We are only two races into a nineteen-event campaign, yet this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix represents a critical juncture in the context of the championship.
With the race taking place under lights to commemorate the tenth running of the event, some teams will quite literally find it impossible to escape the spotlight.
Mercedes walked it in in Australia and Malaysia – notwithstanding Lewis Hamilton’s early bath in Melbourne – and don’t show any signs of relenting. Nico Rosberg enjoys an eighteen-point lead in the standings, courtesy of his victory at the season opener and second place last weekend, with Hamilton second following his Malaysian triumph.
Red Bull are rapidly on the recovery trail in the wake of their disastrous pre-season, with Daniel Ricciardo’s tentatively stripped second place on home soil and Sebastian Vettel’s third place last weekend testament to the resurgence, but it’s going to take a lot more to bring down the Silver Arrows.
As it stands, Ricciardo will be pleased just to open his 2014 account. The West Australian is last in the standings, courtesy of his Australia disqualification and the botched pit-stop at Malaysia, which cost him fourth place and ultimately any chance of points.
With a ten-spot grid penalty, coupled with a ten-second stop-go penalty to serve this weekend as a legacy of the incident, Ricciardo will do well to score any points. The reality is 30 points – which would have placed Ricciardo second in the standings – has the potential to be zero after three rounds.
Mark Webber might have departed, but his luck certainly hasn’t vacated the second Red Bull…
Of some respite is the notion that Vettel has claimed the past two Bahrain events, followed home by Lotus duo Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean on both occasions. Mercedes could muster no better than fifth place each year, these being the days when their chassis were notorious for devouring the fickle Pirelli rubber.
Those days are in the past though, no such problems have been encountered by the runaway leaders this season, with the French marque taking a conservative route having endured intense criticism since replacing Bridgestone in 2011.
Williams will relish a dry qualifying session, the Saturday downpours at the opening races having cruelled their starting positions, subsequently limiting their yield the next day.
The FW36 has displayed excellent pace on Sundays when the rain has stayed away, but mere points finishes aren’t a reflection of their true potential. Valtteri Bottas would have certainly finished third, and quite probably second, if not for his scrape with the wall at Melbourne.
If the Finn and Felipe Massa can make it into Q3, which they should do in dry running, a top-six slot for both is realistic, and each will be in contention for a podium on Sunday. That said, they can’t be too unhappy about racking up four times their entire 2013 return in the first two races.
Ferrari has left much wanting to date, yet Fernando Alonso has managed a pair of fourth places to remain thereabouts during the critical flyaway phase. The Spaniard will be expecting podium finishes sooner rather than later, otherwise we can expect some samurai proverbs loaded with connotations in the not-too-distant future.
Kimi Räikkönen is yet to make a mark in his second coming with the team he enjoyed his sole championship with, openly admitting he is still coming to grips with the new regulations – notably the brake-by-wire system, though his recent Bahrain form, as highlighted earlier, is cause for optimism.
Then there’s the ultimate ‘that guy’ of the grid, Nico Hulkenberg. He who finishes inside the top six every single race, with a car that’s reasonable but most definitely shouldn’t be running that high, yet team principals up and down the grid remain indifferent to his achievements.
One of these days, Hulkenberg is going to score a podium, or a win. And nobody will care. Then he will turn into the real Incredible Hulk…
To cut a long story short, it’s hard to see anybody challenging the Silver Arrows this weekend. Unless a misfortune such as the one Hamilton suffered at Melbourne strikes, the rest will be scrapping for minor positions, and it would be nice to see somebody different enjoying the spoils.
A Ricciardo podium – as unlikely as that is this weekend – for the smile after the start he’s endured, a Räikkönen podium, to see how much he doesn’t care, or a Hulkenberg podium, just to see the reaction, would be a sight for sore eyes, even if this means the gulf between Mercedes and the competition in the standings expands.
Looking for great odds on racing and sport? Get into the action with PlayUp today. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
The Red Bull wasn’t the fastest car for most of the weekend. If anything it was third best, struggling to match the pace of the McLaren’s and Ferrari’s in most of the sessions.
The New Zealander was three one-hundredths of a second faster than the previous record, set just last year.
Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters broke through for their first wins of the 2024 season.
Oscar Piastri has missed out on his first visit to a Formula One race podium this season, the Australian left pondering what might have…
Since the Aussie's last victory, he has claimed seven second-placed finishes after being unable to catch Alex Palou.
Theo Pourchaire replaces David Malukas, who got injured and then fired before he could even sit in the car.
