F1 warms up with a trip to desert
Manama : Ferrari inflicted defeat on Mercedes for the second year in a row in Melbourne. Only this time, rather than the Prancing Horse outracing them, the Silver Arrows were the masters of their own downfall.
Having found the software bug that led to their strategic miscalculation, Mercedes will not let that happen again. But Lewis Hamilton - the man who lost victory in Australia - expects Ferrari to be “rapid” in the heat of Bahrain, suggesting round two of a record-breaking 21-race season will be even closer in pure pace terms.
And a two-team fight could become a three-team fight if Red Bull can show the same speed over a full race that Daniel Ricciardo displayed as he set the fastest lap in Melbourne. Bring it on...
The form book
Until last season, Mercedes had been in control at Sakhir during the V6 era, winning in 2014, 2015 and 2016. However, Vettel stopped the rot in 2017, gifting Ferrari their fifth victory at the circuit.
Hamilton, Vettel and Valtteri Bottas all led at different stages of last year’s race, and based on what we saw in Melbourne, we could witness similar again this year.
The potential jokers in the pack are Red Bull. Team Principal Christian Horner insists his team can mix it with Mercedes and Ferrari after showing strong pace in clear air in Australia, and the team have twice triumphed in Bahrain, in 2012 and 2013. But will they suffer with a power deficit?
Behind ‘the big three’, Haas lived up to their billing as the likely surprise package in Melbourne and were on course to finish fourth and fifth before cross-threaded wheelnuts conspired against them.
Team Principal Guenther Steiner has vowed to ramp up pit stop practice ahead of this weekend to avoid a repeat.
The stats that matter
Hamilton may have seen victory slip through his fingers in Australia, but second place was enough to stretch his point-scoring streak to 26 races. Another top 10 finish in Bahrain will equal Kimi Raikkonen’s all-time record.
Speaking of Raikkonen, victory this weekend would move him ahead of Mika Hakkinen as the most successful Finnish driver in terms of race wins. The duo are currently tied on 20.
After making it to 100 career podiums in Melbourne, Vettel will make a bit more history this weekend by joining the 200 race starts club - the 18th driver to do so.
For the superstitious out there, victory in Bahrain takes on even greater importance as nine of the previous 13 winners in the desert have gone on to win the drivers’ title..
Hamilton failed to convert pole into victory for the fifth time in seven attempts in Melbourne. In Bahrain, he has converted one of two poles into victory. If he can improve that record this weekend, he will surpass Michael Schumacher’s record of 40 wins from pole.
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