The off-season may have been short, and the cars may not have changed much, but F1 had a spectacular opening weekend in Bahrain. Sunday’s race just goes to show that it doesn’t need a crashfest to make a good race, and whilst there were plenty of contenders for top of the class, a few drivers had weekends to forget:
Top of the class:
Lewis Hamilton – Qualifying: 2nd | Race: 1st
This was the type of performance that makes Lewis’ salary worthwhile for Mercedes. They may not have the best package in 2021, but Mercedes have a driver more than capable of bringing out the best of his car.
After qualifying nearly four-tenths off Max Verstappen it was better than they could have expected, especially after not being able to make a crucial pass at the start. Ultimately, strategy played a huge role, but Lewis’ race management was key, considering he pitted laps earlier on both occasions.
It was his ability to stay inside a 2-second window in the first stint that really set up Lewis’ 96th victory. Defending at critical points where Mercedes had a slight advantage over the charging Red Bull ensured that Hamilton would stand on the top step after the chequered flag. He also broke another record on Sunday, overtaking Michael Schumacher as the driver who has led the most laps in F1, now sitting on 5126.
The track limits are another story which will be picked up on later, but Hamilton wasn’t the only driver taking liberties at turn 4, and he certainly won’t be the last. However, if this performance was anything to go by, it looks like a huge fight is brewing between Lewis and Max for the Championship this year.
Max Verstappen – Qualifying: 1st | Race: 2nd
Max Verstappen did everything he needed to do to win in Bahrain, he was let down by strategy and not having a rear-gunner. The Dutchman topped all three practice sessions, Q1 and Q3, yet just fell 0.7 seconds short of grabbing his 11th victory.
His final Q3 lap is one of the best laps I’ve seen from Max, and his maturity has really developed in the last two seasons. His start was perfect and he took the optimal line into turn 1 that prevented anyone from making a move. Verstappen also judged the restart perfectly to avoid the powerful slipstream down the pit straight.
Unfortunately for Max, as soon as Mercedes triggered the undercut with a stop on lap 17, it was a mountain to climb to regain the lead. Not only was the strategy poor, but the lack of Sergio Pérez really hurt Max’s chances on Sunday. This wasn’t necessarily the Mexican’s fault, his Q2 exit was eye-opening, but the failure that saw him breakdown on the formation lap would have meant a pit lane start no matter where he qualified.
Had Pérez not had the formation lap shutdown, he could have been a significant thorn in Mercedes’ race-winning strategy. Ultimately it wasn’t to be, and Max was correct to hand the place back on lap 54 after passing Lewis off track, we wouldn’t have wanted a repeat of Austin 2017. This is a long season and there will be tracks that the Red Bull will dominate on, so Max shouldn’t be too disheartened with the narrow loss on Sunday.
Charles Leclerc – Qualifying: 4th | Race: 6th
The last time Charles qualified fourth, he crashed out at turn 4 of the Sakhir Grand Prix last year. This year couldn’t have been any more different. A special lap put the Scuderia on the second row, and Charles was able to claim third on the opening lap after a move around the outside of Bottas at turn four.
He wasn’t able to hold on to the place for long, and slipped behind a McLaren and Red Bull by the end, but Leclerc put up a valiant fight. There are positive signs that Ferrari have leapt to the fourth best car on the grid, so challenging McLaren is a bonus.
This may not have been the podium that Charles got at the season-opener in Austria last year, but 6th is a positive showing considering he was a lowly 10th on the same track in 2020. He will also be pleased by the six-tenths buffer he had over new teammate, Carlos Sainz Jr., in qualifying. Coming within a tenth of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas isn’t bad for a Ferrari either.
Yuki Tsunoda – Qualifying: 13th | Race: 9th
It was a weekend to remember for the Japanese driver, becoming the first driver from Japan since 2012 to score points in F1 must have been the icing on the cake. Yuki looked to be at pace immediately out of the box, setting the second fastest time in Q1. However, Tsunoda was knocked out in Q2 with the medium-tyre gamble failing to pay off, therefore lining up 13th for the race.
Nevertheless, Tsunoda had a strong race. He may have lost a few places during the start but recovered them quickly, putting some special moves on Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) and Fernando Alonso (Alpine).
He mugged Lance Stroll on the final lap to finish 9th. Becoming the first driver since Stoffel Vandoorne at the same venue in 2016 to score points on their debut. Ross Brawn labelled the 20-year-old “F1’s best rookie in years”, which is not a shoddy label from one of the sport’s most important figures.
Fernando Alonso – Qualifying: 9th | Race: DNF
The ratings are lopsided because a number of drivers had a good weekend, but this one may be a surprise addition. There are two reasons Alonso gets a shoutout. Firstly, getting into Q3 for the first time in 15 races is a decent achievement for any driver, but one that has had two years out of the sport and a significant injury in February, it was a commendable effort from the two-time Champion.
The second reason was his race performance, whilst teammate Esteban Ocon was scrapping away near the back after an unfortunate Q1 exit, Alonso was battling with Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin cars. I doubt Alonso would have scored points but he is punching above his weight at such an early stage of his return, it’s clear that Alpine have taken a step back after a strong 2020 (as Renault). It’s a shame that a sandwich wrapper ruined his brakes and his race on lap 32.
The struggle bus:
Nikita Mazepin – Qualifying: 20th (started 19th) | Race: DNF
No surprises here, the Haas driver is captaining the struggle bus this time, hopefully he won’t bin this one after two corners. Mazepin looked uncomfortable all weekend, having at least five excursions in practice and qualifying.
He won’t be making many friends (particularly Ocon and Vettel) on the grid, breaking the gentlemen’s agreement in jumping the last corner queue is one problem, but then spinning at turn one to bring out yellow flags and ruin other drivers’ laps was less than ideal for Nikita.
The less said about the race the better. He ended up doing more formation laps than racing laps, and at least he managed to make up a few places before turn 1, but he then span off the apex of turn 3 and hit the barriers on the exit of the corner, bringing out a first lap safety car for the fifth year in a row in Sakhir.
His Bahrain performance has got to be one of the worst debut weekends of any driver in my lifetime, and he certainly isn’t getting much sympathy from the fanbase.
Sebastian Vettel – Qualifying: 18th (started 20th due to penalty) | Race: 15th
Mazepin wasn’t the only driver to have a mare in Sakhir, a certain four-time World Champion did too. Sebastian Vettel’s switch to Aston Martin couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start after having been knocked out in Q1 due to being caught out by Mazepin’s spin.
The German would also feel the wrath of the Stewards, being hit with a five-place grid penalty and three penalty points for failing to slow for yellow flags. Ironically, they were brought out by his replacement, Carlos Sainz Jr., after stopping on track.
The only saving grace was Vettel gaining six places on the opening lap, he would be battling over 13th near the end of the race before ramming Alpine’s Esteban Ocon into turn 1. Though both continued, Vettel was given a 10-second time penalty and 2 penalty points.
Not only was this a weekend to forget, but this is a record-breaking calendar, and to already be pretty much halfway to a race ban after one race is disastrous. Seb has to tread carefully for the rest of the season otherwise he could face a weekend on the sofa, at least Aston Martin have a reserve driver this year should this be the case.
The Stewards
I’m tired of track limits debates in F1, and the Stewards really don’t help by having different degrees of monitoring between qualifying and races. I take issue with Lewis running wide at turn 4 29 times during the Grand Prix, a driver of his experience should know that running all four wheels off the track to gain an advantage is frowned upon. Yet, pretty much every driver took liberties at turn 4 because the Stewards said they weren’t monitoring it during the race.
Fast forward to lap 54 and Max’s overtake, which was completed off the track on the exit of turn 4, that rule is black and white. Remember the reaction to his penalty for cutting the turn 17 apex at Austin in 2017 and losing the podium to Kimi Räikkönen, the driver he overtook on the final lap. Max ceding the place back was the correct decision, at least the race wasn’t decided with more penalty drama.
Ideally, tracks limits should fall under the ‘leaving the track and gaining an advantage’ rule and have a simple three strikes before a penalty. Two tyres should remain inside the white line, it’s a simple rule and easy to police as well. Yet again, this is F1 overthinking responses in fear of being criticised, unfortunately the policing of turn 4 at Bahrain has felt the wrath of disgruntled fans, pundits and ex-drivers.
Overall, plenty of drivers should be pleased with their weekend. Most teams will be breathing a sigh of relief that they aren’t facing the repair bills needed after the chaotic race at Spielberg to open a delayed 2020 season.
There’s a three-week break until the revived Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on the 18th April, plenty of time to analyse the data to prepare for the next 22 races. Unfortunately, fans won’t be present on this occasion but in a small consolation, the race will see a return to the traditional 2pm lights out for UK fans.
