Oh, Charles.
Formula 1 can be such a cruel sport…and we saw it at its most callous on Sunday, as Charles Leclerc was denied a maiden victory at the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton picking up the spoils.
Leclerc had driven near enough flawlessly all weekend, barring maybe half of the first lap, and he looked to be heading towards his first victory in the sport, in only his second race for Ferrari. But then came a radio message. “There is something strange with the engine.” And so unravelled a fairy tale.
It wasn’t to be for Leclerc as his engine, down on power due to an injector failure, left him a sitting duck on the straights. Lewis Hamilton almost-apologetically passed him to take the chequered flag, as did Valtteri Bottas, before Leclerc was at least saved a place on the podium thanks to a late safety car caused by a bizarre, synchronised double-Renault-failure. The dignity and grace with which he took such a crushing blow was as impressive as his speed – an incredibly mature head on such young shoulders.
But the story of the day was clear: Leclerc is now undeniably a championship contender. As Sebastian Vettel’s chances slipped away with a spin reminiscent of his struggles last season, the young Monegasque kept his cool and sailed off into the distance. Ferrari have clearly fixed their issues from the first race and, whilst Bahrain has always been a strong track for them, this bodes well for a competitive season. The red cars had straight line speed that their competitors struggled to comprehend and, assuming there is nothing sneaky going on that will subsequently be banned, that is hard to fight against. I expect superiority to swing between Ferrari and Mercedes throughout the year, dependent on tracks and updates, but we now have enough evidence to believe that this shouldn’t be the year of Mercedes-dominance the opener hinted at. And that it could well be Leclerc taking the fight to them rather than his multiple world champion teammate…
The Heir to Hamilton’s Throne?
It is very early days, of course, but the start to Lando Norris’s F1 career has been very impressive. When I say ‘the heir to Hamilton’s throne’, I do not necessarily mean I expect him to be a future five-time world champion obviously – that’s just setting the kid up for a massive fall – but more that British fans will want a new home-grown star to cheer for in a few years, whenever the current superstar decides to hang up his racing boots.
That’s not to say that they shouldn’t be cheering for him already. Norris comes across as a very down-to-earth lad – I mean, he’s normally competing online with Joe Public on iRacing hours before a race – with a good sense of humour. Oh, and he’s pretty damn quick too. There have been many junior careers that have promised much but failed to deliver once at the very top table. Norris has won most series he has entered at the first attempt and, having been given his chance early, has taken very little time to appear settled in F1. Any left wondering about his racecraft or wheel-to-wheel credentials, after he spent a few laps stuck behind Antonio Giovinazzi in Melbourne, had their questions answered this race with both some great overtakes and defensive driving, keeping a former world champion (who is more than double his age) behind him to claim an excellent 6th place.
It should be noted of course that he was not the only young Brit to join the grid this year. George Russell even beat Norris to the F2 title last year. Unfortunately, he is currently hampered with an uncompetitive Williams and a teammate who, should he continue to stay in front of, will most likely be sadly written-off as too injured to to be considered a yardstick. But both he and Thai-British rookie Alexander Albon have been impressing so far. Time will tell who of last year’s F2 top three is really the biggest talent but, in the meantime, we can feel safe that the future of British motorsport looks rosy.
Is Dr. Marko Oiling Up the Guillotine?
Pierre Gasly has to find some speed, simply put, and pretty sharpish too. Max Verstappen on the other side of your garage would be intimidating for most on the grid, but currently he is making Gasly look decidedly average. We know about Red Bull’s – or rather Helmut Marko’s – history of impatience with underperforming drivers and there were the first few comments starting to appear over the weekend about it being unacceptable that they were fighting in the midfield.
All that said, it appears Red Bull are still to fully understand the intricacies of their new car and it appears as if it may be a bit of a diva. So one would hope the Frenchman is given some time to find his feet. Another reassuring factor for him will be that there is not an obvious replacement – surely Daniil Kvyat’s rollercoaster of a career with the Red Bull programme wouldn’t see them rushing to put him back into the senior team and it is certainly too early for Albon at the moment.
I’d advise Gasly not to start watching the new series of Game of Thrones though…just in case…
The Bahrain Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
Was Australia a blip for Ferrari or is there a more fundamental problem with this year’s car?Would appear pretty safe to say it was a blip.
Is Bottas really rejuvenated and now a force to be reckoned with? Jury’s out. Normal Hamilton dominance was resumed this race but apparently Bottas had a plastic bag stuck in/on the car for a portion of the race which hampered performance.
Will the new regulations provide better racing at a track with a better potential for wheel-to-wheel racing? That was certainly a great race and with a good amount of on-track battling. Looks promising.
Can Leclerc push on from a mixed first weekend for the Scuderia and properly take the challenge to Vettel? Yes. And then some.
Will the Ricciardo-Hamilton/Avocado&Ham bromance continue? Saw no evidence of any further bromancing.
