The Formula 1 season kicked off in Bahrain last week with what was an exciting Bahrain Grand Prix. Lewis hamilton and Max Verstappen fought tooth and nail from start to finish with Lewis Hamilton fending off Max Verstappen to win the first race of the Formula 1 season. It’s been almost a week since the race and the Formula 1 world doesn’t stop. With that said, let’s go over the 5 best stories of the week.
# 1 Sebastian Vettel attacked after horrific Formula 1 debut with Aston Martin
Sebastian Vettel faces criticism from all corners Sebastian vettel in Formula 1. When he won he broke all records on his way. But when he started to struggle, it was a slippery slope for the former world champion. His debut with Aston Martin at the Bahrain Grand Prix was an absolute disaster. Being eliminated in Q1 and then an awkward clash with Esteban Ocon made things worse for the German.
What it seems though is that all of the Formula 1 experts seem to have their two cents on the “Sebastian Vettel” subject. Mark Webber believes Vettel is running out of goodwill in Formula 1. Damon Hill thinks Vettel is turning into a dough. While Gerhard Berger feels Vettel, a quadruple world champion can’t stand the pressure.
It was fascinating to see all the pundits come out and nitpick a former world champion, but one thing is clear. Sebastian Vettel needs to roll up his socks and start playing as he might not respond to the criticisms he is responsible for in front of his team spending several hours at headquarters building a car to the best of their ability.
# 2 Red Bull aims to develop the car as much as possible before Imola
Red Bull, supported by the performance of their car in Bahrain, are looking for an aggressive impetus to extract more performance from their car in the next rounds. The beverage company reportedly left Bahrain with a bitter taste in its mouth after losing some victory. But at the same time, the team would have been happy to see the progress they have made over the past 12 months.
Not looking to sit back on the applause and understanding that this is not a huge advantage they enjoy over Mercedes, Red Bull is going to introduce an aggressive upgrade package to Imola so that Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez can compete.
# 3 Mercedes concedes Red Bull will have the advantage in Imola and Portugal
On Mercedes’ rebound, the defending Formula 1 champions have already admitted that they fear Red Bull will have an advantage over the German squad at Imola and Portugal. Mercedes believes that the Red Bull car showed no weaknesses either in the first race or in the pre-season testing. Red Bull appear to have a clear advantage over the Silver Arrows in the fast speed sections of the track and with Imola and Portugal having plenty Mercedes believe Red Bull would be hard to catch in the next two races.
However, to break the myth, Mercedes at first glance conceded a tenth or two to Bahrain’s Red Bull at best. The gap was not huge and the defending champions have a car capable of fighting for the Formula 1 title. So for anyone who expects Mercedes to fall out of the question, this will not happen. anytime soon.
# 4 Lando Norris believes Max Verstappen didn’t deserve a penalty for passing Hamilton
Speaking of Hamilton and the Bahrain Grand Prix, one of the key moments in the race was when Max Verstappen started off trying to overtake Hamilton. The move was deemed illegal by Formula 1 Race Control and Verstappen was forced to surrender his position to Hamilton and in a way that sealed the fate of the race. Lando Norris seems to have a different take on all of this, however. On his Twitch channel when Lando norris was reviewing the race, he argued that Max Verstappen’s move was already over before he left the track at Turn 4.
Looking at the video from another point of view, it made it clear that Max was already some distance in front of Lewis Hamilton when he came off the track. He ended the topic by saying it was something to be discussed at the next pilots’ briefing, but in his opinion he didn’t think Max Verstappen should have been penalized for the move.
The incident and the decision of the race control will surely be called into question by Red Bull at the next Grand Prix. While nothing can be done about it now, it can be said that Max Verstappen has every right to be wronged by the Formula 1 Race control directive.
# 5 Yuki Tsunoda jumps into the spotlight with sensational Formula 1 debut
Yuki Tsunoda made his debut in Formula 1 and Bahrain. And although on paper it was the average start to Formula 1 for the rookie, he took the Formula 1 world by storm. He received praise in every quarter possible, with senior paddock staff talking about the young Japanese driver as the next big thing in Formula 1. Ross Brawn gave Tsunoda special mention in his column by calling the Japanese driver, “The best rookie in Formula 1 in a while”. While the still unimpressed Helmut Marko believes Tsunoda will be Formula 1’s new star for years to come.
While yes, Tsunoda led a responsible race in Bahrain and was able to score some important points for the team, I would still wait to reserve my judgment on the youngster. It’s a 23-race season that comes and goes for all teams and we’ll have to wait and see how good Tsunoda really is.