing him to restart from the pit lane. Where is the Ferrari? Down here. We could have hoped for better, since in the meantime we have reached the second half of the top ten. But it is precisely that area of the standings where we begin to see stories of drivers and teams who can and must do better, but who at least sweated, fought, were framed by TV. And that in large part they can be quite satisfied. It starts with Leclerc. Seven seconds from Perez and almost a minute from the leader. But that’s not bad, considering that historically the reds have never done well on this track. Settimo Ricciardo: he would have hoped for better, but he is fresh from the team, so he will have to earn the respect of Norris and the great bosses. Encouraging the eighth of Sainz, making his debut in the seat that was by Vettel. He managed to get noticed and give one of the best moments of this Sunday. On lap 21, in fact, he was seen attacking and overtaking both Alonso and Vettel in a few corners, one after the other, one better than the other. Two “ex” of great honor, with six world championships on their shoulders: one returning to the world championship, the other at the first “green” grand prix, after many years in red. A little bit of amarcord, a sign of destiny: it will be a sequence saved with respect in the archives. A memorable moment, one that can be seen several times in the next few years, especially if the young Spaniard manages to get good results with the pony uniform.
Beware of Tsunoda’s Alpha Tauri
Continuing in reading the ranking, one cannot fail to notice the ninth place of Yuki Tsunoda, a newcomer to Formula 1 with the Alpha Tauri of Faenza. First grand prix, two points and fifth place in the provisional world championship for the former Toro Rosso, born Minardi. How many can tell the same thing, including great champions? Another small but significant joy for Italy which, for just a second, even touches a dot with Raikkonen (at the wheel of the Italian-Swiss Alfa Romeo this year too), behind Stroll (Aston Martin) and followed by Giovinazzi, first of the dubbed. Among the debuts of 2021, it is also necessary to remember that of Mick Schumacher, second son of the most important and well-known “star performer” of the sport, who arrives at 22 in Formula 1, at the same age as his father made his debut. Not a little, but his managers decided to wait for this step until the moment in which he would have reached full competitive maturity, that is, with the title of Formula 2 champion in his pocket. This time last, however, he closes this race with dignity, coming under the checkered flag. The Haas is not very competitive, but getting to the bottom and starting, if anything were needed, to create a hierarchy in the garage was a more than respectable achievement. His partner Mazepin, in fact, is already starting to disappoint, as expected.
Alonso’s misfortune
In conclusion, among the four retirements today, the most “unfair” was that of Alonso. It must have been bad luck, perhaps in the numbers, since it was the 313 race in his career in this series, the same number as the license plate of Donald Duck’s car! After two years of absence from Formula 1, where, however, he went to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and also tried the Indianapolis 500, he had already made fear for his return a few weeks due to a bicycle accident. He had recovered quickly from maxillofacial surgery but to put him out today there was a reliability problem with the new Alpine, which had to call him back on lap 34 due to excessive overheating of the brakes. Overall: a good race, even if not the liveliest in absolute terms. Not too many overtaking, few accidents, a lot of tire strategy (by the way: it was test number 400 for Pirelli tires). The safety car did not “compact” the top teams so much at the beginning, but with 11 drivers at full speed there is not much to complain about.