2019 Bahrain Grand Prix (March 29-31)

Great race. Tough break for Charles Leclerc—it felt a bit like watching Prost and Senna at Monaco when they called the race early because of those heavy rains, but hey, he proved he’s got the goods. Keep it up.

Norris was solid; happy to see McLaren stepping up.
In my view, the Max Verstappen - Carlos Sainz clash was just a racing incident. Max claimed Sainz braked late, but he did the exact same thing—plus, with the cockpit setup, it’s basically impossible to see that angle where he was positioned against Carlos Sainz.

Renault 🤣

It was great to finally see some real on-track duels. Lewis Hamilton handled Sebastian brilliantly—like mellowtiger83 said, it was incredibly tight and aggressive, yet totally clean. Brilliant.

All we were missing was a two or three-lap restart after the SC to really top it all off, but whatever... 😁

swifttiger75 said:Great race. A shame for Charles Leclerc, though. It reminded me a bit of Prost and Senna at Monaco when they stopped the race because of those heavy rains. Still, he proved he’s top-tier material. Just keep going like that.

Norris was excellent; I'm happy for McLaren.
In my view, Max Verstappen - Carlos Sainz was a racing incident. Max claimed Sainz braked late, but then again, so did he. Given the cockpit configuration, it's practically impossible to see the angle he was at relative to Carlos Sainz.

Renault 🤣

But it was wonderful to finally see some actual duels on track. Lewis Hamilton handled Sebastian brilliantly—as mellowtiger83 noted, it was incredibly close and high-stakes, yet clean. Brilliant.

All we were missing was a restart two or three laps after the SC to really top it all off, but oh well... 😁

It's a good thing Scuderia Ferrari didn't move, otherwise they would have just been lining up behind Charles Leclerc and potentially dropped significantly in the standings during that single lap.
And that would have been a pity.

crimsonhawk23 said:Carlos squeezed Max out. Max had to move all the way to the very edge of the track to stay on—and per the rules, he doesn't have to use the entire curb to defend, yet Max ended up with his whole car on it here. His only option was to go off track (which would have made those of you who hate him feel great, lol), while Carlos just veered right like nobody else was even there:



Anyway, let me grab a comment from Reddit that breaks this down perfectly:

"When you aim for the apex with a car inside of you, it's your fault. Therefore it's 100% Sainz's fault.
Luckily for Max he didn't get any damage from an incident where he was totally innocent."

Speaking of Max: Max giving Charles Leclerc a thumbs up

Right after the race, he even admitted they didn't deserve the podium because what happened to Charles was just awful, especially since he drove such a brilliant race.

Even the steering wheel is pointed hard to the right the whole time.

Richard Walker38 said:The steering wheel also looks like it's being held turned to the right the whole time

True—mostly because he’s trying to avoid Max Verstappen - Carlos Sainz as much as possible. I suppose his only other options were either to dive into Carlos Sainz like Sebastian Vettel would have, or just drive straight off the track.

This comment on Reddit is honestly hilarious. The blatant bias against Max Verstappen seems to hunt for any absurd excuse just to pin the blame on him:



🤣

darkmarlin16 said:https://streamable.com/23w5n

Carlos vs Verstappen

Me?

The stronger one wins...☕

Well, I completely missed this yesterday!

https://streamable.com/ej1ac

Charles went straight against those team orders—💪—and lunged right past Sebastian. It was actually pretty good to see, I guess.

steelmaker83 said:If Ferrari doesn't completely fall apart—which seems likely—Charles might just take the title.

After the first two races, Charles is trailing by 18 points, while Sebastian is 22 back.
Last year around this time, Lewis Hamilton was trailing by 17 points after Bahrain. By the end of summer, Ferrari will probably be in shambles—just like they always are.

Jerry Moore61 said:Whether we agree on everything or not, there is one thing I am absolutely certain about. Charles Leclerc is a once-in-a-generation talent. He is going to be a champion; it’s really just a matter of when.
Who knows how this season will ultimately unfold, but what he displayed this weekend was nothing short of phenomenal. You have to hand it to him.
What Lewis Hamilton told him in the cool-down room—if that's even what you call it—says everything about how the veteran drivers and world champions view him. It’s a shame he didn't take the win, but that will come. He has a long road ahead of him.

If anyone truly understands what he's going through, it's Lewis Hamilton. He lost two of his own titles because of nonsense like this.

Sebastian Vettel is done with F1

It’s pretty obvious his driving skills have completely fallen off a cliff.

He needs to get a brain scan—at this rate, he's gonna end up being the Formula 1 version of Richard Burns

Because honestly, what's happening to him right now just isn't normal

That was such a great race, though I really wish we could get an official explanation regarding what happened with Charles at the end there...

I'm just not quite sure how he managed to wiggle his way out of that one without any consequences 🙏 🙏

And then there's Pierre Gasly 🤣

That race was absolutely brutal.
Such a shame for Leclerc 😢
Does anyone actually know what went wrong with his car?
I see some comments above suggesting they ran out of fuel? Are you kidding me?
I just really hope it isn't some massive technical failure that's going to haunt them all season long. :/

fadedpanther51 said:That race was intense, honestly.
Such a shame about Leclerc 😢
But does anyone actually know what went wrong with his car?
I saw a few posts above mentioning fuel consumption issues? Was it a deficit?
I just really hope it isn't some massive mechanical failure that's going to haunt them for the rest of the season. :/

A cylinder failed, and they aren't sure yet if it's a permanent fix or if it can be salvaged, similar to what happened with Kim's back in Spain. Once the cylinder went, they had to switch to a different engine map where the MGU h regeneration was lower, which naturally caused their fuel consumption to spike significantly.

Hamilton's move past Vettel was pure class. He drifted wide just enough to maintain control through the entire corner. 🙏
He was definitely the one taking ten times more risk of spinning out there.

I honestly can't even wrap my head around how F1 pulled that one off—at first I was convinced there had to be some kind of mechanical failure because what we just saw was absolutely wild...

neonfox65 said:I honestly don't even grasp how F1 managed to wiggle out of that one. At first, I assumed there had to be some sort of mechanical failure because what happened is just unbelievable.

It is quite simply staggering to think about: a turbocharged engine pushing 1,000 horsepower in a 1,500-pound car, rear-wheel drive, and zero traction control, spinning itself out like that.

I find it truly remarkable that anyone could actually type this out!

Every tiny tap on the throttle sends over 400nm of torque straight to the wheels, yet you're acting like this is somehow surprising?

copperdrifter26 said:A cylinder went down. They aren't sure yet if it's a total loss or if they can salvage it like Kim Kardashian's situation in Spain. Once that cylinder failed, they switched to a different engine map, which dialed back the turbocharger regeneration and sent fuel consumption through the roof.

Thanks, man, though I actually managed to stumble upon a different explanation in the meantime.
Who knows exactly? Honestly, who can say for sure? :/
From what I understand, an MGU-H is insanely expensive to build, and trying to get the mapping right is a total pain in the ass.

Leclerc is basically out of luck—it’s all down to the turbocharger, not some issues with the MGU-H.

mellowtiger83 said:Is it even remotely sane to think about a 1,000 hp turbo engine shoved into a 700kg car with nothing but rear-wheel drive and zero traction control? It’s absolutely insane that they can spin it like that.

I honestly can't believe someone actually sat down and wrote this!

Every tiny tap on the throttle sends over 400Nm of torque straight to the wheels, and you’re actually surprised by that?

You’re spot on, mellowtiger83. It’s just common sense. With rear-wheel drive, a lightweight car packed with massive horsepower, you have to be incredibly precise with every single throttle input. That’s basic stuff they teach you in driver's ed. This was a pure Sebastian Vettel mistake and nothing more—though, like someone mentioned earlier, Lewis Hamilton actually had a much higher chance of spinning out while trying to make that pass.

mellowtiger83 said:Is it really that shocking to you that a 1,000hp turbo engine in a 700kg rear-wheel-drive car without traction control would spin out?

I find it hard to believe someone could actually write that!

Every tiny tap on the throttle sends over 400nm of torque straight to the wheels. How is that not obvious?

Yeah, it’s definitely surprising. It wasn't like he was cruising at 31 miles/h and then just slammed the pedal. We saw plenty of spins from Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen during those last few seasons.

Sebastian Vettel spun out because he hit the dirty part of the track. He didn't stay on the racing line; instead, he floored it right through the grit, which caused that left rear tire to lose all its grip—and we all know what happens next: a total spin.

copperdrifter26 said:Sebastian Vettel spun because the track was "dirty." He didn't stay on the racing line; he stepped on the gas while on the dirty part, lost traction on the rear left tire, and—well, that just leads to a spin.

Fine, five out of five, but he isn't the first or last driver to find himself in a situation like this. Generally speaking, other drivers haven't been doing pirouettes.
Shouldn't Lewis Hamilton have spun too when he was chasing Sebastian Vettel while running a less than perfect line?

darkmarlin16 said:https://streamable.com/23w5n

Carlos Sainz vs Max Verstappen

Just a racing incident.

Max dove in a little too aggressively and drifted wide, and Carlos was just trying to squeeze him out there.

Total racing incident. 😉

It was a hard-fought battle, but honestly, Carlos Sainz could have taken a wider line there. He had a massive exit coming out of the corner and really should have capitalized on it.