22/03/2022
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton was arguably as surprised as anyone following the Bahrain Grand Prix, climbing onto the podium to join the post-race celebrations.
His third position finish in the opening race of the season was a welcome gift, just as fourth place was for teammate George Russell, as fortune smiled upon Mercedes and frowned at Red Bull.
Following what ultimately turned out to be a joyous weekend for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz first and second, either Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez could have joined them. But disaster struck for the Red Bull team during the final few laps in Bahrain, first with Verstappen forced to retire on the 54th lap, then Perez out of the race on the penultimate lap.
Hamilton and Russell stepped up the final pecking order and claimed extra points, which in truth were an absolute gift, especially considering how sluggish the Mercedes cars had looked throughout the weekend. They were 5th and 9th respectively in qualifying, along with being noticeably slower than both Ferrari and Red Bull, especially for straight line speed.
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While it was undoubtedly a euphoric weekend for the Ferrari team, achieving their first race win and double podium finish since the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix, there will inevitably be an inquisition of sorts at Red Bull and hasty improvements needed at Mercedes. Speed and reliability both being the name of this particular game, if Bahrain was any indication, the previously dominant duo has lost important ground on Ferrari.
Throughout much of the race, Verstappen had fought a thrilling battle against eventual winner Leclerc, especially midway through the race as they jostled for the lead. But as the race wore on and the Dutchman pushed hard, any chance of victory evaporated, amidst complaints to the Red Bull pit crew about steering and power unit issues. Neither could be resolved and the sense of huge frustration was obvious, as he limped into the pit lane and out of the race.
Although it seemed Red Bull would finish the weekend with some consolation, as Perez headed into the penultimate lap with a podium position in his sights, the Mexican driver somehow spun on turn one and his race was over too. That opened the door for Lewis Hamilton to claim third and Russell to grab fourth, despite neither of the Mercedes duo looking anywhere close to the podium positions all weekend.
Giving his initial thoughts to the problems which blighted his team, Red Bull principal Christian Horner admitted the failures for Verstappen and Perez were both related to the fuel system. He also explained what caused Verstappen to complain about the steering of his car, which was due to the car getting dropped heavily on the final pit stop, which appears to have bent a track rod.
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As for the lack of apparent pace for Mercedes, there was a more creative solution offered by team boss Toto Wolff, who suggested his team would "take a chainsaw" to the rear wing of their cars, as one solution towards reduce the drag experienced. He believes this was responsible for most of the pace issues in Bahrain, along with accepting that maybe the power unit would also need some tweaks.
Mercedes will be keen to resolve their speed issues ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which is also the fastest circuit on the entire F1 calendar, meaning that being able to hit peak velocity on the straights will be absolutely crucial. After his triumph in Bahrain, the bookies at ArabianBetting are already looking towards Leclerc and Ferrari as favourites, although Verstappen and Red Bull are also tipped to make a strong recovery.
After the opening weekend of the 2022 F1 season, there appears to be some level of doubt regarding Mercedes amongst the leading online bookmakers. Hamilton could face a tough time getting another podium finish in Saudi Arabia, while his team is also being backed behind both Ferrari and Red Bull, when comparing markets for the Constructors' Championship. Undoubtedly, this adds extra spice to what promises to be a highly competitive campaign.