Oscar Piastri won the Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of second-placed George Russell and third-placed Lando Norris.
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| Photo: Mario Renzi |
Oscar had an absolutely flawless weekend. He secured pole position in qualifying and in the race he gave no one a chance, winning with a lead of more than fifteen seconds. However, his teammate Lando Norris certainly didn’t have a flawless weekend. He only managed sixth place in qualifying and finished third in the race, sixteen seconds behind his teammate. As the championship leader, Lando now holds just a three-point lead over Oscar.
George Russell is once again proving that, after Lewis Hamilton’s departure, he is the one capable of leading the team. He got the absolute maximum out of the car—both in qualifying, where he finished second (third after a penalty), and in the race, where he secured second place despite numerous technical issues. His teammate, Kimi Antonelli, qualified in fourth (started fifth due to a penalty), but unfortunately fell victim to the safety car in the race and finished outside the top ten in eleventh place.
Ferrari brought their first upgrade package of the season to Bahrain, but the drivers—especially Lewis—struggled quite a bit with the car on Friday. Saturday, however, told a different story. The team managed to fine-tune the car, and Leclerc qualified in third place, which became second after Russell’s penalty. Lewis, on the other hand, only managed ninth. In the race, it wasn’t enough for a podium finish, and the Tifosi will have to settle for fourth and fifth places. Overall, though, it’s fair to say that Ferrari has taken a step forward.
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| Photo: Zak Mauger |
The same can’t be said for Red Bull, who, compared to Japan, seemed to take a step backward. Max qualified only seventh, and Tsunoda tenth. In the race, pretty much everything that could go wrong for Max did—including the pit stops, which are usually a Red Bull strength. In the end, Max had to settle for sixth place, while Tsunoda finished ninth. Even after the race, Max Verstappen’s manager was seen having a rather assertive discussion with Helmut Marko, and the team itself called an emergency meeting.
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| Photo: Ayman Yaqoob |
We have to highlight the performance of Pierre Gasly, who qualified in an excellent fifth place and finished seventh in the race, securing Alpine’s first points of the season. Meanwhile, Ollie Bearman fought his way up from the very back of the grid to finish in tenth. His teammate also scored points, giving Haas a reason to celebrate with a double points finish.