Formula 1 – Bahrain GP: Hamilton wins at the start – Schumacher and Vettel without points

Lewis Hamilton won the Bahrain Grand Prix. The reigning world champion beats Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the first race of the season. Sebastian Vettel did not make it into the points despite the race to catch up with his Aston Martin. Mick Schumacher (Haas) finished 16th on his F1 debut.

The winner then spoke of a “difficult race” and explained: “After the early stop we knew it would be difficult, but we had to protect ourselves against Max. They had a great performance all weekend.” So it took a “special” effort to win today. “It was one of the toughest races I’ve had in a while,” said Hamilton.

On the other hand, Verstappen was angry, who had to let Hamilton pass a few laps before the end due to a penalty. “It’s a shame, of course, but you have to see it positively. We can really fight with them and I think it’s a great start to the year,” said the Dutchman. He believes that he would have “gotten the five seconds out easily” had the stewards’ orders been disregarded and the race simply driven to the end.

Sebastian Vettel did not get past 15th place in his Aston Martin. In addition, there was a time penalty that he received because of a collision with Esteban Ocon (Alpine). “I think we’ve learned a lot and know where we can improve,” said the four-time world champion after a difficult race. Regarding the incident with Ocon, he said: “There is not much to say. I thought he would stay on the right, but then came back on the left. And when I was right behind him, of course, I had no more downforce and I have then just met him. “

Debutant Mick Schumacher collected important kilometers in his first Formula 1 race. “The conditions weren’t ideal, it was very windy, so it was very difficult to keep the car on the track. Then at the beginning I spun, which took us a bit away from the other drivers.” Nevertheless, he was “happy that I was able to finish the race. I am 95 percent satisfied. Only, of course, not with my spin at the beginning,” said Schumacher.

Bahrain GP: The Analysis

Verstappen team-mate Sergio Perez was already slow in the formation lap. An electronics problem forced the Mexican to stop next to the track, but after a few attempts he managed to restart his Red Bull. However, the race management decided on a second warm-up lap, and Perez was able to start the race from the pits.

At the start, pole setter Verstappen then had the upper hand, who was able to leave Hamilton, who was also well off, behind. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc passed Bottas in third, and the two McLaren swapped positions.

A departure by Schumacher’s Haas team-mate Nikita Mazepin ensured the first safety car phase after just a few corners. While accelerating out of turn three, the Russian lost his rear end, crashed into the lane and had to give up the race. Even at the subsequent restart, Verstappen had few problems defending his top position, with only Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) losing positions when he damaged his front wing while overtaking Lando Norris (McLaren).

Little happened in the field until the first tire changes. At the front, Verstappen gained a comfortable two-second lead over Hamilton, while Bottas, who regained third place from Leclerc, was unable to follow either of them. In the back of the field, Vettel in particular made up a few positions and overtook Williams, Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), among others.

The first pit stops showed that drivers who came earlier to change tires benefited in particular. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) passed Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), and Leclerc also made up some positions. At the front, in contrast to both Mercedes drivers, Verstappen chose an alternative strategy. The Dutchman pulled his first stint a little longer, with which Hamilton managed to take the lead via undercut.

There was little movement during the second stint, apart from a few changes of position in the lower midfield. Verstappen caught up with Hamilton with his fresher tires, which is why Hamilton decided to make a second stop earlier to cover an undercut of the RB driver.

So everything came down to a showdown between Verstappen and Hamilton in the last part of the race. With the better tires, Verstappen caught up with the reigning world champion in big steps and finally closed five laps before the end. On lap 52, the Dutchman even passed the Briton, but had to give up his place again when overtaking because the track limits were exceeded. Another attack was no longer successful, and Hamilton finally managed to cross the finish line with a lead of just seven tenths of a second.

The top 10 are completed by Norris (4th, McLaren), Perez (5th, Red Bull), Leclerc (6th, Ferrari), Ricciardo (7th, McLaren), Carlos Sainz (8th, Ferrari), Tsunoda (9th). , Alphatauri) and Stroll (10th, Aston Martin). Bottas secured the extra point for the fastest race lap. Vettel had to be content with 15th place after a penalty he had received because of a collision with Ocon, Mick Schumacher was 16th behind.

Bahrain GP: The tire strategy

At the start of the new season, most of the teams and drivers chose the two-stop strategy proposed by tire manufacturer Pirelli. It was observed that especially undercuts, i.e. the earlier stopping compared to direct competitors, worked very well on the rough and hot asphalt of the Sakhir International Circuit. Behind the front, Norris and Leclerc made up a few places.

At the very front, Hamilton initially chose the earlier tire change to fresh medium to put Verstappen under pressure, but the Red Bull crew did not bring their protégé in immediately afterwards, but rather dragged out his first stint to get the fresher tires out at the back to have.

For the final sprint, Hamilton came to the clearance earlier and switched to the hard tires, but Verstappen was able to play the wild card of the much fresher tires with his longer, first stint. However, the Dutchman did not manage to do that, which is why Hamilton was able to drive his victory home.

Sebastian Vettel was the only driver who decided to just have one pit stop and thus drove a decent strategy for a long time. Coming from 20th place, the Heppenheimer worked his way through the field continuously and was meanwhile on course for points, but his time penalty thwarted his plans.

Highlight of the race: Vettel-Alonso-Sainz three-way battle

Motorsport fans want to see scenes like this. In the three-way battle between Vettel, Alonso and Sainz on lap 20, we witnessed excellent racing. Said protagonists changed places among themselves several times within several laps, and the man in front of them braked a brake and was always followed by a counterattack that was well worth seeing.

Top of the race: Lewis Hamilton

The reigning world champion once again showed his whole class at the season opener. With an alternative strategy compared to Verstappen, he managed to withstand the great pressure of the Dutchman in the last stint and to drive home the victory.

Flop of the race: Nikita Mazepin

Very poor debut from the rookie. Yesterday, Saturday, he lost the tail twice in qualifying, and after a couple of corners this Sunday, it was already time for work because he parked his Haas in the guardrail after making a mistake. More must come from the Russian if he wants to challenge team-mate Schumacher.

Formula 1: The World Championship ranking after 1 of 17 races

• Driver standings:

• Constructors’ rating: