2021 Bahrain Grand Prix Race Thread

Max Verstappen really let me down. He just wasn't there.
If he couldn't manage his own pace yesterday and pull off a win on fresher tires, then winning the championship this year is going to be an uphill battle.

🤦🤦

graniteharbor502 said:If you actually look at Perez's lap times and the gap, things become quite obvious. He simply couldn't match Bottas's pace, especially considering Bottas had enough margin to pit one more time just to set the fastest lap.

Comparing stints is pointless here since the guy started from the pits. Bottas spent the entire race running in clean air, whereas Perez didn't have that luxury. Besides, this is his first race with Red Bull Racing; he’ll need time to find his footing.

ruggedhawk20 said:Max was perfect today. His only issue was having Lewis on the track. Who drove more perfectly?

Neither of them was perfect.
First, the strategy. Max stayed out too long in the first stint, while Lewis's second stint was far too short.
Then toward the finish—first Lewis locks up under braking, allowing Max to close the gap for an attack... then Max returns the favor by giving Lewis a bit of room.
And finally, the fatal error. Max, sitting in a prime position to win, tries to force a pass and loses the race.

Just like in Turkey last year.
Same players, same outcome.
A smarter driver in a slower car > a less intelligent driver in a faster car.

fadedwalker18 said:Max Verstappen was a disappointment. Nothing from him.
If he couldn't manage his own pace yesterday and bring a better car on fresher tires to secure the win, then there is no chance he takes the championship this year.

🤦🤦

Max didn't disappoint me, but the Red Bull pit wall certainly did. I expected much more than such amateurism from them, especially since Valtteri Bottas wasn't even a threat and they were fighting against Lewis Hamilton. Yesterday, they allowed Lewis Hamilton to undercut them twice on fresh rubber, which essentially forced them to destroy their own tires trying to chase him down. Max could have easily finished first if they had simply responded to the Mercedes undercut just one lap earlier each time.

Max performed at his level and drove perfectly.

wiredseal7 said:the FIA

Fair enough.

Roger Wright94 said:In my view, Lewis gained an advantage there. At least 3 seconds if you do the math—30 times 0.1.

Fine.

darkmarlin16 said:29 times

Playing the victim.

"Playing the victim" means following the exact guidelines the FIA Race Director laid out clearly during the driver briefing before the race?

Right.

Raymond Anderson4 said:If they had just stayed quiet, there wouldn't have been a mid-race decision, and Max Verstappen's overtake would have stood.

Sure, just like his pass on Kimi Raikkonen in Texas back in 2017 was perfectly valid.

Watching the showdown between McLaren and Ferrari throughout the rest of the season should be quite interesting. I am also hoping to see some progress from Aston Martin and Alpine.

Hats off to Fernando Alonso. His pace was impressive until the issues surfaced with that noticeably slower car. Even with his speed, I don't think they have much to celebrate right now. Ferrari and McLaren, however, have plenty of reasons to be satisfied—especially Ferrari. After yesterday's disaster, they are back in the mix and making strides. They actually managed decent race strategy and executed solid pit stops.

I'm looking forward to Imola.

Man, there's probably still 22 races left and now everyone’s acting like Mercedes is gonna out-develop Red Bull Racing. I guess people just forgot that RB (Adrian Newey) has always been killer at development throughout the season.
Who knows what the next few races will actually bring—it really comes down to who manages to squeeze more out of the data they gathered from the last race. We can pretty much guess what to expect from Ferrari and Mercedes, but with RB (Adrian Newey)... maybe not so much.

Anyway, looks like we're in for a solid season from a technical standpoint—if you ignore Haas, because they seriously need to fix that car or those two rookies are gonna get wrecked—and on the driving side too (assuming you ignore Vettel; he needs to pull it together, otherwise it won't be good for him or anyone else).

And looking at how much ground everyone has lost, it seems like Ferrari might have actually nailed the solutions for the new regs... though honestly, it could just be a better engine than last year. Though, I doubt it's purely an engine thing since they still seem a bit short on power on the straights.

btw. you can tell Luja makes mistakes—he got lucky with that excursion off track—but he totally made up for it later with that masterclass move where he forced Max Verstappen off the line

I guess he forgot what it feels like when someone's riding your bumper, but he pulled himself together pretty fast—that’s just what top-tier champions do, I suppose

Just wondering—how exactly did Sergio Perez manage to wreck his car during the practice session?

vividlynx68 said:Actually, let me ask—how did Perez manage to set the car on fire during the practice lap?

It's the battery and the MGU-K; they're what spin the engine.

graniteharbor502 said:The Mercedes is already the better car—it just doesn't have the best driver right now.

Neither qualifying nor the race matters here... Max was still out there wrestling a "broken" car.

graniteharbor502 said:Just look at Perez's lap times and the gap—it makes everything way more obvious. He simply couldn't keep up with Bottas's pace, especially since Valtteri managed to pit one last time just to nail the fastest lap...

How can you even judge Perez when he just joined Red Bull yesterday? Give him a few races to actually find his rhythm before making calls...

Anthony Baker84 said:Man, there's probably still 22 races left, and now everyone's predicting Mercedes will outpace Red Bull in development. It’s like people totally forgot that Red Bull—with Adrian Newey on the job—has always been incredible at developing their car mid-season.
Who knows what the next few races will actually bring... we'll just have to see who manages to squeeze more out of their data. We can pretty much guess what to expect from Ferrari and Mercedes, but Red Bull? Not so much...

Everyone seems to forget about the $150M budget cap. I honestly don't see how Mercedes overtakes them under those rules. The only way would be through engine development, since that's not capped—but even then, Honda is going to give it everything they've got.

Anthony Baker84 said:Man, there are still about 22 races left, and suddenly everyone thinks Mercedes is going to outpace Red Bull in development. It’s like people have forgotten that Red Bull (Adrian Newey) has always been incredibly fast at developing the car mid-season.
Who knows what the next few races will actually bring. We'll just have to see who manages their data better. When we talk about Ferrari or Mercedes, we have a decent idea of what to expect, but with Red Bull (Adrian Newey), it's much harder to predict...

At this rate, it looks like we're in for a solid season from a technical standpoint—if you ignore Haas, who desperately needs to fix their car before those two rookies get hurt—and from a driving standpoint, if you ignore Sebastian Vettel. He really needs to find his rhythm, otherwise, it won't be good for him or anyone else on the grid.

Looking at how much ground has been lost, it seems like Ferrari found the best way to adapt to the new regulations. Then again, it could just be that they have a better engine than last year (though I doubt it's purely an engine issue since they still seem to lack power on the straights).

Red Bull is good, but Mercedes is better.
In every championship year, they've been superior when it comes to development.
The fact that they stop focusing on the current car late in the season to concentrate on next year is just how they operate.

Jason Campbell70 said:It's the battery and the MGU-K—they drive the engine through them.

Thanks.

neonfox65 said:Everyone seems to forget that budgets are capped at $150M—so I really don't see how Mercedes can just outspend them. The only way they pull ahead is through engine development, since that's not under the cap. But honestly, Honda is going to give it everything they've got too.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around why this one race was such a huge deal... if nothing else, it definitely showed that Lewis and Mercedes are going to have to fight tooth and nail for the title this year...

https://twitter.com/oconesteban/stat...509609474?s=21

And this was actually fine too... 🤣

neonfox65 said:https://twitter.com/oconesteban/stat...509609474?s=21

And this one was actually fine. 🤣

I'm assuming this was Yuki Tsunoda.

And honestly, I think it's okay, since Tsunoda is the one who forced him off the track.

This situation just isn't comparable to the Verstappen-Hamilton incident.

Lewis Hamilton didn't push Max Verstappen off the track there.

Anthony Baker84 said:Looking at how much everyone else lost, it seems like Red Bull might have actually cracked the code on these new regulations. Or, could it just be a better engine than last year? Honestly, I doubt it’s purely the power unit, since they still look a bit short on straight-line speed.

I’ve already given Delvecchio credit once before for putting together such an excellent graph in this thread:

Delvecchio said:

It really is the engine.

Raymond Anderson4 said:I'm guessing that was Yuki Tsunoda.

And honestly, that's fine—Tsunoda basically forced him wide.

This isn't anything like the Ver-Ham situation.

Lewis Hamilton didn't push Max Verstappen off the track there.

If Max hadn't gone wide, they definitely would've collided...

He would've ended up just like Alexander Albon did last year in Austria.