Formula 1 heads to Bahrain’s Sakhir International Circuit for the second round of the 2019 season. Motorsport Week ponders some of the key talking points that have arisen ahead of the weekend’s action.
Can Bottas strike again?
Valtteri Bottas was, at times, regarded as a pushover in 2018 but there was no sign of that in Australia as a steely performance was followed by a very public shutdown of his critics, the identity of which Bottas coyly refused to divulge. Those who had overlooked Bottas pre-season were firmly put in their place by his emphatic race drive. Bottas displayed a level of dominance rarely seen and his determination to smash the fastest lap showed the confidence that was flowing through his veins. This was a different person to the shattered soul who slinked away in Abu Dhabi, broken and battered by a demoralising campaign. Australia is done and dusted – so can he do it again in Bahrain? Bottas claimed his maiden pole position at Sakhir two years ago while in 2018 chased Sebastian Vettel to the chequered flag to finish as a close runner-up, proving that he has form at the venue. Revisionism has also come to lessen Bottas’ early-season achievements in the past two years; it’s easy to forget that in 2017 he had an impressive start to his Mercedes career, and last season could have led the championship after the ‘flyaway’ Grands Prix. It was only thereafter that his year began to unravel in such a lacklustre and defeatist manner. Bottas to double up in Bahrain? Do not bet against it.
Will Ferrari show greater pace?
The alarm bells are not yet ringing at Maranello but this is a big weekend for a team that underdelivered in Melbourne. Ferrari was expected to lead the way at the season-opener (not due to media-driven hyperbole but the fact other teams’ pre-season data showed Ferrari was fastest) but it qualified seven-tenths off pole and came home almost a minute adrift in race trim. There were some extenuating circumstances, for its 2017 and 2018 victories came in the wake of it maximising a its package while profiting from Mercedes’ mis-steps. But in 2019 it was merely slow. It never unearthed the right set-up for the SF90 all weekend, leaving its drivers struggling for balance, thus having a knock-on effect for drivers’ confidence, accentuating other elements such as tyre wear. What happened from Spain to Australia? There are different circuit characteristics at play while Mercedes’ own efforts in that two-week period cannot be underestimated. But Ferrari’s struggles mystified its drivers and team management, who could not offer a specific explanation in the immediate aftermath of a Grand Prix in which it was shocked by Mercedes’ advantage, and would not have expected to drop so helplessly behind a Red Bull. Australia can be an outlier, but the last two years Ferrari has held the fastest race package in Bahrain, enabling Vettel to take successive victories in 2017 and 2018. No-one has more wins in Bahrain than Vettel. If the SF90 is sub-par again in Bahrain this weekend then it could be a long season for those in red.
Can Honda mount a challenge?
Red Bull was sufficiently impressed by Honda’s progress through 2018 to jump ship from Renault and it had a nervous winter of anticipation as it waited to see the fruits of its labour. Taking a podium finish in Australia was a sweet early reward and marked the first time it left the season-opening race in the hybrid era with a trophy to put in the excess baggage hold. Max Verstappen’s ability to split the Ferrari drivers was encouraging in terms of one-lap pace and while superior racecraft and fresher tyres assisted in his battle with Sebastian Vettel, so too did the driveability and top-end speed of Honda’s power unit. Red Bull, at least, has started 2019 no worse off than it ended 2018, and that’s very much mission accomplished for this stage of its nascent relationship with Honda. Bahrain will pose another challenge, with longer straights and hotter temperatures, but last year’s performance should surely provide a buoyant mood. Pierre Gasly finished fourth for Toro Rosso to cap a fine weekend-long display; with 12 months of development and now powering a more compliant chassis, could Honda contend for its first hybrid era victory this weekend?
Who will lead the midfield group?
The fourth- to ninth-best teams were separated by mere tenths of a second in Australia. Not only that, but they were also much closer to the front-runners than in 2018, even if a difficult-to-bridge gap remains. Haas led the way Down Under, with Romain Grosjean topping qualifying and Kevin Magnussen leading the gaggle of midfielders in race trim, but it was a tight-run affair. The Haas boys had to resist Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg early in the Grand Prix before Magnussen pulled clear at a venue where the US-run team has historically excelled. Bahrain has also been kind to Formula 1’s newest team but they’ll face strong competition; just a handful of seconds covered Renault, Alfa Romeo, Racing Point and Toro Rosso after 57 laps of racing, while McLaren would likely have been in the mix had an understandably conservative Lando Norris not spent so long marooned behind the strategically offset and damaged Antonio Giovinazzi. At this stage Haas and Renault, as in 2018, hold a slight advantage, but their rivals have closed the gap, and any one of them could shine if they execute a perfect weekend – as Toro Rosso did 12 months ago.
Can Williams avoid another humiliation?
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For a team that has won 16 titles and 114 races through its 42-year history Australia was one of the lowest ebbs. Plenty of teams have had disappointing displays, and the closely-matched nature of the current field accentuates Williams’ weaknesses, but the FW42 resembled a rolling roadblock than a Formula 1 car at times. George Russell and Robert Kubica were lumbered with a recalcitrant car and are effectively using the opening Grands Prix as extended test sessions, as the team attempts to address what Russell termed a “fundamental” problem, the nature of which remains open to speculation. In reality, teams do not close such a gap in a short period of time, but – as with McLaren in 2018 – perhaps the brutal nature in which the team has been exposed will facilitate deep self-reflection and allow a long-term recovery. Only time will tell. What will give the team confidence is if some green shoots can emerge from the second round of the campaign. Bahrain’s smoother track surface should help, reigning F2 champion Russell has experience of the venue, while Kubica will also be stronger after getting back into the groove last time out. No-one is expecting anything other than last, but a smaller gap – and greater understanding of its weaknesses – will go a long way to lifting the confidence.
What else?
Formula 1 teams will be staying on at Sakhir for two days of post-race testing next Tuesday and Wednesday, with one car per team permitted. McLaren and Toro Rosso will be running a second car for the purpose of assisting Pirelli with its 2020 tyre development.
When’s it on? (click here to convert into your timezone)
Friday
FP1 14:00 – 15:30
FP2 18:00 – 19:30
Saturday
FP3 15:00 – 16:00
Qualifying 18:00 – 19:00
Sunday
Race 18:10 (56 laps or two hours)
*Note all times are local (GMT +3)
