F1 Bahrain GP 2022 Post-Race Report
Max was maxed out, and Magnussen was magnificent!
24 hours later, the brake dust had settled, and, for the moment, we are seeing what Mr.Ross Brawn had been dreaming for the past few years: tighter racing and closer packs of cars!
While reliability is still hard to judge in the early races, Red Bull seems to be showing a lot of bugs as Max and Perez were knocked out at the end of the race. On the other hand, and as foreseen, the Mercs were ready to take advantage of their losses. The W13 may not be the fastest car, but at least they seem to be reliable enough to finish at the top of the pack. Did anyone notice Toto's giant smile during the award ceremony? I think he was smiling not because of Hamilton's 3rd place but because RB didn't finish?
Again, I am over the moon for HAAS; Magnussen was precisely the driver Guenther needed today, and Schumacher finished close to his first point. Both drivers finished higher than where they started and one within the top 10! All positive signs for the team!
While young Schumacher now sees the difference between his teammate and himself, he will have to fight harder to match the more experienced teammate; the pressure is on! On the whole, it was still a break-out moment for him as he climbed 2 spots from his starting position of 13th. Both him and Yuki surpass what I expected [as mentioned in my pre-race prediction], and I hope Yuki will continue to mature. Go Yuki & Micki!
Russell's 4th place for his first race with team Merc should be a huge relief to him and his team. While his driver score is 0, it is purely because of the Williams he's been given in the past few years. I believe he will continue to deliver and even surpass Hamilton as he adjusts to his new team and harness that team's power.
Zhou Guanyu may be the "hidden dragon" in season. This kid can drive, and he does it so well without the negative drama. He scored his first point in his first race, and the strength of his social media score points to a growing fan base and incoming media coverage, if not in the western world, definitely in China! I really hope there is more coverage and story on this driver in the months to come.
Now, let's talk about Botta. I really like the guy, and I am happy he is given a fresh start with Alfa this season and a pretty fast car. With that said, I am still unsure if he can truly deliver consistently in race trim. He seems to be running into similar roadblocks as when he was in Merc..... I mean, it did take him a while to get past Yuki at one point... again. While his driver score is second to Hamilton's, there is still a question of whether it is primarily due to the car or his driving. He is definitely skilled, but does he have a very narrow performance window?
At the bottom end of the finishers, I am still uncertain what is going on with Williams and Aston Martin. Can we truly blame their Mercedes engine for their lack of performance? Or are there more significant issues like their management and design philosophy? It's hard to tell in just one race, but I am not holding out much expectancy for the rest of the season. I see Albon as the one to shine out of the four drivers in those two teams, but only time will tell.
And let's not talk too much about McLaren today... I just feel bad for them at the moment. The optics look quite bad; however, with all things considered, Ricciardo did finish 4 places higher than where he started. So that's got to count for something, right?
Aside from the DNFs, most drivers finished in the positive, with the exception of Norris and Alonso. That's got to be a good sign for the whole season!
Next up, Saudi Arabia! Let's see how the media treats all the team in the next few days!
Meme of the Grid:
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