2021 Bahrain Grand Prix Race Thread

Richard Walker38 said:The Haas F1 Team car is an absolute wreck. Honestly, I don't think Formula 1 has seen anything this bad on the track in a long time.

We saw this coming way before the testing started. They were pretty blunt about it—they aren't planning on developing this year's car at all.

ruggedhawk20 said:I honestly don't know what's going on with poor Vettel. It’s like he’s suffering from some kind of accelerated aging disorder. He looks old, drives like an old man, and carries himself like the most ancient soul on the entire grid. Even Alonso, Kimi, and Hamilton—who are all technically older than him—seem way fresher and sharper. On paper they might be older, but biologically, they look decades younger. Vettel acts like he’s already hit 50, even though he’s only in his mid-30s.

He just lost his edge. He was never one of those drivers like Alonso who can somehow drag a mediocre car into the winner's circle through sheer willpower.

I’m seriously impressed with Charles Tsunoda; the kid drives like he’s got ice in his veins. It’s such a shame Pierre Gasly ended up shredding Daniel Ricciardo's tires and completely ruining his race—honestly, I think he would've walked away with a solid finish today if that hadn't happened. The midfield battle is going to be absolute chaos. McLaren looks incredibly sharp right now, assuming Daniel Ricciardo can just get those tires up to the right operating temperature. As for Lando Norris, he drove an absolutely flawless race.

Frank Collins85 said:He basically masked his lack of talent; he’s ready for retirement.

Look, he wasn't even bad during that first stint...
He had a killer start, carved his way up 12 spots, and held a solid position later on—but let's be real, that was just because everyone else pitted at the right time...
He clearly shredded those tires completely. Once the rest of the field ducked into the pits, he dropped like a stone through the order. He clawed his way back up later, but only because they blindly stuck to a strategy that did way more harm than good.

It feels like they're trying to recycle those old-school long-stint strategies where you baby the tires, but clearly, that doesn't work with a car this mediocre.
Lance Stroll got burned by a nearly identical tactic.
He gained about 6 or 7 spots right off the launch 🤔, only to slide down to tenth because he stayed out far too long with a garbage strategy at the end...

ruggedhawk20 said:I honestly don't know what's going on with poor Ferrari. It feels like they're suffering from some kind of rapid aging disorder. They look old, they drive like they're old... they just seem like the oldest team on the grid. Even Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, and Lewis Hamilton seem fresher and sharper than them. And despite being chronologically older, those guys all seem biologically much younger. Ferrari acts like they've already got 50 years on them, even though they're only about 34 or 35...

Age isn't the issue here—it's their mental state, which is absolutely bottoming out. They really should have taken a year off to reset. Either fight for a seat at a top-tier team or just call it quits instead of dragging out this whole agonizing decline.

ruggedhawk20 said:What on earth were they thinking with that Red Bull strategy???

I honestly thought the final stint would be on softs—there were 16 laps left. I couldn't believe the softs wouldn't last 16 laps... if those aren't good, then what kind of garbage tires are we even running? If Max had actually gotten the softs, he would've absolutely torn Lewis Hamilton apart.

James Harris34 said:Age isn't really the issue here. It's his headspace, and right now, he's hitting rock bottom. He should have just taken a year off to reset. Either fight for a seat at a top-tier team or just call it quits. Instead, he's just dragging out the inevitable.

It's way too early to start passing judgment. One bad race where he was handicapped by a penalty from the jump doesn't tell the whole story. Give him five races. If he still can't beat Lance Stroll after that, his reputation is going to take a hit he won't recover from.

Frank Collins85 said:It’s never gonna happen!

Yeah, right, because anyone would actually bother asking you.☕

neonfox65 said:I honestly thought they'd be on reds for the final stint, but there were still 16 laps left. I couldn't believe the red tires wouldn't last 16 laps—if those are garbage, what else is there? If Max had gotten the reds, he would've absolutely torn Lewis Hamilton apart.

What reds?
It’s highly likely Max and the rest of the crew didn't even have fresh softs; they probably just had whatever was left from qualifying. There's no way those could last 15 laps on a track like Bahrain...
The real question is whether even brand-new softs could handle it, let alone the used ones they've basically run into the ground during qualifying.

ruggedhawk20 said:No way. You’d have to shave off 8.5 seconds over just 16 laps—and then some—just to stay in striking distance. Not happening...

🤣

Joza, get real...☕

neonfox65 said:Before the FIA goes after Max

Look, I've been following F1 and other motorsports for 20 years now—and honestly? I've never seen a theft quite like this. It’d be embarrassing if my last name was Hamilton

But hey, lobbying works wonders. Same old story with Summher

Anyway, glad to see Red Bull actually has a fast car and that Max is a beast behind the wheel

Here's how I'd rank them right now:

Red Bull Racing > Mercedes-AMG > McLaren > Ferrari

We're taking back what's ours at Imola

Neighbor, get it together.

That annoying "walk us through it" guy on TV asks Nikita Mazepin about the "positives to take away from the race," even though the guy barely lasted three laps. 🤣

neonfox65 said:🤣

Joza, get real☕

What part of my argument was actually wrong?

ruggedhawk20 said:Max Verstappen was flawless today.

Not even close. First, Red Bull Racing called him in way too early—maybe two or three laps too soon—and then he just went out and absolutely shredded those much fresher tires with some seriously aggressive driving... leaving him with nothing against Lewis Hamilton.

neonfox65 said:I honestly thought they’d be on the reds for that last stint—there were 16 laps left. Couldn't believe those red tires wouldn't last 16 laps; what kind of garbage rubber is that? If Max had gotten the reds, he would've absolutely torn Lewis Hamilton to shreds.

How exactly is he supposed to tear him to shreds if those tires only last 14 laps!?

ruggedhawk20 said:Yessssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lewis Hamilton!!!!!!!!!!

It’s not his first gifted win. He had that one in Canada against Sebastian Vettel too. Two total embarrassments...

But he'll get through this. I can't have them rigging every single race for him—especially since Honda stepped things up.

bluepuma9 said:It's way too early to start passing judgment. One bad race where he was handicapped by a penalty from the jump doesn't mean much. Give him five races; if he isn't beating Lance Stroll by then, his reputation is going to take a serious hit...

You don't need to be Nostradamus to see this coming. Right now, Aston Martin is basically a 7th or 8th place car on the grid, so simple math tells me Sebastian Vettel will mostly be fighting for 13th or 14th place this year. On a good day, if a few drivers in faster cars drop out, he might snag a point, but that’s about it. Unfortunately, the same goes for Fernando Alonso.

northerncobra31 said:This race pretty much settled the debate on who the best driver on the grid is—if there was even any doubt left...

Who?

neonfox65 said:It’s not even his first gifted win—he’s got that one from Canada against Ferrari too. Two total embarrassments.

But he'll get over it eventually. Can't just rig every single race for him, especially since Honda actually stepped it up.

What kind of "gifts" are you even talking about, Neighbor!?

The only gift I saw today was the pure talent God blessed Lewis Hamilton with.

neonfox65 said:This isn't even his first gift of a win, either, considering that one from Canada against Ferrari. It’s just two embarrassments back-to-back.

But look, this whole thing is going to have to end eventually because they can't just rig every single race for him, especially now that Honda has actually stepped up their game.

I'm right there with you—once he hits his 8th or 9th title, they seriously need to pull the plug on this whole era!