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For years, Mercedes dominated Formula 1. But at the start of the new season, the long-term champion is in trouble. There is even talk of an “impossible to drive” car. And Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin is also weak.
Max Verstappen held a lead of almost half a second in qualifying, and in the previous third free practice it was up to seven tenths. The Red Bull Dutchman has been leading the way in Bahrain so far. “The car is working very well this year, it’s a great start,” he said confidently after qualifying. The fact that Verstappen starts from pole position on Sunday is not only his own ability, but also the weakening of others.
Above all, Mercedes caused astonishment among Formula 1 fans. Because the Silver Arrows, who dominated events in motorsport’s premier category for years, struggled. “I really couldn’t rack up laps and the car felt really inaccessible at times,” Valtteri Bottas explained after the first two practice sessions, but added: “But it’s Friday and that’s why we’re doing practice sessions.”
First of two racing weekends – this is how the Formula 1 circuit works at the Bahrain Grand Prix. (Source: t-online)
“Now the fight begins”
A day later, it was at least enough for second and third places in the rankings. Team boss Toto Wolff didn’t want to be happy: “I don’t know if that’s better or worse than expected, but any shortfall is hard to bear,” the 49-year-old was quoted by Motorsport Magazin as saying. At the same time, the Austrian remained aggressive: “I am proud of the way we fought to come back from the test, that was suboptimal. Now the fight begins.”
But Mercedes’ problems raise questions. One of them is what are the advantages of Red Bull. World champion Lewis Hamilton sees them on the beat: “Of course we want to be first, but we knew from day one that Red Bull is faster than us.” Toto Wolff also praised the work of the competition: “You did a great job. You delivered an extremely competitive power unit.”
Toto Wolff remains calm before the race in Bahrain. (Source: PanoramiC / imago images)
Track conditions would suit Red Bull too, says Wolff. “Bahrain wasn’t great last year either. Red Bull dominates the track layout and asphalt here better than we do. But that’s not an acceptable explanation: we have to do what we’ve been doing for the past few years. Car, tires and all optimized to get back on track. ” That’s the plan for Sunday’s race (starting at 5pm on the live ticker on t-online).
Aston Martin puzzles
Sebastian Vettel is much less optimistic. The Heppenheimer had envisioned his start at Aston Martin differently. He could only outrun the two Haas cars on Saturday. Starting position 18 is reality for the former Ferrari driver.
“I got the yellow flag twice and then nothing worked,” said Vettel, “it’s hard to say what would have been on it, but it could have been a second quicker.”
For Sebastian Vettel, the start in the Aston Martin is still expandable. (Source: Motorsport Images / imago images)
Vettel and his teammate Lance Stroll, finally 10th in the standings, had not started during training. Vettel was still struggling with the new conditions after six years at Ferrari. “Braking, steering, the way the car wants to be driven,” he said before qualifying: “I still have to get used to some things.”
However, an upward trend could be anticipated, but Vettel could no longer implement it. “We had changed a few things, the car immediately felt better,” Vettel said: “We are not where we want to be, but we are progressing with each race. The learning curve is still steep.” A race to catch up should be successful in the race: “We are faster than 18th.”
