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First victory in the World Cup for Sergio Pérez and Racing Point that exploit a flagrant error of the Mercedes box that mounts a George Russell (dominant in the GP) The tires destined for Valtteri Bottas, forcing the Lewis Hamilton replacement to immediately re-mount … the correct ones. A puncture in the final forces Russell to make another pit stop. Esteban Ocon (Renault) and Lance Stroll with the other Racing Point on the podium with Pérez. Bottas closes eighth ahead of Russell. Ferrari eleventh with Vettel while Charles Leclerc knocks out future winner Pérez in the first round and finishes ko alongside innocent Max Verstappen.
The unimaginable becomes reality on 63 of 87 laps of the Sakhir Grand Prix: rookie Jack Aitken hits the barriers at the entrance to the pit straight and leaves the front wing of his Williams on the asphalt. Safety car on track e double pit stop (for safety … in intentions) for Mercedes they are actually dominating the GP far and wide with George Russell from lap one, a position snatched from his teammate Valtteri Bottas, who started from pole position. But the unthinkable happens: Lewis Hamilton’s replacement was fitted with one of the tires intended for the Finn, who waits his turn in the queue on W11 number 63 and then is sent back to the track for the last twenty-four laps with the set of tires mounted on lap 49. Instead, Russell is already called at the end of the first of the three useful laps to avoid penalties.
With the Mercedes in unbelievably difficult (in fact, in very little trutonic chaos), Sergio Pérez, very good to get out of the “wild pile” behind the Black Arrows) there’s nothing left to do but keep the cool head needed to keep a safe distance from Esteban Ocon and his teammate Lance Stroll. But the world champion team’s misadventures are not over yet: With both tires now out of the performance range, Bottas struggles to stay afloat and retreats to final eighth position, finishing just ahead of Russell, who, ten laps behind. with a checkered flag and after having risen to second place behind Pérez, he is forced to make his fourth visit of the day to the Mercedes garage, this time due to a puncture principle. First world championship points for the 22-year-old promise of King’s Lynn (Norfolk) who, however, already cherished the dream of the highest step of the podium and who in any case in the space of a weekend was credited as the protagonist insurance for years to come. And perhaps also next weekend in Abu Dhabi, in case Hamilton is not in a position to take his place again.
For the mexican Pérez, in the 190 GP of the World Championship, penultimate with Racing Point (Vettel will take his place in the team that will be called Aston Martin in 2021), this is the first claim of a career in the grand prix that began in 2011 and could have reached the end credits if – as has recently done the own “Czech” press release – his candidacy to take the place of Alexander Albon (today sixth at the finish line without infamy and without praise) will definitely fall behind the wheel of Red Bull.
The victory of the thirty-year-old driver from Guadalajara takes on even greater value if you think that Sergio had been hit in turn four of the first lap by Charles Leclerc., in an accident that forced Pérez himself in the pits (and therefore behind the group) and the Ferrari driver to retire with the innocent Max Verstappen. In fact, to avoid Ferrari number 16 and Racing Point number 11, the Dutchman extended his trajectory but lost grip and direction in the sand of the escape route (at the end of his asphalt section), ending up against the railing. The commissioners of the GP of gave Leclerc a three-position penalty on the starting grid, to be served at the Abu Dhabi GP that closes the World Championship next Sunday. Meanwhile, a wasted opportunity for Red Bull (Verstappena probably could have fought at least one of the Mercedes) and for Ferrari that does not go beyond the twelfth place finish of Sebastian Vettel, author of an anonymous performance, never entered the race for the championship points. .
At the foot of the podium is Carlos Sainz Jr., fourth with the McLaren ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat with the best of Alpha Tauri. McLaren also scored points with Lando Norris, tenth at the finish ahead of Pierre Gasly, the aforementioned Vettel, Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo Sauber and Kevin Magnussen’s Haas which – in fifteenth position – precedes the two absolute rookies. by Sakhir Jack Aitken and Pietro Fittipaldi. The Brit could flank Nicholas Latifi (retired) again in Abu Dhabi if Russell can also sit again in Hamilton’s W11. The Brazilian, on the other hand, is already confirmed, as Romain Grosjean will not be able to take the wheel of his Haas-Ferrari in the last GP of the season (and at the time of his career in the World Championship).
