Bahrain: The Hits and Misses from the Editorial Team

The top 3:

Charles Leclerc, a meeting with the future

The real revelation of this second weekend of the season. Comfortable since the beginning of the weekend, fastest time in Q1, Q2, and Q3, Leclerc had already made a sensation during the pole race, delivering two fastest laps in his two Q3 runs, three-tenths ahead of his quadruple world champion teammate. His average start could have reflected a lack of confidence (understandable for a first-time start at the head of a Grand Prix), but that was not the case: the Monegasque hit hard to reclaim first place, with a series of fastest laps and two unstoppable overtakes on Bottas, but especially on Vettel!

The mastery was impressive, lasting around forty laps. There were still about fifteen laps left to fulfill his dream, but Formula 1 also reminded us that nothing is ever guaranteed. Of course, Leclerc bears no responsibility for the failure of his energy recovery system. We can even commend his composure in handling a car with diminishing rear brakes. This effort at least allowed him to hold on until fate lent a helping hand with the Safety Car prompted by the retirement of both Renaults. The Monegasque truly deserved it, leaving Sakhir with his first podium finish as a Formula 1 driver, the sixth youngest driver in history to achieve such a feat.

So, even if the goal was obviously the top step of the podium, Leclerc has definitely made a name for himself with everyone and received full recognition from Lewis Hamilton, no less! Even without the victory, a new star is born at the top of Formula 1.

Lewis Hamilton, combative winner… and fair play!

The big winner of the weekend, against all odds. Under normal circumstances, Hamilton certainly wouldn’t have won this Bahrain Grand Prix. Nonetheless, the five-time world champion delivered a high-flying race, battling with Vettel and forcing him into a mistake, which finally happened on the 38th lap after a very fine overtaking maneuver on the outside of the fourth corner. Before that, the Mercedes driver had kept up with a Ferrari that was clearly the best car at Sakhir.

His performance is even more valuable compared to Bottas’s, who was lost with his setup and left behind. As a great champion, Hamilton had the right words at the finish, for Leclerc, but also for his team, urging them to double their efforts to maintain the lead in both championships. While waiting for a Ferrari Scuderia revival, the Briton once again maximized a result on a race weekend, which will undoubtedly be useful for the future. And for the 13th consecutive season, Lewis Hamilton will win at least one Grand Prix on a race weekend. An astonishing streak!

Lando Norris, the other triumphant youth!

In this crazy race, the young McLaren driver is finally the “best of the rest”! Eighth before the Renault retirements, the Woking protégé earned the merit of reaching such a performance level, notably by overtaking four cars in the first stint, and by holding off Räikkönen’s Alfa Romeo at the end, which is exactly… 20 years older than him!

The only shadow on the board was this small collision in the first lap, which dropped him to 12th position. But looking at the standings, it’s hard to imagine a better result for a driver who has seized all the right opportunities since the start of the season, as also evidenced by his two appearances in Q3, both in Melbourne and Sakhir. We still eagerly await a true comparison with Sainz, who was a victim this time of a clash with Verstappen at the beginning of the race and couldn’t compete at the same level as his promising teammate, the third-youngest driver in history to score points, exactly 19 years, 4 months, and 18 days old.

The flop 3:

Sebastian Vettel, a mistake and the return of old demons?

A spin all by himself like a big boy and about ten points lost. The four-time world champion admitted that this maneuver was primarily his fault. Despite everything, it’s hard to blame Vettel for his entire weekend, which wasn’t catastrophic. Especially since the German got off to a good start, moving ahead of Leclerc in the first corner. But this clash with Hamilton at the exit of his second stint already costs him both in terms of points and on a personal level. The breaking of his front wing is hard to swallow but it is characteristic of the new 2019 front wings, more fragile than their 2018 predecessors.

However, Vettel was effortlessly outshone by Leclerc at the start of the race. Struggling to find the ideal setup at the beginning of the weekend, he appeared inferior to Leclerc in every aspect, which is most troubling for a driver who wishes to have Leclerc as a partner to assist him in his title pursuit. Instead, doubt lingers for the future: against Mercedes and also against his teammate, Vettel will need to set the record straight in 15 days in China, or risk reliving the same nightmare as in the second half of the 2018 season.

Kévin Magnussen forgotten

Behind the big guns in qualifying with a fine sixth place, just seven thousandths behind Verstappen’s Red Bull, the Dane was simply nowhere in the race. 13th and one lap down on the winner, the Haas driver gradually fell apart during the Grand Prix. First overtaken by Sainz, then by Ricciardo, Hülkenberg, and Räikkönen, Magnussen dropped out of the top 10 after his pit stop on the 10th lap, never to return.

In complete loss of grip on the second relay, the person in question had no reaction to such a delta gap between qualifying and the race. Simple passing curiosity or real difficulty? Günther Steiner’s men will work tirelessly to understand the extent of the problem, hoping that Romain Grosjean can reach the finish this time, as he once again suffered an unlucky retirement.

Pierre Gasly let down by Max Verstappen again

Worrying start to the season for the Frenchman. The Red Bull driver this time finished his qualifying in 13th place fairly, far from Max Verstappen, seven-tenths behind at the end of Q2. Similarly in the race, the Norman had barely entered the points before the retirement of the two Renaults. Facing the media, the 2016 GP2 Series champion seems without answers, “a passenger” of his car in his own words. He will have to react quickly, in a team that generally does not give much time to its drivers to perform. A small glimmer of hope, Gasly will be in the winning car that had won the last race in China, a year ago. A top 5 will already do the trick…