Formula 1 in Bahrain: Verstappen sends tirades in the pit radio – sport

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari had been waiting for this moment for two and a half years. It had to be there soon, one lap left on the Bahrain International Circuit, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were driving in formation towards a double success. Then the Monegasse radioed from the cockpit: “I have problems with the engine.” Shock second for the box of the Italians. But just kidding. Such jokes can only be made by someone who has had the perfect race weekend – pole position, fastest race lap, man of the day. Hours later, Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto looked completely taken down. He had to accept that his vabanque game was worth sacrificing the entire last season in favor of a real restart.

The winner literally put the right words in his mouth as he crossed the finish line: “Mamma mia!” In view of the engine performance of the strengthened F 75, colleague Sainz was even allowed to flirt with his “worst weekend” at Ferrari. As a consolation, the Spaniard has already been presented with a new contract. The situation after the first Formula 1 race of the year may not be quite settled, but it seems certain that the Scuderia can be expected again.

Lewis Hamilton

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In between, on this first race weekend of the new F1 season, the record world champion spiced up the rather simple dress code in the paddock of Sakhir with a kind of flower-look dress, as if he wanted to rely on flower power. It was already clear that Mercedes is initially only the third force. That was confirmed in the race. But there’s a little more hope for the Silver Arrows, and that’s not due to third and fourth place, which Red Bull’s total failure brought about. But also because the car, which is still building up, is at least reliable, and Lewis Hamilton is also absorbed in the role of the pursuer, which is new for him.

“We struggled quite a bit so I think the result is pretty impressive,” said the Brit. The unexpected podium place was the best motivation for himself and the whole team. He strengthened the inner balance, which will also be necessary, because for the boss of the racing team, Toto Wolff, every race is initially a test drive. But the result in Bahrain warned the competition: Mercedes apparently hasn’t lost any of its inner strength.

Nico Hulkenberg

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Noble reservist, that may be a disparagement elsewhere, but in Formula 1 it’s a compliment, even if Nico Hülkenberg finished 17th and finished last. Going from zero to over 300 in just four days without having sat in a racing cockpit for a year and a half – there is probably hardly any other substitute driver who can do that like the 34-year-old from Emmerich. The Last Minute Pilot’s ability is as Hulkenback already entered the F1 vocabulary.

It wasn’t his fault either, it was the Aston Martin racing car. Handicapped like all Mercedes customer racing teams, the reorganized squad from Silverstone also had a slightly balanced vehicle. “The car has changed a lot, it was interesting,” said Hülkenberg as a soloist. In truth, it means: It did what it wanted. Whether he has to become a car tamer again at the weekend in Saudi Arabia depends on Sebastian Vettel’s progress in recovery. “I’m on standby,” Hulkenberg said. At least one security.

Kevin Magussen

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When the Dane had to leave the Haas racing team and F1 at the end of 2020, a lot of controversy and a self-produced image remained: that of the Viking. When he unexpectedly returned to his old racing team, made possible by the expulsion of the Russian Nikita Masepin, Magnussen, who had apparently become gentler, had his daughter Laura and his wife Louisa in his arms – if team boss Günther Steiner didn’t intervene. The South Tyrolean had every reason to do so: on his return, Magnussen steered the new Haas-Ferrari from eighth place on the grid and finished fifth with ten World Championship points. The tail light of Formula 1 has made the biggest leap right away.

“The madness continues,” said the 29-year-old, “that was quite an intense race.” To correct himself in the analysis: “It was just crazy.” Actually, Magnussen should have started this weekend at the sports car classic “12 Hours of Sebring” – by the way, he would have been in the winning car there. But his comeback in the premier class can hardly be surpassed in satisfaction: “It was as if a shoe fits you right away and it always goes better when you take the first steps in it.”

Mike Schumacher

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Eleventh, the most thankless position in F1. So close to the very first World Cup point of his career. Mick Schumacher had justified hopes for the start of the second Grand Prix year. From twelfth on the grid, he quickly moved up to tenth place and was just about to start the race when Esteban Ocon turned him over on the track. Suddenly he found himself at the bottom again, like last season. Tires wrecked, car no longer perfectly balanced. But the will to persevere was there, and the diligence seemed to pay off in the end.

After the safety car phase, he was again in the points. But as the only driver in the whole field with old tires, he became an easy victim for Chinese debutant Guanyu Zhou. He congratulated his team-mate Magnussen, who is far more dangerous to him than his colleague Mazepin last year: “Kevin did a great job, so I’m very, very happy for the team.” The best result of his own career so far gives him hope: “We still have a lot of untapped potential in the car.”

Max Verstappen

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The fans of Lewis Hamilton wanted to see the revenge of karma in the double failure of the Red Bull racing cars at the start of the season, for team boss Christian Horner it was just “a brutal race”. Two cars that ended up running dry due to a defective pump, which suggested a problem with spare parts or incorrect fuel calculations. So the number one got stuck at the end of the first race of the title defense.

Until then, Max Verstappen had been able to measure himself several times with Charles Leclerc, the old rival from his youth. And each time they got the short end of the stick, which led to rants about false information from the command post. In addition, the brakes overheated, the control bitched. Nobody knew an answer to the question: “What is the problem, what can I do?” Verstappen was just as helpless as his colleague Sergio Perez, who was eliminated in the end, but the anger will fuel his ambition. “Whatever it was, we have to solve it,” says Christian Horner, “we still have 22 races to do it.” But playing for time is not the thing of this team and this world champion.

Valtteri Bottas

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Side by side with Lewis Hamilton on the starting grid, the Finn knew that from his good days at Mercedes. In the third row of Bahrain, however, the scenario differed from that of the past: Hamilton so far behind and Bottas so far ahead. The 32-year-old now sits in the Alfa Romeo, and with the Swiss racing team he got what he had always been denied: he is the leader of the team and doesn’t have to worry about a contract extension every year.

In the end, he finished sixth on his debut in red and white, even though the wheels had spun at the start and he was passed backwards. The first appearance at the new job, which ended happily, should mean almost as much for collective self-confidence as each of his ten Grand Prix victories before. “Reliability was our first goal,” sums up Bottas. He meant his customer car from Ferrari. But also a little bit of yourself.