Am I the only one still utterly stunned by the Sakhir Grand Prix? Definitely not!
With an outstanding lap in Q3, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc snatched up a second-row place on the starting grid, alongside Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. But with another poor start from Bottas, Verstappen was forced to pull back, putting him in a tight spot, fighting for 3rd alongside Leclerc and Perez. In a daring move, the Ferrari took the inside line at turn 3 and clipped the Racing Point, causing Checo’s car to spin and simultaneously ran both Verstappen and Leclerc into the barrier, leading to the first Virtual Safety Car of the race.
Whilst Norris swiftly made up 9 positions before the VSC, Räikkönen attempted to defend his 17th position in the Alfa Romeo but, Perez, who’s spin caused him to fall to P18, was proving just how far his experience and extensive set of skills can take him, quickly and impressively making up places in almost every lap.
The second set of yellow flags were waved as Nicholas Latifi’s Williams was left stranded at the side of the track, causing another Virtual Safety Car and pressuring teams to determine whether they had enough time to box. Whilst some were able to pit early, the McLaren of Carlos Sainz unfortunately pitted too late, causing the Spaniard to drop from a podium place to P7.
Of course, the focus of many was placed on George Russell, who took Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes seat following a positive Coronavirus test. After an outstanding first lap lead which let the young Brit escape DRS range of teammate Valtteri Bottas, he continued to show his talent, consistently improving his lap time and quickly adapting to the new car. With the Mercedes strategy to stay on the mediums for 9 more laps, both Bottas and Russell looked set for podium finishes, but with a third Virtual Safety Car, everything went from promising to devastating.
Russell’s replacement driver Jack Aitken ran wide, losing his front wing and leaving debris along the main straight. After a sudden decision to pit under the VSC, Mercedes pit crew were left unprepared and were left with a double stack and an incredibly painful tyre change. Whilst George was given the wrong rubber, Valtteri re-joined the track on the tyres he had originally pitted on, causing the Mercedes double podium to quickly vanish.
George, who pitted the following lap for the correct tyres, managed to re-join and make his way back up to 2nd, behind Perez. But, as if George’s luck could get any worse, he was made aware of a front left puncture, meaning that he would have to pit for a fourth time. His podium place vanishing, he re-joined out of the points in P13. Whilst he did make his way back up to P9, gaining an extra point for setting the fastest lap of the race, a penalty or disqualification for the problematic pitstop could be coming his way. At least he got Driver of the Day!
With Russell out of the picture, Perez only furthered his gap between himself and the rest of the grid. Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll claimed 2nd and 3rd, making it a momentous day for both the Racing Point Team, with a double podium, and Ocon, with his first Formula One podium! An emotional Perez soaked in the win, taking his time on the podium, surely questioning how, after an incredible race, he is still without a seat for the 2021 season!
The last race of the season, Abu Dhabi, is soon to come and with a lot of unanswered questions, will we finally know who is filling our remaining seats in Red Bull, Mercedes and Alpha Tauri?
Grid Driven – Emily Bye
Grid Driven 