In the face of adversity, Racing Point keeps a good heart
This is the story of the glass half empty or half full for Racing Point at the end of this first race: Sergio Perez secured a fine sixth place, but the team had more potential and Lance Stroll had to retire.
We were finally going to find out. Would the pink Mercedes be able to place Racing Point just behind the now black Arrows? In qualifying, Sergio Perez secured sixth place while Lance Stroll had to settle for ninth place. Each Pink Panther was therefore outpaced by a McLaren driver, the declared rival among the best of the rest.
At the start of the race, Sergio Perez took full advantage of his sixth place on the grid and showed a promising pace. Charles Leclerc seemed unable to match the pace set by the Mexican, just as Sebastian Vettel was unable to pose a real threat to Lance Stroll.
Unfortunately for the Canadian, it was short-lived since by the 15th lap, he reported losing power on his engine. Initially, it seemed manageable, but he had to slow down, eventually returning to the pits and directly parking in the garage. The owner’s son could only acknowledge the missed potential: « It was a good start to the race but then I quickly lost power. We tried to make several adjustments but ended up having to retire. We will analyze the issue and come back stronger. The car was performing well and I think our pace would have been good. We could have scored big points today. »
These points finally came from Sergio Perez, who is always so consistent and opportunistic when the race gets exciting, and circumstances are exceptional. Thus, during the first safety car, he was the only one to opt for medium tires while the rest of the field switched to hards. The second gamble was not to pit during the second intervention in order to prioritize track position.
Finally, this second bet was not a winning one, with the comeback of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris at the end of the race: « We did not have luck with the safety cars. It’s easy to say after the race that we should have stopped a second time. I had to defend against drivers with fresher tires, which was difficult. However, it was a good race and we learned a lot about the car and our performance. » The Mexican therefore prefers to focus on the eight points brought home, rather than the loss of a potential podium in the final laps.
When it comes time to draw an initial conclusion, McLaren’s fear that Racing Point would be too advantaged by their relationship with Mercedes does not seem to be completely coming true. On the other hand, the battle promises to be even more intense since these two teams appear to be on the same level as a Scuderia Ferrari that seems to have once again missed the mark in their off-season developments.
