Bahrain – Race 1: Vandoorne with Brio, Disaster for the French
Perfect season launch for Stoffel Vandoorne in Bahrain. After securing pole position yesterday, the Belgian from team ART triumphed ahead of Rio Haryanto and Alexander Rossi. The Frenchmen Arthur Pic, Pierre Gasly, and Norman Nato couldn't avoid a collision on the third lap.
At the start of the race, Stoffel Vandoorne got off to the best start, unlike his teammate Nobuharu Matsushita who failed to get off the grid properly. By the first corner, the Belgian was leading the pack ahead of Alex Lynn, Norman Nato, and Raffaele Marciello.
During the third lap, the drivers were able to use the DRS (a new feature this season), which especially benefited Arthur Pic, who climbed to 3rd position. But in the fifth lap, the French camp suffered a significant loss when Norman Nato, while dueling with Raffaele Marciello, collided with the rear of Pic’s car. Pierre Gasly couldn’t avoid the out-of-control cars, causing several title favorites to retire from the race.
The safety car was sent onto the track to remove the crashed single-seaters. Some drivers took the opportunity to make their mandatory pit stop, including Alex Lynn. The Briton appears to have made the best move, as his main competitor remained on the track.
Stoffel Vandoorne makes his pit stop with less than 10 laps to go and rejoins the track in eighth position. However, he will benefit from tires in better condition, lapping notably five seconds faster than the leaders. With five laps to go, Rossi leads ahead of King, Evans, Negrao, and Vandoorne.
The end of the race is lively with a remarkable Stoffel Vandoorne. The Belgian overtakes his rivals one by one on the track and seizes first place in the penultimate lap at the expense of American Alexander Rossi. Behind them, Rio Haryanto is also making waves. The Indonesian driver has the same strategy as the Belgian and also overtakes Rossi in the final lap.
Stoffel Vandoorne starts his season perfectly by winning in Bahrain. At the finish, he is ahead of Campos driver Rio Haryanto. Despite his tires being at the end of their life, Alexander Rossi still secures third place ahead of his teammate Jordan King, the best rookie of the day. Robert Visoiu follows in fifth position ahead of Nobuharu Matsushita, Mitch Evans, and Nathanael Berthon.
