Bahrain Grand Prix: Editor’s Top/Flop

Oscar Piastri on display

While Lando Norris managed to climb back to secure a third place on the podium, the hierarchy is beginning to take shape at McLaren. Having claimed pole position on Saturday, Oscar Piastri mastered the entirety of the Bahrain Grand Prix events to secure his second victory of the season. Taking advantage of a particularly strong car at this start of the championship, the Australian driver moves up in the overall standings, coming within just three points of his teammate, the leader. An advantage that could be challenged at the next meeting in Saudi Arabia.

The Deliverance for Alpine

Relief on the side of the Enstone factory: after the first three races without scoring a single point, Alpine finally opens its account thanks to Pierre Gasly’s seventh place. The last team to have scored no points before this race, the French team takes advantage of this result to (finally) kick off its season. Despite a logical drop in performance after its strong showing in qualifying, the Norman driver managed to stay solid in the race, finishing in the Top 10 and gaining a valuable dose of confidence for the upcoming challenges.

The two Haas in the Top 10

Great team performance from Haas, despite a far from ideal start on the grid. Esteban Ocon started from the 14th position, while Oliver Bearman occupied the last spot at the start. However, the Norman delivered a solid race, finishing in a remarkable 8th place after gaining six positions, thanks in part to excellent tire management. Meanwhile, the Briton also shone by climbing up to 10th place, securing a well-deserved point and achieving the best progress of the day.

A difficult race for Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen had little in the way of illusions after qualifying. Faced with a car that was difficult to master, the four-time world champion started from seventh place, without much hope of aiming for the podium. Ultimately, his main highlight was overtaking Pierre Gasly to secure sixth position. A meager consolation, especially as he finished only eleven seconds behind his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. A gap revealing the performance issues faced by Red Bull, which seems to confine the Dutchman to a secondary role, unless he can pull off a feat like the one achieved in Japan the previous week.

Kimi Antonelli saw his hopes vanish.

Starting from fifth position, the young Italian made an impression at the beginning of the race with a magnificent overtake on Carlos Sainz, establishing himself as a serious contender for the Top 5. But the safety car disrupted his plans: it came out just after his stop, forcing him to return to the pits and costing him precious time against his rivals. Trapped in traffic during the restart, Kimi Antonelli was unable to climb back up and finished in a frustrating 11th place, just outside the points. It is the first time this season that he has finished outside the Top 10.

The Abandonment of Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz delivered a strong performance by securing 8th place on the grid on Saturday. However, on Sunday, the Spaniard faced a challenging Bahrain Grand Prix. He was hit by Yuki Tsunoda after an overtaking maneuver, severely damaging his car. Later, an incident with Kimi Antonelli earned him a penalty. Handicapped by the damage, he was ultimately forced to retire. A frustrating weekend despite a good start to the race for the Williams driver.