Seven talking points from a brilliant Bahrain GP

Leclerc shows what we have been missing

We hadn’t forgotten just how good 24-year-old Charles Leclerc is. It’s just that he hasn’t enjoyed many opportunities to show his true colours in the past two years, for a Ferrari team that had fallen way short of expectations. But that’s all changed now the team has clearly got its sums right for the new ground-effect rulebook. The Scuderia just about had the edge on Red Bull in Bahrain, with Leclerc nabbing a fine pole position on Saturday and then earning a third F1 career win on Sunday with a wonderful performance that reminded us just what F1 has been missing thanks to Ferrari’s fallow period.

World champion Max Verstappen put Leclerc under extreme pressure, and the Monegasque was absolutely equal to it, particularly over the three key laps of their tense battle for the win. On lap 17, Verstappen hooked up tremendous DRS-assisted speed down the pit straight to scorch into the lead at Turn 1, only for Leclerc to use his own trimmed-out rear wing into Turn 4 with an aggressive but beautifully judged moved on the outside. The next lap, Verstappen did it again, but Leclerc repeated his immediate response at Turn 4, this time down the inside. So third time lucky for Verstappen? No – he overdid it on the brakes into Turn 1 and Leclerc didn’t need to wait for Turn 4 to zip back in front. Verstappen never got as close again as the champ kept an eye on his tyres and brake temperatures.

Could he have undercut the Ferrari at the stops? Verstappen certainly thought so, angrily berating his team for their urges of caution on his out-laps. But the reality seemed to be Leclerc just had enough to keep out of reach and didn’t buckle despite the intense pressure, not only from Verstappen but in terms of what this meant to Ferrari. This was a huge performance, and one that Maranello will hope is just the start of something big.

Red Bull fails to go the distance

Verstappen and Sergio Pérez were in the thick of it in Bahrain, but ultimately this has to be judged a disastrous first weekend for Red Bull as an independent powertrain supplier. OK, nothing much has changed at Milton Keynes over the winter given Honda and its staff are still responsible for a powertrain that no longer carries the manufacturer’s name. But the late double failure that left Verstappen and Pérez with a big fat zero in their first race as ‘indie’ entries was about as bad as it could get for the start of the team’s new era.

Then consider to Pierre Gasly’s fiery retirement in the sister AlphaTauri. Flames licked from the business end of his AT03 that is powered by the same Red Bull-badged engine, and he quickly made his exit, triggering a safety car that could have given Verstappen fresh hope following a decision to switch he and Pérez to a three-stopped on soft Pirellis. But he was powerless to keep Leclerc in range as racing resumed with seven laps to go, complaining of heavy steering. The problems got worse and on lap 54, Carlos Sainz Jr. sweeping past to make it a perfect day for Ferrari, Verstappen then pitting into retirement at the end of the lap.

Now Pérez, who had run fourth throughout behind Sainz, was working hard to hold on to a podium as Lewis Hamilton exerted what pressure he could manage. Then at Turn 1 for the final time Checo’s engine locked and he spun, gifting the seven-time world champion a podium finish he could never have expected. The irony of his inheritance, from Red Bull of all teams, wasn’t lost on many in the wake of how last season ended.

Blunted arrows at Mercedes

The podium and fourth place for new team-mate George Russell gave Mercedes something to smile about after a trying first weekend of the new season. The W13 clearly doesn’t have the pace to take on Ferrari and Red Bull right now, Hamilton qualifying a significant 0.7 seconds off Leclerc’s pole on Saturday. He over-delivered early in the race to run fourth ahead of Pérez, but was powerless when the Mexican challenged and passed on lap 10. Much work to be done in Brackley and Brixworth, then. The question is, how long will it take for the Silver Arrows to sharpen their points – and will it prove too late for Hamilton to challenge for his eighth world title? In the era of budget caps and aerodynamic restrictions for F1’s most successful teams, the fightback won’t be easy and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Magnificent Magnussen scores big on return

Beyond the talking points surrounding the top three teams, there was one other obvious star of the 2022 Bahrain GP. At the beginning of this month, Kevin Magnussen had been preparing to race for Chip Ganassi Racing’s team of Cadillacs in the Sebring 12 Hours this weekend. Instead, and as the team scored a big win in his absence, the Dane found himself back with the Haas team that had apparently ended his F1 career at the close of 2020.

The most unexpected comeback of the season, in place of the exiled Russian Nikita Mazepin, was remarkable enough. But no one could have predicted Magnussen would qualify an astounding seventh. Even better, the 29-year-old looked set to hold his grid position in the race – then went two better to finish fifth as the Red Bulls faltered. Yes, race winner Leclerc deserved the vote for driver of the race – but it was fitting that the vote for ‘K-Mag’ only just fell short as the next-best performer. What a weekend and what a night for a driver who couldn’t be happier to put his sportscar career on ice, and what an evening too for a team that has been through the wringer, not just recently, but for the past few years too.

Alfa’s shock double-score

There were big smiles as well at Alfa Romeo as Valtteri Bottas delivered a shock sixth on his debut for the team, while F1 new boy Zhou Guanyu – China’s first grand prix driver – drove a fine maiden race to score a point in 10^th. Given how poor the team looked in the opening three-day test in Barcelona, Alfa’s Lazarus act is a genuine (and pleasing) shock. That Bottas even managed to outqualify Russell, the man who has replaced him at Mercedes, made his Bahrain weekend all the sweeter.

Furrowed brows at McLaren and Aston Martin

While Alpine claimed a double score courtesy of Esteban Ocon (seventh) and Fernando Alonso (ninth), and Yuki Tsunoda made up somewhat for Gasly’s retirement with eighth for AlphaTauri, the Bahrain GP was a weekend to forget for both McLaren and Aston Martin. Lance Stroll was out of the frame for points in 12^th, while super-sub Nico Hülkenberg – in for a Covid-positive Sebastian Vettel – trailed home 17^th (although it should be noted he did outqualify his team-mate despite his last-minute draft). As for Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris, 14^th and 15^th at the flag was an accurate return for McLaren’s current form. Woeful from Woking. It must get better from here.

Jury must remain out on the new cars

As for the new rules, have they hit their target to improve the racing spectacle? On this early evidence, it does seem the ground-effects F1 cars can follow closer to each other, and there was plenty of decent racing down the field. But in recent years Bahrain has tended to be good for overtaking. The signs are positive, but it’s got to be too early to judge definitively just how much of a difference the new generation will make. Let’s see how the show goes on over the next few rounds before jumping to conclusions.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.