Bahrain Grand Prix – Race: Masterful Hamilton, Disappointment for Pérez

15th race of the 2020 season, the Bahrain Grand Prix experienced a significant event right from the start, which almost turned into a tragedy, with Romain Grosjean’s crash at the second corner of the first lap. Miraculously emerging from a flaming car split in two with burns on his wrists and ankles, the Haas driver seemingly suffers “only” from a few broken ribs.

The highlight of a race won by Lewis Hamilton, who continues his harvest of victories, the 95th of his career, an absolute record in F1. The Mercedes driver triumphs at Sakhir ahead of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon, who was lucky to make it to the podium, thanks to Sergio Pérez’s engine failure two laps from the finish.

Grosjean, the horrific crash

Before Grosjean’s crash, the start was marked by Valtteri Bottas’ poor getaway, dropping from 2nd to 6th place, immediately overtaken by the two Red Bulls, Sergio Pérez, and Daniel Ricciardo.

A small event before the most significant impact in modern F1: at the exit of the 2nd turn, Romain Grosjean went off the track after a collision with Daniil Kvyat’s AlphaTauri. A massive accident and a 53G impact for the French driver: the Haas caught fire, split in two after crossing the safety barrier. The red flag was shown even before the end of the first sector. The unharmed French driver was evacuated in an ambulance and then transferred to the Sakhir military hospital. His initial health report mentions a few burns on his wrist and ankle. A miracle considering the violence of the crash!

Lance Stroll barrel roll, Renault drivers tumble down the standings

1h20 after the crash, a new standing start was given. Hamilton got off to a good start while Bottas, who started 4th, was battling with Perez. At the start, Vettel was caught in a sandwich, causing him to lose many positions. In the pack, a spectacular collision drew attention between Kvyat and Stroll. The Canadian rolled over, ending up upside down. The Russian driver was penalized 10 seconds for this poor maneuver.

While the safety car was deployed, Bottas went into the pits to switch to hard tires after suffering a slow puncture. Magnussen did the same to change his damaged front wing, following a collision with Vettel who was trying to avoid Stroll.

At the restart, we found Hamilton in the lead, ahead of Verstappen and Perez. Then Albon, Norris, Ocon, Leclerc, Ricciardo, Gasly, and Sainz. Vettel is 15th ahead of Bottas.

Verstappen, very sharp, was not caught off guard by Hamilton’s restart. Battle between Leclerc and Ocon, who defended his position very well. Sainz passed Gasly and took advantage of an error by Ricciardo to overtake him. The Spaniard, on soft tires, with a very good pace, overtook Leclerc after a nice maneuver. The Monegasque, struggling, is overtaken by Ricciardo and then Gasly. It’s no better for Vettel, who is lost at the back of the pack with an undrivable car.

Pit stops for many drivers. Ricciardo has switched to hard tires while his teammate put on a new set of used medium tires. Similar strategy for Hamilton who will need to make a second stop. Verstappen has switched to hard tires and is attacking to catch the leader. The Dutch driver has nothing to lose with over a 13-second lead over Perez.

The Renault drivers successfully performed the undercut on Sainz. After a few laps, he caught up with Ricciardo and overtook him, then a lap later, did the same to Ocon. The McLaren seems to be handling its tires well.

Second stop for Bottas who has an offset strategy and is fighting in the middle of the pack. He has returned to the points by overtaking Leclerc who, like Vettel, has not found his rhythm in this race. Verstappen, dissatisfied with his tires, has pitted. Hamilton and Ocon have also switched to hard tires. Ricciardo followed a lap later, but it is the Frenchman who emerged ahead of his teammate. A battle ensued between the two drivers, eventually seeing Ricciardo pass.

Despite a poor pit stop, Sainz stayed ahead of the Renaults with a very good pace. A 3-stop race for Bottas who switched to mediums and the Ferraris to hard tires. The Finn recovered well and overtook Ocon. With fresher tires, Norris overtook Gasly, who might try to go to the end with his hard tires with 11 laps remaining. But Sainz came back and passed the Frenchman, who will have to fend off Ricciardo.

Verstappen pitted for a third time, unhappy with his set of hard tires. A switch to scrubbed mediums without losing position to Perez. But terrible disappointment for the Mexican who lost his engine 3 laps from the finish! Engine on fire on the Racing Point as the safety car is out and will conclude this race.

Complete race standings: