Five Formula 1 Winners & Losers: Bahrain Grand Prix

Photo by Ali Haider from Reuters

The new Formula 1 season is off to the races, and it’s likely the championship is already done and dusted.

But there’s still a midfield fight to watch! And watch I will.

Let’s dive into the winners and losers from the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Losers

5. Charles Leclerc

Leclerc still finished 4th, which is far from bad at all.

But he was really, really struggling with the car all race.

Whether it was setup or driver error, I’m not sure.

But what I do know is that compared to his teammate, it wasn’t good enough.

4. Valtteri Bottas

Bottas was having a great opening race, as was Sauber in general.

And then a horrific 52 second pit stop completely ruined his race and found himself in 19th.

Not his fault, but not his night either.

3. Logan Sargeant

Sargeant qualified very poorly, but actually had a really good start to set himself up well.

And then a steering wheel malfunction and a brake issue essentially ended it race before it even began.

It’s not his fault either, but with this being a make or break year for the American, it’s not a good start.

2. Yuki Tsunoda

Tsunoda’s race itself wasn’t bad, but his behavior sure was.

Tsunoda was asked to swap places with teammate Daniel Ricciardo, something that was apparently discussed before the race.

Despite that, Tsunoda raged on the radio and would not let Ricciardo past, compromising both his and Ricciardo’s race.

I get being frustrated, so that’s forgivable, but after the race he dive bombed Ricciardo and almost made contact with him in anger.

That is completely unacceptable, especially when it wasn’t even Ricciardo’s fault.

Tsunoda isn’t young anymore.

He needs to get his act together.

1. Alpine

There’s bad starts to seasons.

Then there’s qualifying 19th and 20th, finishing 17th and 18th, and having multiple technical staff members resign after just one race.

I thought Alpine was going to be bad this year.

I certainly didn’t think it’d be this…

Winners

5. Haas

Was Nico Hulkenberg’s race good? No, as Hulkenberg received damage on the opening lap and never recovered.

But he still made Q3 in a Haas car many expected to be absolutely terrible.

As for Kevin Magnussen, he finished 12th in the race despite a poor qualifying session.

They might just be better than we expected!

4. Lance Stroll

Stroll was dead last on the opening lap due to a spin in the first corner, but recovered all the way back and wind up in the points.

Every now and then, Lance reminds us that he’s got some real talent behind the wheel of a car.

3. Sergio Perez

Was Checo anywhere near teammate Max Verstappen this race?

No. Not even close.

But he still comfortably finished 2nd, and with his seat up for grabs and his role being to get maximum points available for Red Bull, finishing 2nd behind Max is exactly what they need.

2. Max Verstappen

The man is in a different stratosphere right now.

I’m not predicting he will, because Formula 1 can be random at times.

But this is the first season ever where I would not be surprised if one driver won every single race.

1. Carlos Sainz

Because of Lewis Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari next season, Carlos Sainz finds himself fighting for a seat in 2025.

If the Bahrain Grand Prix is anything to go off of, he will have no problem finding a seat.

He was fast. He was aggressive but clean. He was absolutely wonderful to watch on Saturday.

Maybe a straight swap with Hamilton at Mercedes is the perfect next move.