A Ferrari one-two at the debut of the new era, a Mercedes in total confusion and forced to go well with a 3rd and 4th place, a death of Honda-powered vehicles eliminated one by one like the 10 little Indians, a Haas in the Top 5. In short , are we sure this is the same Formula 1 we left in December?
We said it, we had put our hands forward, this season will give us many surprises. The first came with the debut of Formula 1 in Bahrain where we saw for the first time the fruits of the new technical regulation, born with two promises: give fans more entertainment; and give the drivers such machines to fight in more exciting duels, thanks to the greater ability of the cars to overtake and chase each other on the track. The different philosophies on the interpretation of the regulation have resulted in, at least for the first year of this "new era", an audience of cars with substantial differences in the project. There are those who have created a project more suited to these new cars and those who instead have embarked on a diametrically opposite interpretation, perhaps less performing.
The first test in Bahrain turned the cards upside down, overturned the rankings and made some cry with joy or sadness Fantasy manager. Let's see the Tops and Flops of this first day.
Let's start from the positive notes of today
TOP
Charles Leclerc: He manages to bring home a victory that in Ferrari had been missing for 910 days. He does it with a Grand Slam that is, pole position, fastest lap and race lead from the first to the last lap. The victory comes cleanly, Charles seems to get the most out of his F1-75, demonstrating a great feeling with the single-seater and a strong mentality, both in the race and in qualifying where he very often manages to get the perfect lap. Hands down he wins the title of “Sky Pilot of the Day”. At the beginning of the season he hypothesized a total of 5 victories, now he has already collected 1. He also jokes at the end of the race with his track engineer, he knows he has a potentially lethal weapon in his hands and wants to use it to put his team in difficulty opponents.
Carlos Sainz: Among the "others", i.e. those who on paper are still, in fact, second drivers, he is the most constant. Ferrari wants to focus on the Spaniard and is preparing to renew his contract. Even though he was constantly behind Charles in the race and Max won the confrontation with Sergio Perez, also annoying Max Verstappen behind the Safety Car at the restart.
Lewis Hamilton: Old fox, despite the announced disaster at Mercedes, he never misses an opportunity to be in the right place at the right time. After a difficult start caused by the strategy of calling him back to the pits on lap 12 to mount the hard tyres, he managed to put Perez under pressure and dodge the Mexican who went into a spin. The positions earned, the podium and having kept his teammate behind him also place him among the top riders of the day.
Russell: The first was also good for George, who went up 5 positions and arrived with a rather small gap from his teammate weighing in at 7 world titles.
Magnussen: This is a moment of pure enjoyment for all Fantasy manager who kept a niche in the team for K-Mag who arrived, after the excellent qualifying on Saturday, in the Top 5. The superfast Ferrari is currently proving to be a winning bet. Haas, still looking for sponsors to compensate for UralKali's passing, has therefore chosen to make full use of this resource and this is demonstrated by the top speeds of the American team which arrived in the Top 5 with a highly experienced driver like Magnussen. Haas made a choice that could see it suffer throughout the season as you sacrifice reliability in search of performance. Kevin managed to make the most of this advantage, also demonstrating the weight of experience, compared to the fresh talent of a novice still in the running-in phase.
Tsunoda: Yuki was the only Honda powered one to finish the race, and no, it's not a conspiracy given the driver's country of origin, but the result of excellent management of the single-seater, combined with a good dose of luck. The Japanese talent in his second year in Formula 1 has shown that he can fight for the Top 10; in fact, it was not just luck that allowed him to recover 6 positions and finish in the points.
We arrive at the painful notes, the Flop
FLOPS
Red Bull and Honda: It's not the drivers' fault to be clear, Max Verstappen led an excellent race right up to the end, giving us a great duel with Leclerc. However, less nervousness and a "gentler" approach to the tires were expected from the new world champion. Certain dynamics have in fact contributed to his defeat, although this, fatally, came for reasons beyond his control. When you pursue, any adversity threatens to become your worst enemy. The high tire degradation and problems behind the wheel led Max into error. His race was going well when a power problem forced him to pit and retire. A fate that, due to problems of different entities, also affected Perez and Gasly. Should the reliability of the Honda engine be the real cause of these problems, it could upset the plans of the team that led Max to victory in 2021. This could make us change our mind about buying the most expensive rider on the market and its actual value. The double, triple, out at Red Bull comes like a bolt from the blue since a similar problem has never occurred during the tests. Will it be something fixable or a problem that will accompany them for the rest of the season?
Norris: Another big, very big disappointment concerns the McLaren's top driver, who is particularly in difficulty in this first phase of the season. Although it was a tragedy announced by the team itself, forced to admit the evidence of a problem of no small importance to the brakes, such a disaster risks immediately dampening the competitiveness of a team on the verge of an economic and nervous crisis. Ricciardo is also bad, however he earns a few points with the positions gained.
