Bahrain: post-race analysis
A cracking race to
watch, bit mixed on the betting front. One came off. The other didn’t due to a DNS (some mishap caused the engine to explode on
the formation lap, which hampered Vettel’s chances of winning the
race quite substantially).
The formation lap was
interesting, as it featured two retirements. Vettel’s hopes and
engine faded in a puff of smoke, and Jolyon Palmer pulled into the
pits due to a reliability failure. With Magnussen (Palmer’s team
mate for Renault) starting from the pit lane anyway, a mere 19 cars
were on the grid.
The start and first
corner were dramatic. Raikkonen had a slightly dodgy start, Hamilton
likewise. Rosberg had a clean get away and passed Hamilton. The
Williams cruised past Raikkonen. At the first corner, Bottas struck
Hamilton, and the Briton fell to around 7th or 8th.
Raikkonen took a while
to get past the Red Bull of Ricciardo and the Williams, and this
allowed Rosberg to scamper away. Although the Finn (later on) closed
within 6s or so, Rosberg was never truly under threat.
Hamilton had suffered
some damage to his car, but how much this affected things is
difficult to guess. It didn’t look major, to be honest. However, he
had even more early traffic to clear than Raikkonen. Late on in the race he got
close to Raikkonen, but the final pit stops (he was inexplicably kept
out whilst 2-3s a lap slower than the Finn, due to old tyres) ended
any prospect of him attaining 1st or 2nd.
There was more change
behind. The Williams had briefly been 2nd and 3rd,
but inexorably drifted down the order (Bottas got a drive-through for
the first lap collision). The pace was pretty unimpressive, to be
honest.
Ricciardo did better
than expected in the Red Bull, and was the best of the rest, with
Kvyat climbing to 7th.
Grosjean adopted an odd
approach. He three-stopped, but did the first three stints on the
supersoft. This may have been a strategic master stroke, and he fully
deserved his excellent 5th finish. Gutierrez failed to
reach the race’s end (I think it was a reliability failure).
Sainz also retired in
the pits, but Verstappen got a good 6th. Massa and Bottas
ended up 8th and 9th. In relative terms, the
Williams has definitely gone backwards.
A great 10th
was had for Stoffel Vandoorne on his debut (Button’s ERS died and
he retired). I would not be at all surprised if the Belgian replaced
Button for 2017.
Worthy of an honourable
mention is Pascal Wehrlein for a very fiesty race. He was only 13th,
but that’s a step up for Manor and he was mixing it with Renaults,
Force Indias and Saubers. I would be unsurprised if he scores a point
or two this year.
The Force Indias were
terrible. They finished 15th and 16th, despite
Hulkenberg having started 8th. I’m not sure why this
was.
The result leaves the
Drivers’ title race, after 2/21 events, like this:
Rosberg 50
Hamilton 33
Ricciardo 24
Raikkonen 18
Grosjean 18
Vettel 15
Massa 14
However, worth noting
both Ferraris have only finished one race apiece. If they sort the
reliability they may well be a match for Mercedes. If they can’t,
the Silver Arrows will win. Again.
Constructors’, after
2/21:
Mercedes 83
Ferrari 33
Red Bull 30
Williams 20
Haas 18
On the bets: the
Grosjean bet was well-judged. He was 1.9 for points and ended up 5th,
having started 9th. It’s quite hard to judge the Vettel
bet. It was obviously unlucky, losing due to a formation lap engine
death, but had he run normally it’s certainly a viable possibility
that he could’ve won, or gotten close enough for the hedge to be
matched.
The overall result,
with a £10 stake per tip, was a loss of £1. So, not the end of the
world, if a bit disappointing.
The Chinese Grand Prix
is in a fortnight.
Morris Dancer
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