2019 Bahrain Grand Prix Blog

What a Grand Prix we enjoyed on Sunday evening! This one had everything, with action from the start all the way to the chequered flag. The only disappointment was that Charles Leclerc didn’t win, because he deserved it.

After the race Lewis Hamilton consoled a despondent Leclerc saying: “You drove great this weekend, man… You really drove fantastic. You’ve got a long old future ahead of you. I know it sucks in this moment, but you’ve got a long, long way to go.”

Hamilton and Mercedes will be delighted with their points tally from the weekend, but they also know this was probably the most fortunate of Lewis’ 74 race victories to date.

Somebody else looking nervously over their shoulder is Sebastian Vettel. Currently he’s regarded as Ferrari’s number 1 driver but for how long? The German didn’t do anything to enhance his reputation when he spun his SF90 in a tussle for second place with Lewis Hamilton. Vettel ultimately finished 5th after his front wing detached itself and he was forced to pit for a new nose. It was a scary moment, which could have ended up much worse.

Lando Norris had another blinder, steering his McLaren home in 6th sport, just ahead of Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo. It’s worth pointing out that both gained a place when Nico Hulkenberg’s Renault lost power, almost in unison with Daniel Ricciardo’s car, on lap 53. Renault have not confirmed if both incidents were linked but it seems like a mighty coincidence if they were not. Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul was succinct with his analysis, saying: “After a very intense winter, it has been a very bad start.”

Haas are another team who were expecting a reasonable points haul at Sakhir but Guenther Steiner and co were left disappointed. We suspect that patience may be wearing thin with Roman Grosjean. In 2018 he made it to July without scoring a point. 2019 has started in a similar fashion. And as we all know, you only get so many chances in this sport…

After two races Mercedes have a commanding lead in the Constructors Standings with 87 points to Ferrari’s 48. That doesn’t tell the whole story, but Ferrari need to start converting some of these chances sooner rather than later.

Next up is China, a race Mercedes have won for 4 of the past 5 years. Mattia Binotto, take a deep breath…

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