Tag: Lando Norris

2021 Russian GP report | Hamilton claims 100th win after Norris heartbreak

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Hamilton 1st, Verstappen 2nd…sounds like a pretty regular race then, no?
The podium at the Russian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Daimler AG

Lewis Hamilton finally completed his extraordinary century of Formula 1 victories, after taking the lead with three laps remaining of a thrilling Russian Grand Prix.

Most of the race was led by Lando Norris. The 21-year-old McLaren driver took an impressive maiden pole position on Saturday in changeable conditions but lost the lead to his good friend Carlos Sainz on the long run to the first real corner of Turn 2.

Norris stalked the Ferrari for 12 laps before reclaiming the lead and then showed maturity far beyond his years, showing no signs of stress as he led a grand prix for the first time.

Meanwhile, in the title battle, Hamilton – who had qualified fourth – had been boxed in at the start and found himself in sixth, behind the leading pair, future teammate George Russell, Lance Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo.

The pack head six-wide into the first corner.
Image credit: Getty Images

The group formed a DRS train and would remain in the same order for the first stint of the race.

Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen had started from the back after taking an engine penalty – a decision that was already on the cards but was cemented by the Dutchman’s three-place grid penalty for his clash with Hamilton at the previous race.

The Red Bull scythed through the field in the opening laps – disappointingly for Mercedes, even making short work of Valtteri Bottas – and found himself just three positions and two seconds behind his rival approaching the halfway point.

Of the drivers at the front, Sainz, Russell and Stroll pitted early on, with the rest extending and the title rivals pitting together on lap 26.

Having been released, Hamilton had finally been able to demonstrate his pace and succeeded in jumping all the former passengers of the DRS train except Stroll, who he swiftly dispatched two laps later.

It was not long until he had also caught and passed Sainz, leaving an eight-second gap to Norris with a little over 20 laps remaining.

Lando Norris at the Russian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Motorsport Images

Things were not going so well for Verstappen, who – having started on the hard tyre and then pitted unusually early – was struggling on the mediums and had fallen behind Fernando Alonso into seventh place.

The gap at the front reduced rapidly, but once the Mercedes had moved within two seconds of the McLaren, it once again demonstrated its distaste for dirty air. That, twinned with the papaya car’s prodigious top speed, meant that Hamilton was unable to get close enough to make a move with the laps counting down.

But then the rain began to fall.

By lap 47 of 53, the parts of the track closest to the Black Sea were significantly wet. Norris had a moment of oversteer and ran wide, but a cautious Hamilton – with one eye on the championship battle – remained narrowly behind.

It was now all about whether to risk the change to intermediate tyres, with parts of the track becoming increasingly treacherous but other areas still dry.

Lewis Hamilton closes on Lando Norris as the rain begins to fall at the Russian Grand Prix.

Norris was not interested in giving up the lead and stayed out. Hamilton ignored his team’s first call to come in, but a second call saying that the rain was going to increase convinced him to come in with four laps remaining.

The rain did increase. Norris committed to his decision but the downpour became torrential and as the McLaren slithered off the road two laps later, Hamilton sailed past and he accepted that he had to pit.

The running order turned on its head as those who had stayed out lost not seconds but minutes to the drivers on intermediate tyres.

Verstappen – who had pitted early – jumped from seventh to second, Bottas from 14th to fifth and Kimi Räikkönen from 13th to eighth, whilst Sergio Pérez fell from fourth to ninth and Charles Leclerc from eighth to 15th.

HOW LUCKY IS LEWIS HAMILTON?

Sainz hung onto third, to claim his fifth podium, with Ricciardo three seconds down the road in fourth. Norris was, at least, able to recover to seventh and a bonus point for the fastest lap, but was understandably heartbroken, having come so close to what would have been a thoroughly deserved maiden victory.

The young Briton demonstrated his immense talent, however – as he has for much of this season – and can be sure that his time will come.

Hamilton may be at the other end of his career now, but showed he is far from past it as he became the first ever Formula 1 centurion. A mind-boggling achievement.

The next big milestone would be the record-breaking eighth world title, but he will have to work even harder for that after Verstappen’s surprise second place.

The Impact on the Championship

Max Verstappen in the wet at the Russian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Red Bull Racing Honda

Whilst the day belonged to Hamilton and his momentous achievement, Red Bull perhaps leave Russia the happier of the two title-contending teams.

Team Principal Christian Horner had said they would be content if Verstappen could work his way up to fifth from the back of the grid and keep the points swing to Hamilton to around 15.

So, leaving Sochi with just seven fewer points than the new championship leader is a huge win for the Austrian team.

Their main man should now be fine for power units through to the end of the season, whilst the expectation is that Hamilton will have to take a penalty for a fourth engine at some point between now and Abu Dhabi.

LEWIS HAMILTON AND HIS PLACE IN HISTORY

After two races where Red Bull expected to see a Mercedes 1-2 and Hamilton build a considerable lead in the standings, Verstappen sits just two points behind.

As for the remainder of the season, it very much depends on how many of the scheduled races take place as planned. Mexico and Brazil have historically been Red Bull circuits, but the jury remains out on whether the F1 circus will be able to travel to either considering the current Covid restrictions.

There are some unknowns – such as the new track in Saudi Arabia and a race likely to take place in Qatar – and the remaining tracks are too close to call.

Basically, the situation remains as it has been for most of the year: this title could go either way.

The Russian Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Will Verstappen take an engine penalty and start from the back? Yep.

With rain due on Saturday, when will qualifying actually take place and will it spring any surprises? Despite torrential rain on Saturday morning, it went ahead at the scheduled time and sprung plenty of surprises.

Is Ricciardo now going to be back to his best with the added confidence from Monza win? Fourth place was a good result, but Norris was back to being comfortably on top throughout the weekend.

2021 Austrian GP report | Verstappen reigns supreme again in Austria

Posted on by James Mackenzie
More Austrian dominance for the man becoming the clear title favourite.
Max Verstappen sends the Orange Army wild by winning the Austrian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

Seven days after his first domination at the Red Bull Ring, it was a similar serene drive to the win for Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix.

As predicted, with no freak mechanical issues or weather to intervene, the Dutchman delighted the swathes of fans clad in orange.

Mercedes hoped to have found something to reduce the gap to their rivals in the days since the Styrian Grand Prix. But that was clearly not the case when they found themselves down in fourth and fifth on the grid, behind both Red Bulls and the excellent Lando Norris.

Once the lights went out, Verstappen sailed off into the distance and did not look back. He had a gap easily large enough to pit late on and earn himself the fastest lap – by nearly two seconds – and took the first grand chelem of his career, having also claimed pole position and led every lap.

Lewis Hamilton probably would have settled for more damage limitation in the shape of a second place, and he looked on for just that once he’d found a way past Norris on lap 20. But, just before his pit stop, a piece of crucial aero fell off the back of his car, leaving him with massively reduced rear downforce and costing him half a second per lap.

Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton battle for second place.
Image credit: Motorsport Images

It remains something of a mystery what caused this. The World Champion did not run especially wide when the bodywork made a break for it – he was running over the kerbs at Turn 10 as normal. Team Principal Toto Wolff believes it was simply a case of fatigue as teams are forced to make parts last longer amid the new cost cap for 2021.

So, further bad luck for Hamilton and he was helpless to defend as teammate Valtteri Bottas and Norris repassed him. That left the 36-year-old in fourth and he is now a massive 32 points behind his title rival in the standings.

The Future May Be Orange, but It’s Also British

Whilst Verstappen demonstrated once again what we all know – that he will be a superstar for many years to come – there were two other drivers who showed their considerable potential.

Norris and George Russell.

Norris’s qualifying lap was extraordinary. He took his McLaren to within five hundredths of a second of the all-conquering Verstappen to take his first ever front row grid slot.

Lando Norris at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Motorsport Images

And Russell was equally impressive, dragging his Williams into Q3 for the first time and ending up eighth on the grid after a Sebastian Vettel penalty.

On race day, Norris defended against the Mercedes pair with nous and composure far beyond his years, even prompting Hamilton to say over the radio, “Such a great driver, Lando”. That is something you very rarely hear from a driver mid-race.

Bottas would only succeed in passing Norris after the young Briton received a debatable penalty for forcing Sergio Pérez wide following a safety car restart early in the race. And the Mercedes driver hardly disappeared into the distance once in front as Norris tailed him home to finish just two seconds back and earn his fourth career podium.

Further back, Russell had recovered from an iffy start to run in a legitimate 10th place through solid race pace and was heading for his first point with Williams. But then came Fernando Alonso. The 23-year-old defended hard from the man he has formed an unlikely bromance with, but eventually had to concede to the Alpine‘s far fresher tyres with just three laps to go.

After a mechanical retirement in the previous race removed Russell from eighth, his luck may not have improved but he continues to earn fans, including Alonso: “I felt a little bit sad for George because he drove an amazing weekend. When I saw P10, I was hoping anyone apart from him…but that’s the sport. He will have more opportunities hopefully for podiums and wins in the future.”

George Russell at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

Earning compliments from legends like Hamilton and Alonso shows just how much respect these two young drivers have earned over their two and a half years in F1.

In Verstappen, Norris, Russell and Charles Leclerc, the future of the sport looks in safe – and exciting – hands.

Were the Penalties Fair?

The move for which Norris earned his penalty, was mirrored by Pérez himself as he ran Leclerc wide twice later in the race. Each incident earned a five-second penalty.

It is good to see consistency from the stewards for once – though perhaps not in the long term – but were they consistently right or wrong on this occasion?

It’s tricky. The issue is Turn 4, where the two main incidents happened. It is a demanding corner with significant adverse camber and a gravel trap on the outside. So, this was not simply a case of Norris opening the steering up and running Pérez out of road – something we have seen go unpunished many times before anyway. It was more a case of the McLaren naturally understeering towards the edge of the track.

So, the only way to avoid contact or forcing the car on the outside wide would be to get off the throttle and cede the position. Is that something the lead driver on the inside line should ever have to do?

Sergio Pérez in the gravel.
Image credit: Getty Images

The penalty seems more harsh given that it was on the first full lap of racing, when incidents are normally treated with more leniency due to cold tyres, cold brakes and the general mayhem. Case in point: Leclerc not even being investigated for clumsily ending Gasly’s race a week ago, a few seconds earlier in the lap.

Whatever your opinion on the decisions, the penalty points system is clearly broken.

Two penalty points for the incident leaves Norris on ten points – although two will be wiped before the next race – which is just two away from a race ban.

I have touched on the penalty points system as recently as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix – when Norris and Nicholas Latifi were each given three points for tricky situations in which they found themselves somewhat helpless – and they remain unfit for purpose.

They should be reserved for seriously dangerous driving – such as the unpunished moment between the Haas driver in Baku – and safety violations that put people at risk.

Six instances of Norris’s arguably justified defence should be nowhere near worthy of a race ban.

And don’t forget the bewildering decision to hand Latifi and Nikita Mazepin a post-race stop-and-go penalty for ignoring double yellows, but none of the other drivers who appeared to go through them at least as quickly…

The Austrian Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Can Mercedes find anything to challenge Red Bull more than last weekend? Nope.

Will the softer tyres make much of a change to the pecking order? Alpine appeared to find some more pace but events conspired to prevent them utilising it.

Any chance of some rain this time? *sigh* Of course not.

2020 Hungarian GP report | A record-equalling eighth victory in Hungary for Hamilton

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Hamilton is the hero again, but no more so than the Red Bull mechanics.
Lewis Hamilton leads the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Image credit: LAT Images

Lewis Hamilton took a commanding victory at the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix, winning in Budapest for the eighth time and, in doing so, matched Michael Schumacher‘s long-standing record for the most wins at one grand prix.

It is looking like the first of potentially a few Schumacher records to fall this year, considering the dominance of Mercedes and Hamilton now being just two podiums and five race wins behind the legendary German’s tallies.

The 86th victory of Hamilton’s career began in tricky conditions, with the track soaking wet from rain earlier in the day but drying out as the sun poked through the clouds and leaving the decision of which tyres to start on as a tight judgement call.

Max Verstappen – generally considered one of the very best in the rain – showed just how precarious the conditions were as he crashed on the way to the grid. Thus ensued a mad rush by the Red Bull mechanics to fix his broken front left push-rod in the remaining 15 or so minutes; they completed the work with 25 seconds to spare.

Image credit: Formula 1

The Dutchman demonstrated his gratitude, firstly over the radio and then on the track, with a stellar performance to take second place, having started seventh, and narrowly holding off the charging Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas in the final laps.

Bottas had got away poorly – he was fortunate not to receive a penalty for jumping the start after initially reacting to lights going out on his dashboard – and dropped back down the order on the run to the first corner. This is not the Bottas 3.0 that fans thought they had seen at the opening grand prix. He has now lost the championship lead to his illustrious teammate and will have to conjure up some renewed fire in his belly if he is to wrestle that lead back as we head for back-to-back races at Silverstone, where Hamilton has won five of the last six events.

And the world champion is showing some great form currently. He used all his wet-weather expertise to open up an eight second lead in the first couple of laps and, by the end, had a significant enough gap to Verstappen that he was able to comfortably pit for soft tyres and secure the extra point for the fastest lap. All in all, another masterclass to add to the collection.

Further back, Alexander Albon made a strong recovery after a disappointing qualifying to finish fifth, just ahead of Sebastian Vettel. Both drivers needed a good result and will surely have got some critics off their respective backs, for a while at least.

Neither came close to challenging Lance Stroll in the Racing Point, however, who coasted to a comfortable fourth position – the second-best result of his career. The ‘Pink Mercedes’ was undoubtedly the second-best car during qualifying and, whilst they faded a little in the race, were impressive enough to raise hackles a little more in the paddock. Renault have now lodged a second protest against the Racing Point car, before even having heard the result of their first one.

Lance Stroll at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Image credit: XPB Images

An inspired call at Haas to pit at the end of the formation lap for dry tyres led to the struggling team running third and fourth in the early stages. They predictably fell down the order, but Kevin Magnussen hung on commendably to finish ninth on the road. They would later receive a penalty for breaching regulations regarding driver aids by instructing the pair to pit on the formation lap, but Magnussen still earned a single point -their first of the season – for 10th, at least.

Meanwhile, Red Bull survived without a penalty despite having clearly been caught drying the track on Albon’s grid spot…

Yet More Stewarding Inconsistency

It is so very hard to predict which way a stewarding decision is going to fall currently; it’s as if they are making it up as they go along. But then I suppose that is not a huge surprise when you have a panel that changes from race to race.

Last week saw the bewildering decision not to penalise Stroll for his attempt to pass Daniel Ricciardo late on in the Styrian Grand Prix. He clearly forced Ricciardo off the track – left the track himself for good measure – and then kept the position. It seemed a ‘slam dunk’ penalty to most of the paddock, thanks to the trifecta of forcing another car off the track, violating track limits and completing an overtake off the track all in one move. As well as, arguably, rejoining in an unsafe manner as he blocked Lando Norris upon his return.

The stewards, however, saw things differently. As is often the case, there was not much of an explanation as to their decision, which deemed it a “racing incident where neither driver was wholly to blame”. Ricciardo said he thought it was “crystal clear” that it should have resulted in a penalty and, considering all he did was avoid a collision, it is difficult to see how the stewards apportioned any blame upon him.

Image credit: LAT Images

This is the crux of the problem; the fans – and even the drivers – are often left bemused by the decisions and no one is there to justify them. I have called for it before, but what we really need is a consistent panel of respected figures who are fully accountable for their decisions and explain exactly how and why they have come to them.

A Crash Back Down to Earth for Lando

After two extraordinary races to open the season for Lando Norris, Sunday saw things go far less smoothly for the 20-year-old. After what he described as “the worst start I’ve ever got in my life”, he fell to the back of the field and, from there, never really recovered.

The Hungaroring is notoriously hard to pass on and the McLaren driver could only recover to finish 13th in the end. Still, with two stellar performances out of three so far, things could be going far worse and I’m sure, if you had offered him fourth in the championship standings at this point before the season started, he would have bitten your hand off.

And if you thought he couldn’t get any more likeable as a personality, he was captured helping his mechanics disassemble the car on Sunday evening.

The Hungarian Grand Prix in 60(ish) Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Can Ferrari make some progress this weekend (and maybe not immediately crash into one another)? It wasn’t all plain sailing but certainly an improvement on the previous two races.

Will Lewis Hamilton match Michael Schumacher’s record for the number of wins at one GP with an 8th triumph in Hungary? Yep.

How will Racing Point respond to the protest about their car? By being ever more in-your-face with their speed, if anything.

Will the interview requested by Sebastian Vettel (with Martin Brundle) prove to be a major announcement? No, but it’s a thoroughly entertaining watch.

With more thunderstorms forecast, could it be another wet and wild weekend? It threatened to pour throughout the weekend, but we only ever got hints of rain when it really counted.

2019 Belgian GP report | Leclerc takes emotional first victory

Posted on by James Mackenzie
A poignant weekend with probably the right result.
Charles Leclerc points to the heavens after winning the Belgian Grand Prix.
Image credit: LAT Images

The 2019 Belgian Grand Prix came on a weekend where things were put very much in perspective. On Saturday, shortly after qualifying, F2 driver Anthoine Hubert tragically lost his life following a massive accident at the Raidillon swerves. The Frenchman, who was just 22, suffered a huge 170mph impact from the car of Juan Manuel Correa. Lewis Hamilton saw the incident live on TV whilst being interviewed and you can see in his face that he instantly knew it was not good. But these guys are racers. So come Sunday, they race. It’s all they can do.

Charles Leclerc was a childhood friend of Hubert – as were Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon – so it seems fitting that the next day he should take his maiden F1 victory. It was long overdue anyway.

Under such difficult circumstances, it was an incredibly mature performance. Leclerc got away well from pole position and – after a safety car period caused by a Max Verstappen crash – started to open up a gap as his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, struggled with his tyres. After the German pitted early, on lap 15, the race pace of the Mercedes cars became clear and Hamilton started to close on Leclerc. Whilst Ferrari had held a significant advantage over one lap throughout the weekend, their race pace had always looked less convincing. And so proved to be the case.

When the front two pitted, Vettel inherited the lead but was asked to move aside for the younger Ferrari driver. Credit to Ferrari that they have stuck by their mantra of team orders benefitting whichever driver requires them rather than solely their de facto number one. Whilst Vettel’s status as de facto number one is becoming increasingly under threat, he was still to play a crucial role in this race.

He held the rapid Hamilton behind him for around four laps, in which time Leclerc had stretched his advantage over the world champion to nearly seven seconds. It appeared for a few laps that they had reached something of a stalemate but then the Ferrari tyres began to fade fast and Hamilton was suddenly catching by more than a second a lap. Leclerc kept his head, negotiated back-markers, made no mistakes and narrowly held on for a well-deserved victory. Valtteri Bottas, after a fairly anonymous race, completed a sombre podium as Vettel pitted for new tyres to claim the fastest lap along with fourth position.

Monaco’s first-ever race winner immediately dedicated the victory to Hubert. This is a young man that has already experienced so much tragedy in his 21 years: he lost his godfather and mentor, Jules Bianchi, in 2014; his father died a day before the 2017 Baku F2 race; and now long-term friend Hubert. The fact that he won both races a day after such losses shows the way Leclerc sees the world – he just wants to make them proud.

Yesterday, once again, he did so emphatically.

More Mixed Emotions at Red Bull

Image credit: Getty Images

Verstappen’s excellent run of results eventually came to an end with a race start more reminiscent of his early 2018 struggles. After another poor getaway, he went for a gap that was closing quickly and very reliant on Kimi Räikkönen, firstly, knowing he was there and, secondly, being pretty generous. One of those two requirements was not satisfied and the Red Bull pitched the Alfa Romeo up into the air. Verstappen continued but the damage done to his steering saw him go straight into the barriers at Eau Rouge.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the garage, newly-promoted Alexander Albon was having a debut race to remember, for the right reasons. He was forced to start from the back of the grid as Honda trialled a new engine. This meant no ultimate qualifying lap to truly gauge how he was matching up to Verstappen but he appeared to be holding his own through the practice sessions and, on race day, would show why Red Bull have chosen to give him this chance.

After a steady first half of the race, making slower progress through the field than he would have liked, he suddenly came alive on the soft tyres. A cunning move around the outside of Daniel Ricciardo was followed by a piece of sheer bravery as Sergio Pérez forced him onto the grass down the Kemmel Straight at over 200mph on the final lap. He kept his foot in and took sixth place, which would become fifth after Lando Norris’s retirement.

From the back of the grid to fifth in his first race for Red Bull? I imagine he’ll take that. Christian Horner and Dr Helmut Marko will be very pleased with a performance that justifies their latest driver swap, or certainly goes along way to doing so in one race.

And More Bad Luck for the Luckless Lando

What does Lando Norris have to do to catch a break?!

At a weekend where it looked like McLaren were struggling – having never really been inside the top 10 during Friday or Saturday – Norris dealt with the first corner drama perfectly and found himself emerging from it in fifth. He then set about holding onto that position and did so expertly. Many watching – and Norris himself, he admitted after the race – were expecting those behind to close in on him. Especially once Pérez, armed with an in-form Racing Point, were up to sixth. But it never happened.

It was a drive that thoroughly deserved what would have been the best result of Norris’s career so far, but it wasn’t to be. Just one lap from the end, his Renault engine decided it was done for the day and Norris ground to a halt. To add salt to the wound, Leclerc finished the race just behind a gaggle of drivers that, if they had been lapped, would have been classifield below Norris and seen him eighth rather than 11th.

This is just the latest in a run of misfortune that has cost him countless points. A slow pit stop in Hungary; mechanical failures in Germany, France and Canada; a poorly-timed safety car in Britain. But the bad luck will surely end and the potential he has is clear to see. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him up in fifth place again before the end of the season…and this time at the chequered flag.

The Racing Point Update Seems to be On Point

Having somewhat disappointed – or at least been pretty anonymous – this season, the update for Racing Point that hinted at progress in Hungary, showed this weekend that it has certainly pushed them up the pecking order.

Pérez into Q3 and Lance Stroll into Q2 is better than they have generally managed, respectively, this year. And a solid double points finish on Sunday with a deserved sixth place for Pérez, who had to pass a fair few cars on his way, bodes well for the remainder of the season and for the future of what is a team starting afresh since Lawrence Stroll’s buy-out last year.

Answering the Burning Questions

How will Alexander Albon cope with his promotion to Red Bull? Very well, it turns out!

And how will Pierre Gasly do in the Toro Rosso? A solid run to ninth on what was an incredibly hard weekend for him.

Can Ferrari finally win a race? Yes!

Will we find out who gets the Mercedes seat for 2020? (And the Renault one potentially…) Yes and yes. All as expected with Bottas confirmed for Mercedes and Ocon moving to Renault.

Can F1 pick up where it left off with another excellent race? It was another good race, if a very sad weekend for the sport.

The Belgian Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

2019 Bahrain GP report | A maiden victory snatched away

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Oh, Charles.
Charles Leclerc at the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Image credit: Ferrari/Colombo

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.

Max Verstappen at the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

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.