3 weeks Ago By Sam Cooper
Oscar Piastri won the Bahrain Grand Prix in dominant fashion as he completed the first hat-trick of his Formula 1 career. The predicted advantage of McLaren was duly delivered by the Australian but his team-mate had more troubles further down the grid. Oscar Piastri – 10 Perfect from quali all the way to the final lap.
Everyone spoke of the supremacy that McLaren had this weekend but Piastri was the one to make the most of it, leading from the front while even a safety car did not put him off. His winning margin was 15.499 seconds, the biggest since Max Verstappen in Sao Paulo, and it was also the first hat-trick (pole, fastest lap and winner) of the Australian’s career.
George Russell – 9 Having lost a spot due to a team error, Russell more than made up for it in the race. A great start saw him get past Leclerc and he did incredibly well to make his softs last so long while keeping Norris in the rear view mirrors. All of this at a time when his car was playing up and even a faulty DRS did not stop him in his tracks.
Lando Norris – 7 At times, Norris looked at his best in this race but there were also a number of mistakes that ultimately cost him. The first, and most crucial, came right at the start when he parked too far forward of his grid box, handing him a five-second penalty. Without that penalty, Norris would have been ahead of Russell and Leclerc, meaning a comfortable P2 was on, but instead, he toiled behind Leclerc and could not make it past the Mercedes.
Charles Leclerc – 8.5 Just about the maximum Leclerc could have hoped to extract from the Ferrari which, as he said afterwards, was ”just not fast enough.” Having been promoted to P2, he would have liked a better start as Russell’s early overtake pushed him into a battle with Norris behind and even with a five-second penalty, the McLaren man got past Leclerc towards the end of the race.
Lewis Hamilton – 7.5 A much better race for the seven-time World Champion who showed signs he is on the way to getting to grips with the car. His best stint came after the first round of pit stops as he quickly made his way up the order but he never looked close to catching his team-mate.
Max Verstappen – 7 The maximum he could have hoped for claimed Verstappen but it was a result that was in stark contrast to last week. If Suzuka saw him near his brilliant best, this was a test of his patience with brake issues, tyres degrading and pit stop problems pushing him close to wit’s end. Is this where the Red Bull car deserves to be? It is another warning that the team cannot solely rely on Verstappen’s skill to force them into a title race.
Pierre Gasly – 8.5 A return to form for Pierre Gasly who has had a slow start to the year. His best work came in quali where he made it to P4 and even if it was a struggle to keep quicker cars behind him, six points is a just reward for his efforts.
Esteban Ocon – 8 Who would have seen this coming? After crashing out in quali, few would have bet on Esteban Ocon to end the race in the points. The form of both the Haas cars showed that they had pace but it was the Frenchman who made the most of it, rising six places from where he began. Yuki Tsunoda – 7 A scrappy race from Yuki Tsunoda, who after making Q3 for the first time as a Red Bull driver, had an eye over his shoulder more than he was looking forward.
He got into a scarp with Sainz but came away less damaged than the Spaniard before registering his first points with his new team. Oliver Bearman – 9 An excellent recovery race from Oliver Bearman, who produced a rare mistake in quali to start last. While others at the back failed to make real inroads, Bearman raced up the order in a manner that was befitting of someone much more experienced than the rookie.
It is the third consecutive points score of an impressive debut campaign. Kimi Antonelli – 6.5 The Mercedes car had pace, but Antonelli did not make the most of it in the same way that his team-mate did.
It was an unusually underwhelming performance from the Italian who has done more right than wrong in his career thus far. Alex Albon – 6.5 After wrongly missing out on Q2, the pace of the Williams will have only felt more frustrating for Albon as points could have been on offer.
He flirted with the top 10 but he was always playing catch-up up having started 15th. It’s the first race of the season that Albon has not scored points in, signalling how strong he has been up to this point. Isack Hadjar – 6 A bump in the road in the good form of Isack Hadjar as the Racing Bulls looked a step off the pace this weekend.
With the Alpines being quick, both Hadjar and Liam Lawson fell down the order but the former at least finished ahead of his team-mate. Jack Doohan – 5.5 Gasly’s efforts showed the Alpine clearly had pace this weekend, meaning Jack Doohan may be slightly disappointed he did not challenge higher up.
A good quali saw him very nearly make Q3 and maybe that would have been the difference but ultimately, he lost four spots from where he started. Fernando Alonso – 5.5 Made up three places from his starting spot, but going from 16th to 13th will not be in Fernando Alonso’s career highlights.
He suggested their quali was the best they could hope for as the worrying times at Aston continue. Liam Lawson – 5.5 Life continues to trouble Liam Lawson who is being outshone by his rookie team-mate.
He struggled in quali, only managing 17th, and he finished there come the chequered flag. Lance Stroll – 5 Just a poor weekend from Stoll and, even if Aston say a setup issue was behind his quali P19, he did little to move up the field. An anonymous race, he could only overtake Gabriel Bortoleto on the track.
Gabriel Bortoleto – 5 The most underwhelming rookie on the grid so far as the F2 champion has struggled to find any pace. Hulkenberg’s similar experience shows it is not just the young driver but it has been a remarkable start to life in F1 so far. Detective Verstappen snitches on Norris again for illegal Bahrain GP move Russell explains cause of Bahrain DRS issue as he avoids FIA penalty Did not finish Carlos Sainz – 4.
5 Even before his retirement, the race was looking a pretty poor one from Carlos Sainz. His performance in quali suggested Sainz had finally got to grips with the car but he began to tumble down the order. Albon, who started 15th to Sainz’s eighth, being just one spot behind showed how much Sainz was struggling and he got himself in a tangle with Tsunoda that cost him his race.
Disqualified Nico Hulkenberg – 6.5 Another forgettable race for Nico Hulkenberg who is struggling to find any pace in the Sauber car. He started 16th and did at least rise to 13th but was ultimately disqualified due to excessive plank wear.
Read next: Bahrain GP conclusions: Lando’s familiar frailties and why Verstappen’s breaking point is bad news for Russell.
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