Formula 1 lessons from Bahrain
The world champions have a Ferrari problem
03/21/2022, 07:41 am
Formula 1 has successfully entered a new era. After a slow start, the first Grand Prix of the year in Bahrain offers suspense right to the end. The desert suggests a new hierarchy. Also in the Haas team. Mick Schumacher is under pressure early on.
Leclerc suddenly in the title fight
Charles Leclerc warned. The Monegasque warned that only one race had been completed in the new season. But then he admitted: “We are now in the race for the title, that’s great.” According to first impressions, Ferrari has built a strong car for this season, the engine should be the best in the field. Leclerc benefited from this overall package and won the third Formula 1 race of his career on Sunday. Scuderia teammate Carlos Sainz benefited from Red Bull’s exit, so the Reds could celebrate a double win. “Of course great” is this start, said team boss Mattia Binotto after the last two weak years. But you have to wait four or five races for a World Championship trend.
Verstappen and the Red Bull problem
The world champion cannot be blamed for much. Again he was the significantly stronger Red Bull driver and apparently got everything out of the car. He passed Leclerc three times, but was countered each time. In addition, the world champion was unlucky with instructions from his own pits: After two stops, he was supposed to take care of the new tires on the first lap – and that was the only reason why he stayed behind Leclerc. In the end, even the Red Bull strategists conceded that he could have driven at full speed. The race ultimately ended in the most unfortunate way for Red Bull and Verstappen has at least a few things to worry about: both cars retired, it was apparently the same problem but the team doesn’t know why. The Red Bull is fast again this year. But is it reliable?
Schumacher has a Danish problem
Kevin Magnussen got a kiss from his wife Louise and daughter Laura. The Dane gave Haas a whopping ten points in his first race after the return campaign as a sensational fifth. In 2021, Mick Schumacher’s US team remained pointless. Magnussen found it “crazy”. Schumacher now has a much more dangerous teammate than the Russian Nikita Masepin, from whom Haas recently parted ways. He has to assert himself against Magnussen first. “He did a great job, so I’m very, very happy for the team,” said Schumacher, who spun on the first lap after a collision through no fault of his own and ruined his tires. However, eleventh place is his best career result in Formula 1. That gives him confidence. “We still have a lot of untapped potential in the car,” said Schumacher.
Mercedes is not fast enough. The starting weekend in the desert proved that. The Silver Arrows have to contend with the new aerodynamic requirements much more than Red Bull and Ferrari. This also means that record world champion Lewis Hamilton first has to get used to the role of the hunter. “If you look at the pecking order, it seems very unlikely that you can fight for the championship,” admitted team boss Toto Wolff. Hamilton third after lying in wait, teammate George Russell fourth – that was the maximum after the Red Bull failure. “We struggled quite a bit,” said Hamilton and therefore found the result “quite remarkable”.
Hulkenberg does well
He already had his doubts. Nico Hülkenberg hadn’t moved a Formula 1 car over the race distance for a year and a half, “it’s going to be tough,” he suspected before the start. It was, he ended up at the end of the field, but still put up a good fight. Hülkenberg made a particularly good impression in qualifying, was faster than team-mate Lance Stroll from the start, and he had only known the car for three hours of practice. He may get the next opportunity next weekend – because whether Sebastian Vettel can return to the Aston Martin after his corona infection is an open question.