29/11/2020
NEWS STORY
Sadly, despite the anticipation, qualifying was a bit of a let-down, for once again we have a Mercedes front-row lock-out.
Max was up there, just 0.414s off Lewis' pace, but as we have seen so many times this season the Red Bull-Honda is no match for the Black Arrow over a single lap.
However, there is no disputing the fact that Max has been there or thereabouts all weekend, and consequently we head into today's race with high hopes.
The Dutchman's pace was good in FP3, and we also saw that, unlike the Mercedes pair, his tyre management is such that he can get more than one good lap from his rubber.
Starting, like Lewis, on the clean side of the grid, is an added bonus.
Teammate Alex Albon is up there to lend a hand, and though still off the Dutchman's pace, shows no after effects following his huge crash on Friday. What better way to make up for that mistake, and silence the Sky F1 and social media critics, than a strong performance today.
Starting right behind Alex is the man many want to see taking the cat-loving Thai's seat next season, Sergio, and as much as this is an opportunity for the Red Bull youngster to show his bosses what he's made of, so too this is the perfect 'job interview' for his would-be successor.
Currently fourth in the standings, this is a perfect opportunity for the Mexican to show would-be employers what they are missing.
Having slipped to fifth in the standings following a miserable weekend in Turkey, today is also a good opportunity for Renault to re-establish itself, Daniel, in particular, keen to leave the French team on a high.
Currently sixth in the driver standings, the Australian could yet snatch fourth, essentially best of the rest, from Sergio or Charles.
The AlphaTauris have looked strong all weekend and a good performance today could see the Faenza outfit close on the battle for fourth. It's a huge ask, but so was winning at Monza.
It was a hugely disappointing Saturday for McLaren, especially Carlos, and the Woking outfit will have its work cut out in its efforts to hold on to the shirttails of Racing Point in the standings.
That said, with only one of the pink cars starting in the top ten - all of whom start on the mediums - the Silverstone outfit will be hard-pressed to hold off Renault.
For Ferrari it looks likely to be about damage limitation, the third and fourth of Istanbul seemingly a lifetime ago for a team that has failed to convince since the start of the weekend. Interesting also that Seb has had the better of Charles for much of the weekend. How things have changed for the Maranello outfit since its last appearance here.
Other than that we have the continuing scrap at the back, Alfa snapping at the heels of the midfield whilst doing its damnedest not to slip into the no-man's land inhabited by Haas and Williams.
While the drivers and Pirelli trade suggestions over the 2021 tyres, today's race is very much likely to be about the 2020 versions, which are in fact the 2019 versions.
Throughout the weekend we have seen drivers suffer with degradation, and that is likely to be a factor again today.
Another factor spicing up the grid today is the fact that a number of drivers are out of position, most notably Sainz, Norris and Stroll.
"With the top ten all starting on the medium tyre, they have some options as to which compound to run during the second stint," says Pirelli's Mario Isola. "We saw in qualifying that the pace of the soft and the medium is closely matched, however the medium is easier to manage in terms of rear overheating, which is why it was selected in Q2."
A two-stop strategy looks set to be the quickest today, the fastest strategy involving one stint on the mediums for 21 laps, plus two stints on the softs of 18 laps each.
The second-quickest two-stopper instead uses the mediums for two 21-lap stints and then softs for 15 laps.
A medium-hard one stopper is slower and would use the mediums for 27 laps and the hards for 30 laps.
Alternatively, there's the slowest two-stopper: two stints on the mediums of 18 laps with one stint on the hards of 21 laps (probably the middle stint).
There's no real point in going for a three-stopper, as this costs too much time in the pits.
The pitlane opens and the drivers start to head out, Verstappen concerned at some errant lights on his dash.
Following the national anthem the drivers head back to their cars, ahead of the warm-up lap, other than the men on the first five rows, Vettel, Stroll, Russell, Giovinazzi, Raikkonen and Magnussen start on the mediums. Leclerc, Grosjean and Latifi are on hards, while Sainz is on softs.
Air temperature is 26 degrees C, while the track temperature is 29 degrees. According to race control there is a 20% chance of rain.
The field heads off on the warm-up lap, the circuit an oasis of light in the desert.
"Let's give them a fight today," Ricciardo is told. "Yep," he replies.
The grid forms.
They're away. While Hamilton gets away well, as do Verstappen, Perez and Ricciardo, Bottas has a dreadful start and heading into Turn 1 has Albon and Ricciardo on either side.
Out of Turn 1 it's Hamilton, Verstappen and Perez, Albon and Ricciardo, as Bottas drops to sixth.
Further on however there is carnage, as a car runs wide on one side of the track another has gone off into the barriers on the other. Sparks fly from Norris' McLaren, whilst the car in the barriers has burst into flames and a wheel bounces across the track.
The session is red flagged. Grosjean is the driver who has gone off and into the barriers just after Turn 3.
Hamilton leads Verstappen, Perez, Albon, Ricciardo, Bottas, Gasly, Ocon, Norris and Leclerc.
Hamilton leads the field into the pitlane. Norris has damage, following contact with Ocon, and will require a front wing change.
While there are no immediate replays of the incident, the cameras pick up on Grosjean who is out of the car and appears to be okay.
It is a long, long time since we've seen an F1 car on fire during a race, the last one that comes to mind is Gerhard Berger at Imola in 1988.
More shots of Grosjean, who is walking but with the support of two marshals.
It is still unclear what happened.
Finally the incident is shown and it is horrific, having lost control Grosjean spears into the barriers and the car is torn in half and bursts into flames. That was utterly horrific.
It is initially unclear what caused the car to veer across the track, first into the path of Kvyat and then into the barriers.
Out of their cars, the drivers are visibly shocked as they watch the replay on the screens.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Bahrain, here.
"Romain has some minor burns on his hands and ankles but otherwise he is ok," reports Haas. "He is with the doctors just now."
Race control report a delay of 45 minutes, as the barriers have to be rebuilt.
Fourth or fifth view and it appears Grosjean was in a gaggle of cars at the rear and moved across the track. As he dived across the rear of his teammate, he clipped the front of Kvyat's AlphaTauri and then speared off into the barriers.
Watching a replay on a monitor, Hamilton shakes his head in disbelief.
Indeed, watching the images, the delay as the Frenchman struggles to escape what is left of the burning car is the stuff of nightmares.
Though the Frenchman crashed on the straight, the pack from fourth-placed Albon back was unusually tight, with three sets of cars three abreast.
"As a precaution and for further medical evaluation Romain will be transported to hospital," reports Haas. It is understood he may have broken a couple of ribs.
"Romain is doing okay," says Guenther Steiner. "I don't want to make a medical comment but he had light burns on his hands and ankles.
"Obviously he's shaken... I want to thank the rescue crews who are very quick. The marshals and FIA people they did a great job, it was scary."
A number of teams that incurred damage at the start are changing part, under the watching eye of the FIA's Jo Bauer.
"I've not seen that much fire and an impact like that," admits safety car driver, Alan Van der Merwe. "Romain started to get out of the car himself which is pretty amazing after an impact like that.
"All the systems we've developed, the halo, the barriers, the seat belts - everything worked like it should."
There follows a brilliant moment as Steiner thanks Van der Merwe, "I was surprised how you f****** reacted," says the Italian.
At 18:25 race control announces that the race will re-start at 18:35. The original race started at 17:10.
It will be a standing start and on their way to the grid the cars have to get into their correct grid positions.
Air temperature has dropped to 24.8 degrees C, and the track temperature to 27.2 degrees.
The field heads out again, and slowly reforms.
They're away... again.
Once again Hamilton is away well, as are Perez and Verstappen. The Mexican has the advantage over his Dutch rival, but Verstappen out-brakes the Point to take second.
Behind, Bottas passes Albon, while Ricciardo loses position to Sainz as Gasly draws alongside the Australian.
As Albon and Bottas continue to battle, Stroll is upside down in Turn 8 following a clash with Kvyat. The Canadian climbs from his car, having assured his team that he is OK.
The Safety Car is deployed as the car is cleared along with the resultant debris.
Bottas pits, the Finn having suffered a puncture as Vettel complains about the antics at the restart. Bottas rejoins in 16th, having allegedly run over a piece of debris.
Magnussen has also been in the wars, the Dane having had to pit for a new front wing following an encounter.
"What a race," sighs Sainz. "Quite an eventful race so far," adds Verstappen.
Behind the Safety Car, it's: Hamilton, Verstappen, Perez, Albon, Norris, Ocon, Leclerc, Ricciardo, Gasly and Sainz.
The Safety Car is withdrawn at the end of lap 8.
Verstappen is almost alongside Hamilton as he waits for the Briton to get things underway again.
Game on. As Leclerc and Ocon are alongside battling for 6th, Kvyat is battling with his AlphaTauri teammate for 10th.
A mistake sees Ricciardo lose out to Sainz, as Hamilton builds a 1.2s lead after the first genuine lap of racing.
The stewards are investigating the Kvyat/Stroll incident.
Despite the track having seen some of the highest number overtakes in the past, Vettel and Bottas, in particular, are failing to make an impression on Latifi.
"My car is jumping around like a kangaroo," reports Verstappen.
A brilliant move at Turn 1 see Sainz take 7th from Leclerc. As the Ferrari driver attempts to reclaim the position, he is caught napping by Ricciardo, who doesn't wait for an invitation. Indeed, Gasly almost catches the Monegasque also.
Vettel is struggling, as is passed by Bottas, Giovinazzi and Magnussen in quick succession.
The German reports his car is "undriveable", as Kvyat is given a 10s penalty for causing a collision.
While he might have passed Vettel, Bottas is still stuck behind Latifi in 14th.
Ocon passes Sainz for 6th, the Spaniard's softs clearly going off. In 9th, Gasly is the highest-placed hard runner.
Raikkonen has a damaged front wing which is clearly affecting the handling of the Alfa. The Finn is currently leading his countryman Bottas, who has passed Latifi.
Ricciardo pits at the end of lap 16, rejoining in 18th on hards.
There's no love lost between Raikkonen and Bottas, and the Alfa driver is clearly enjoying every moment of holding up the Mercedes.
Ocon, Kvyat and Raikkonen all pit at the end of lap 17, the Russian serving his penalty and the Finn taking on a new front wing.
Norris pits next time around as Hamilton complains of vibrations. The McLaren driver rejoins in 11th on the mediums.
Hamilton pits at the end of lap 19, the world champion rejoining in 3rd on mediums. Albon also pits, rejoining in 7th on mediums.
Ricciardo makes a typically bold move on Giovinazzi to claim 13th.
Verstappen and Perez both pit at the end of lap 20, rejoining in 2nd and 5th, respectively, both on hards. Russell, Giovinazzi and Vettel also pit.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Bahrain, here.
Sainz pits at the end of lap 21, the Spaniard rejoining in 11th on mediums. Latifi also pits.
Lap 22 sees Verstappen post a new fastest lap (33.085), as Perez passes Gasly, who has yet to stop. Leclerc is the only other driver yet to pit for fresh rubber.
"If you can pass him do it, but don't ruin your tyres, just do it," Norris is told as he shadows Bottas. The McLaren youngster subsequently makes short work of the Mercedes.
Leclerc pits for hards and rejoins in 11th, with Gasly subsequently following suit, and rejoining in 9th.
A brave move sees Sainz pass Ricciardo to split the Renaults. "It's time to go," declares the Spaniard.
Sainz goes around the outside of Ocon in Turn 1 to take 6th, while Verstappen is disappointed to learn that he's losing out to Hamilton by around 0.3s a lap.
The next target for Sainz is his McLaren teammate who is 4s up the road.
Verstappen is advised that Hamilton is using "much more of the track on the exit of Turn 4".
Norris is told that though Sainz is behind him they are on the "same race until the end".
"Why are we racing one another," asks Ricciardo, who is on hards as opposed to his teammate who is on mediums and will have to pit again. The Australian subsequently passes the Frenchman for 7th.
Advised that he has floor damage, Raikkonen is told to swap positions with his teammate. He duly obliges.
The Finn subsequently has a big lock-up in Turn 1, thereby allowing former teammate Vettel through.
On lap 32, Bottas passes Leclerc for 10th. Out front, his teammate leads Verstappen by 5.1s.
Kvyat pits at the end of lap 34, as does Verstappen. It's a long stop for the Dutchman who rejoins in 3rd on hards. Albon also stops, rejoining in 6th, also on the white-banded rubber. Ocon also pits.
Next time around Hamilton pits, rejoining still in the lead, 0.983s ahead of Perez and 4.9s ahead of Verstappen.
Down in 18th, Magnussen is told to "get back on it" and he will be able to race the guys ahead.
Perez pits at the end of lap 36, rejoining in fifth, on hards. Ricciardo also stops.
Verstappen posts a new fastest lap (32.663) as he closes to within 3.6s of the leader.
Ricciardo rejoins behind his teammate, as Renault once again gets its undercut strategy wrong.
"Lando's now going to try and pick up the pace," Sainz is told, "let's see what he's got. I think you can start pushing the tyre now."
Elsewhere, Ricciardo makes short work of his teammate.
Norris pits at the end of lap 38, as Albon passes Sainz for 4th. Bottas also pits, rejoining in 11th on mediums.
After 40 laps, of 57, it's: Hamilton, Verstappen (+ 3.5), Perez (+ 24.6), Albon (+ 2.8), Gasly (+ 13.2), Norris (+ 4.6), Leclerc (+ 7.2) and Sainz (+ 0.6), the Spaniard having just pitted.
Once again, Sainz makes short work of his future teammate, who subsequently pits as does Raikkonen.
Despite his best efforts, Ocon is unable to hold off Bottas, who then sets about closing the 4.5s gap to the Frenchman's teammate.
Other than "management", Hamilton is told the he is only losing out to Verstappen in "initial braking" in Turns 8 and 9.
As he seeks to close the gap to Gasly and Norris, Sainz complains of "pulling under braking".
Raikkonen passes Magnussen for 18th.
Lap 46 sees another stop for Verstappen, he emerges from the pits still in second, 27s down on Hamilton on mediums.
Kvyat passes Giovinazzi for 12th.
Verstappen posts a 32.014, the new fastest lap as - despite his protestations - he targets second in the standings.
"Are you falling asleep, wake up, wake up," asks Perez of his crew. "Yes Checo, we're here, we're here," comes the response.
The crew at AlphaTauri are clearly not asleep however, as they advise Gasly that Sainz is closing in. The Frenchman is worried about rear degradation.
Sainz sweeps by Gasly and sets about closing the 8.9s gap to his McLaren teammate.
With 4 laps remaining, Ricciardo has Gasly in his sights, while Bottas is 4.5s behind the Australian.
"Give me all the power," demands Gasly as he seeks to hold off the advancing Ricciardo.
A puff of smoke from the rear of Perez' car is followed by another, and then a clear detonation as the Mexican's race comes to a tragic end.
As the Mexican pulls to the side of the track - and a marshal runs across the track! - the Safety Car is deployed. Perez' misery is obvious and he leans on the barrier.
Though the Mercedes crew is in the pitlane, Hamilton continues. Indeed, the Briton is told to stay out. While the world champion is uncertain, his team assures him that all is under control.
"The gap is marginal, we're not going to take the risk," he is told. "Are you sure?" he replies.
"That's the bravest guy I've ever seen," says Norris of the marshal who ran across the track.
"Possible rear-right puncture," Bottas is told. The Finn is currently 8th.
Hamilton begins the final lap behind the Safety Car.
The Briton takes the flag, ahead of Verstappen, Albon, Norris, Sainz, Gasly, Ricciardo, Bottas, Ocon and Leclerc.
Kvyat is eleventh, ahead of Russell, Vettel, Latifi, Raikkonen, Giovinazzi and Magnussen.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Bahrain, here.
While the history books will record this as the day Lewis Hamilton sealed his 95th win, in the eyes of most it will forever be remembered by the horror of that opening lap.
In an age when we have grown used to the tremendous advances the sport has made in terms of safety, indeed complained of the lack of danger, today is proof that it can still come back and bite.
Romain can count himself very, very lucky to have walked away from this, for in days gone by lesser accidents have killed.
In as much as we cannot praise enough the work of the marshals and Alan Van der Merwe and Ian Roberts, whose actions saved Grosjean from more serious injury, it is sad to see some of the reactions on social media.
For those who lived through the horrors of Cevert, Siffert, Williamson and so many more this was a stark reminder of the bad old days. For younger followers of the sport, this will have been a horrific wake-up call.
The saddest thing however, as is so often the case these days, is the reaction on social media, where, within minutes of the incident, the 'experts' were casting blame, some even using words like "murder".
Week in, week out... indeed, day in, day out, almost on a live basis we can follow this sport and its stars, we take them for granted, quick to praise but just as quick to criticise.
Today, especially after seeing them climbing back into their cars having watched Grosjean's horror unfold, is a stark reminder of the fact that they put their lives on the line for our entertainment, and despite the billions involved in the sport, that is never a price worth paying.
These guys are heroes and every single one of them deserves our respect.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Bahrain, here.