Despite everything, Bahrain will be worth watching

Say what you will about the current state of Formula One, but this sport has always loved a bit of internal drama.

Political drama has always been and will always be part of the spectacle – the glamour, the wealth, and the power of Formula One are forever its drawcards.

So it is that the sport gets a sort of perverse pleasure from – and let’s not beat around the bush – stupid stuff happening. Qualifying has been a prime example: painful to watch, yet it has excited the news cycle like little else.

And the dirty business of the politics that brought us to this sorry moment? It makes for fantastic storytelling.

So it was that I found myself sitting down yesterday telling a colleague of mine just how big a mess Formula One is when he stopped and sighed.

“Sometimes it’s good just to get excited about Formula One,” he mused. “People want to sit down and watch what is still a great spectacle, not worry about who’s voting against who behind the scenes.”

He’s not wrong.

It is an indictment on the sport that there is so much back-room politicking, and it’s doubly so that Formula One puts itself in a position whereby this bleeds into the on-track action.

But come Sunday 22 drivers still grid up and, on the evidence of the Australian Grand Prix, put on a brilliant show.

The cars are still the fastest you’ll find, the technology is cutting-edge, and the drivers are the cream of their generational crop and at the peak of their game. Formula One remains the pinnacle of motorsport, and it’s breathtaking to watch in full stride.

And it promises to do so in 2016. Formula One’s (racing) future, at least as far as this season is concerned, is looking rosy, so while we ride upon this wave of unexpected optimism, here’s why you should be up at 1am AEST (breathe) on Monday morning to watch the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Mercedes and Ferrari are close
Let’s start with the obvious. Mercedes versus Ferrari is shaping up to be a real duel. Even if Mercedes remains marginally faster, the difference is small enough for a clever Ferrari to take advantage.

Sebastian Vettel was temporarily able to control the Australian Grand Prix before a blatantly incorrect tyre choice undid all his good work, but both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, after following and being followed by Ferraris, suggested that the red cars are race contenders.

Even the form guide bodes well – in 2015 the Australian Grand Prix was Ferrari’s least competitive and Bahrain was one of the closer run affairs of the year.

Pirelli’s free tyre choice rules will be key. Ferrari has favoured the medium compound while Mercedes is taking more softs. Does Ferrari believe the Bahrain climate can counteract its tyre warm-up issues? Or does Mercedes think its pace on the softs will be enough to counteract degradation? The unknowns are tantalising.

Haas is a good news story
“This is a win for us!” Romain Grosjean shouted when he crossed the finishing line in sixth, confirming to his new Haas team that it had scored points on debut.

If there’s one thing Formula One needs above all else it’s new winners, and while Haas didn’t win anything, Grosjean’s proclamation that eight points is as good as victory will do nicely.

Not since 2002 has an all-new team scored points on debut, so it’s easy to understand why Formula One is excited to have Gene Haas on board. Though his method of buying as many Ferrari parts as is legal may not be everyone’s cup of tea – certainly not if you’re a current independent constructor – the just-add-water approach is delivering for the sport, for the fights in the midfield, and for Grosjean as a driver who has come dangerously close to being overlooked.

The team aims to and realistically can be a regular point scorer. With Grosjean leading and with the known quick quantity of Esteban Gutierrez in the second car, this Anglo-American team is guaranteed to intrigue as we watch it grow into what may one day be considered an Formula One stalwart.

Drivers are fighting for seats
We’re just a single round into the season but already the hallmark whispers of the silly season have begun.

We all know that Kimi Räikkönen’s contract with Ferrari expires at the end of the year and, barring a sudden upturn in form, the Finn is likely to be shown the door (again) to make room for a driver who might enable the team to match Mercedes’s constructors championship points haul.

The only question is: who?

Daniel Ricciardo, Grosjean and Valtteri Bottas are the hot tips, while Max Verstappen is a candidate for a Red Bull Racing promotion as an intermediate step to Italy – meaning increasing swathes of the midfield are racing not just for points, but also for contracts.

Was Verstappen’s race-long tirade and decision to pit himself without call the signs of a young man dealing with the burden of expectation – or brimming with arrogant confidence of a deal already done?

How will Daniil Kvyat respond to being perpetually reported as the man to take the next Red Bull bullet for the good of the driver academy?

Has Valtteri Bottas’s opportunity to impress Ferrari come and gone after two lukewarm seasons again Felipe Massa?

Before long you can see and feel the drivers race with the air of someone occupied by something else. Some thrive – Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso performances are a good example – while others wilt.

But these are just three non-political reasons to watch Formula One this weekend, and the race itself will be its own chapter in the story of 2016 – until qualifying goes wrong again and we’re back to talking about the bad stuff next week.

Easy come, easy go.

Follow @MichaelLamonato on Twitter throughout the #BahrainGP weekend.