Ferrari’s big day ended in a double win. Both Red Bulls had to suspend the race. Valtteri Bottas was in trouble at the beginning of the race, but rose to points and was sixth. Giant scarecrow Kevin Magnussen was Fifth.
Micke Suopuro,
Simo Arkko
20.3. 18:42 • Updated March 20th. 20:42
Ferrarin Charles Leclerc grabbed the third race victory of his career in the opening race of the F1 season. Leclerc led the race from start to finish, except for a few moments when he took the lead Max Verstappen.
Ferrari had last won the F1 race in the 2019 season, when Sebastien Vettel and Leclerc won.
The Maranello Reds got a jackpot in the race when Verstappen had to interrupt a technical problem in second place at the very end of the race. Carlos Sainz thus rose to second place in the race.
The spin at the end of the problem also dropped another Red Bull driver completely out of points. This is how Red Bull was left without World Cup points.
Mercedes Lewis Hamilton and George Russell grabbed places three and four. The giant was the Haas driver Kevin Magnussenwhich was ranked fifth.
Magnussen’s performance is underscored by the fact that he didn’t drive in the F1 series at all last season. He last raced at Haas in his second season.
Valtteri Bottas rose to a magnificent sixth place after the initial difficulties. Bottas started the race from the same place, but dropped far from the points due to a technical problem.
– Departure was a problem. It has been in tests at times. The car sighed, there was a problem with the clutch when it vibrated. After that a good race. The car was gaining momentum, Bottas said in an interview with Viaplay.
Next, this story will take a closer look at how the competition progressed. First we go through the top fight, then the competition of Valtteri Bottas.
This is how the top fight progressed
Max Verstappen was unable to follow Charles Leclerc, who had left the post. Red Bull took Verstappen to the first stop one lap earlier than the Monaco.
The reigning champion benefited from the tactics and reached the striking distance. This was the beginning of many rounds of circuit play and a bypass drum: Verstappen and Leclerc acknowledged each other in turn.
On lap 19, Verstappen once again sought a pass that retaliated: Verstappen locked his tire badly. This broke the duel.
At the second depot stops, Verstappen got closer to Leclerc again, but the race leader quickly escaped after a few laps.
Thus, the Dutchman made a third depot stop just over ten laps before the checkered flag. He changed the rings of the soft mixture under him. Ferrari responded by taking in second-placed Sainz.
The race took a turn when Alpha Taurin Pierre Gaslyn the car caught fire. The safety car was thus taken to the track and so Leclerc also went to change his fresh tires.
Reigning world champion Verstappen complained after the safety car that the car had steering problems. In the retreat, Sainz was able to threaten the Dutchman.
A couple of laps before the finish, Red Bull was the worst possible thing: Verstappen’s car froze first, and Sergio Perez suffered the same fate a little later.
That’s how the Ferraris drove for an easy double win.
– I’m so happy. The last two years have been difficult and we knew this was an opportunity for us. The guys have done a great job with this car. We could not have wished for better. It’s amazing to be at the forefront again, Leclerc commented in a track interview.
This is how the race for Bottas and others progressed
Starting from the sixth box, Bottas got a poor start due to a technical problem with the car. The Finn quickly fell outside the points. Alfa Romeo’s number one star had to work hard to get up.
Mercedes drivers got off to a good start. Hamilton quickly rose to fourth, but got into trouble at the first depot stop. Brit had difficulty getting the hard tires to work optimally. The Mercedes driver lost such precious seconds.
– Whether it’s an early stop, Hamilton rained down his team’s decision on team radio.
After the first stops, the situation for Mercedes drivers calmed down: Hamilton ended up driving in fifth place, with George Russell in sixth.
Behind them, a great race was driven by Kevin Magnussen, who raised Haas as the best team behind the big teams.
Bottas got stuck in the middle of the race at the eleventh time to drive Alpha Tauri Yuki Tsunodan after. Bottas sought overtaking many times, but the Japanese defended his position excellently.
After the second depot stop, Bottas was able to raise his ranking as he passed Fernando Alonson. This is how the Finn got to fight for the points against Tsunoda.
With Gasly interrupted, Bottas rose to eighth in the race behind Kevin Magnussen, as Bottas only changed tires at this point.
After the restart, Bottas was unable to threaten Magnussen, but rose to sixth due to Red Bull’s problems. A teammate of a Finnish team Guanyu Zhou rose to points in the opening race of his career when he was tenth.
Of the Mercedes drivers, Hamilton benefited in the same way and reached the podium.
– First of all, congratulations to Ferrari. It is a pleasure to see them doing well again. This was a tough competition. We’ve been in trouble since the workouts, but we did our best, Lewis Hamilton comments.
Bahrain GP results:
1. Charles Leclerc Ferrari
2. Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari + 5,598
3. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes + 9,675
4. George Russell Mercedes + 11,211
5. Kevin Magnussen Haas + 14.754
** 6. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Rom + 16.119
** 7. Esteban Ocon BWT Alps + 19,423
8. Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTau + 20,386
9. Fernando Alonso BWT Alpi + 22,390
10. Guanyu Zhou Alpha Rom + 23,064
11. Mick Schumacher Haas + 32,574
12. Lance Stroll Aston Ma + 45,873
13. Alexander Albon Williams + 53,932
14. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren + 54,975
15. Lando Norris McLaren + 56,335
16. Nicholas Latifi Williams +1.01,795
17. Nico Hulkenberg Aston Ma +1.03,829
Max Verstappen Red Bull center Pierre Gasly AlphaTau Central Sergio Perez Red Bull Central.