Bahrain Grand Prix - five things we learned

Verstappen, BahrainGP, Red Bull Racing — Photo: © LAT Images

Bahrain Grand Prix

Bahrain Grand Prix - five things we learned

Red Bull is boss but more to Hamilton than winning from the front

Will Gray

Monday 29 March 2021 12:44 Updated: 12:58

The season-opening race always springs a few surprises and while some had dream starts others suffered nightmares as F1 returned to the track.

Practice and qualifying proved that Red Bull is the one to watch but when it came to the race Mercedes demonstrated that world title-winning calibre cannot be simply lost overnight.

Further back, we discovered Ferrari is not as far back as all that; Japan has a new rising star, and a former champion and his Bond girl ride felt the sky fall in on him.

Here’s what we learned from a blistering start in Bahrain.

Red Bull is the real deal…but needs to get its act together

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You don’t top every session without having a good car. Max Verstappen took it to the limit as soon as he turned a wheel in anger, and with the gloves off it quickly became clear Red Bull will deliver on its pre-season ‘favourites’ form.

The car looks planted, the lead driver looks focused and while Sergio Perez had some teething troubles, he even managed to fight back through the pack after starting from the pitlane to claim fifth.

There is one problem to the end of this first chapter, however. Red Bull did not win. They were out-thought by their rivals and when it came to the crunch it was track position that counted in the end. Verdict: looking good, but must do better.

Hamilton gets to prove he can win in a ‘bad’ car

Ok, so the Mercedes is far from a ‘bad’ car, but it is no longer the best. And Hamilton LOVES it. The world champion has had little competition in many of his seasons of success. At first glance, it seems that will not be the case this time.

Mercedes was off the pace in testing. That was primarily due to the fact it is a low-rake that has significantly been affected by the changes to the aerodynamic rules for this season.

Gains have been made, along with calibration of the power unit, but it is clear the W12 is still down on pace, underlined at a track where the team has excelled in the past.

Hamilton had it tough on Sunday and had to call on many tools in his armoury that he has always had, but rarely had to use. Defending, positioning, pacing and calculating. Finally, he was able to prove he has the mettle to match the magic.

Ferrari’s power problems are over

The prancing horse has more horsepower now, and the difference is clear. Not only has the works Ferrari team stepped up in performance, one of its supply teams, Alfa Romeo, has also significantly moved forward too.

The power train has had a complete overhaul this season, and the men and women at Maranello have clearly been working hard.

This year’s rule tweaks have reduced lap times, but analysis shows that Ferrari and Alfa Romeo’s have dropped the least. Charles Lerclec still finished a minute off the pace, however, so it is not all done yet.

Tsunoda is hot property

It has been said that Yuki Tsunoda is the most exciting driver to emerge from the Red Bull stable since Max Verstappen. From his performance in Bahrain, there is already a buzz around the Japanese driver.

He is no stranger to being challenged. The way he got his drive with AlphaTauri, in a last-race dash to claim the championship position required of him in F2, shows his determination to battle to succeed.

So in truth, it was no surprise that he soaked up the pressure of expectation on his debut and delivered with the first points for a Japanese driver in almost 10 years. Job one done. What can he do next?

Vettel has LOTS of work to do

Oh dear! This was not the debut that Sebastian Vettel wanted, and not the return to F1 Aston Martin hoped for. Amid all the 007 hype and the Honey Ryder car tag, Bahrain massively missed the mark on the team’s ‘Licence to Thrill’ promise.

Former champion Vettel looked more like the hapless Johnny English than the super-cool all-action spy James Bond as he dropped out in Q1, clumsily clattered the rear of Esteban Ocon’s Alpine in the race and ended up last but one.

Vettel collected more penalties than points in his team debut, and despite being resilient and pragmatic, the fire burning inside just got a little hotter. Right now, though, gadget genius Q looks like the only one that could turn things around.