Bahrain: The Hits and Misses from the Editorial Team

The top 3:

Gasly the magnificent

Who would have imagined such a weekend for the young Frenchman? Dropped by his engine in Australia, Pierre Gasly scores points for the first time in his career. And in what a manner! The young prodigy showcased unwavering consistency by never finishing a session outside the top 10. Starting fifth after Hamilton’s penalty, he finished one spot higher after 57 laps thanks to the misfortune on Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari. But on the track, the “driver of the day” Motors Inside didn’t steal anything from anyone, as his race was solid. The Norman showed his strength at the start against Daniel Ricciardo and then at the VSC restart against Kevin Magnussen. He also opted for a perfectly executed two-stop strategy and was even among the two fastest drivers at the end of the race. Far ahead of his teammate Brendon Hartley, 13th at the finish, 17th after a 30-second penalty following his incident with Pérez. Pierre Gasly achieved the best result for a Honda engine since its return to Formula 1 in 2015. His young career (seven races so far) is well underway.

Vettel the management model

On /f1/actualite/22616-bahrein-course-vettel-et-ferrari-dun-souffle-gasly-au-pied-du-podium-.html, the four-time world champion triumphs over everything. After his fortunate victory in Australia, his success at Sakhir is primarily due to his driving skills. Brilliant poleman on Saturday, the German surpassed Pirelli’s predictions on Sunday by holding 39 laps with his soft tires, at least 10 more than the established forecasts. The ex-Red Bull driver was clever enough to resist Bottas during the two laps of direct confrontation. This victory will count in his career. It also has the merit of masking the pit stop blunder of his teammate. In the overall standings, Vettel leaves Sakhir with a 17-point lead over his greatest rival, Lewis Hamilton.

.@ScuderiaFerrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene:

“We chose to take one of our mechanics up onto the podium as a mark of respect to our colleague Francesco who was injured during the pit stop.

The whole team hopes he recovers quickly.”

Get well soon, Francesco.#BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ROlo5Lx994

— Formula 1 (@F1) 8 April /f1/actualite/22616-bahrein-course-vettel-et-ferrari-dun-souffle-gasly-au-pied-du-podium-.html

The Ericsson Surprise

The Swede didn’t steal the spotlight, but his ninth place is another achievement of this Grand Prix. Starting from the back (17th), Marcus Ericsson is one of the winners of the one-stop strategy. His end of the race was difficult against competitors with fresher tires, but the Sauber driver held on and brought two points to his team, the first since the Italian Grand Prix 2015. A positive way to speak of him beyond Charles Leclerc, his young teammate, who finished 14th.

A night to remember and a P9 for #ME9: “It was a great team effort. I am very happy, very pleased, and I look forward to continuing on this positive path.” #BahrainGP #F1

Read our full report 👉👉https://t.co/KrxvEuqTaL pic.twitter.com/4MgCdpl5rF

— Sauber F1 Team (@SauberF1Team) April 8

The flop 3:

The Excesses of Verstappen

The Dutchman clearly cannot show the potential seen in the RB14 during private testing. Sixth in Australia after a spin, Max Verstappen repeated the feat in Sakhir with two spins in qualifying and the race. While his responsibility for the spin during qualifying is unclear, his misjudgment in the race is more evident. The former Toro Rosso driver laid the blame on Hamilton, but the collision was largely caused by his aggressive driving, which pushed the Mercedes to the edge of the track at the first corner. Max Verstappen’s old demons resurface, namely an impatience that can cost him dearly. He’s already 42 points behind the top of the championship.

The Williams Humiliation

The two cars finished in the last two positions of the race. Proof of its failure, the team is the only one on the grid to have achieved a qualifying time slower than in 2017 (note: for the record, Massa set a time of 1’30″874 against Sirotkin’s 1’31″414 this year). Clearly, the structure led by Paddy Lowe has a lot of work ahead. Lance Stroll did not miss the point, after telling journalists in Bahrain that the team was by far the slowest on the grid. Williams is also the only team yet to score points in the first two races.

A Messy Grosjean

The Haas driver is the worst French performer of the weekend. The former Lotus driver sabotaged himself as early as Saturday with a premature elimination in Q1 and poor preparation for his flying lap. His race didn’t go any better, with a car that lost aerodynamic elements gradually within the pack. Struggling in the pack, his visible frustration nearly resulted in a collision with Magnussen, even while he was on a different strategy. Meanwhile, his teammate finished in fifth position. Fortunately for Romain Grosjean, Shanghai is approaching quickly. It will be a good opportunity to make amends.

Was looking good for a strong points finish until we had to pit to remove some damaged parts from underneath the floor… Hopefully the bad luck is done for the year… Great drive from @KevinMagnussen. Some important points for @HaasF1Team 👍

— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) April 8

What are your hits and misses? Feel free to discuss by leaving your opinion below, while respecting the rules, of course 😉