A disappointing day of "what might have been" for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team at Sakhir.
Valtteri finished the race in P8 after a chaotic pit-stop on Lap 62 during the late-race Safety Car period cost him time and positions. George led the race from the start, but was forced to make an additional pit-stop after having the wrong tyres fitted during the Lap 62 pit stop which cost him the lead of the race.
After climbing back to P2, George suffered a left-rear puncture that forced a further stop and eventually battled his way back to P9, scoring a further point for fastest lap.
Lewis (332 points) leads the Drivers' Championship by 127 points from Valtteri (205 points), with George scoring his first ever points in Formula One today. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (540 points) leads Red Bull Racing (282 points) by 258 points in the Constructors' Championship.
Toto Wolff: Firstly, I want to say congratulations to Racing Point and Sergio on the victory, and Lance and Esteban for their podiums. It's great to see a refreshing new podium and they did a brilliant job. Overall, we messed up in a major way today. Obviously, it was looking good for us until the Safety Car running in a strong one-two, we were fine on the Hard tyre and could have stayed out, but we had the gap for a free stop and we took that opportunity. I think it was absolutely the right call, but it was a late one and we had a radio problem, which meant we didn't have the right tyres in the box. Which is why George exited with the wrong tyres and Valtteri left the pits on the same tyres he'd arrived with. Then we had to pit George again to correct the mistake. By then, the race was not lost and he battled back in an impressive way; but then he had the slow puncture and that dropped him back. These things can happen but obviously we need to investigate the problems, learn from them and move forward. It was heart-breaking for George after a monumental drive in his first race with Mercedes and he should have won. It didn't work out today, but I'm sure this isn't going to be his last attempt to win a race. For Valtteri, too, it was a difficult race and being on those old tyres at the end was hugely challenging. We'll make sure we learn from this weekend and come back stronger in Abu Dhabi.
Andrew Shovlin: A frustrating result when we were looking very strong for a 1-2 finish and a win for George. The pitstop issues were linked to the way our radio system handles the priorities of messages which caught us out in a big way. As the safety car came out, we were calling for the crew to be ready, and for the tyres for each car to come into the pitlane. At the time that message was going out, another radio message for a very brief period prevented one of the key messages getting through to one set of tyre collectors. It's something that's been lurking in there and could have caught us out at any time over the past few seasons. The ensuing problems were all a function of this single issue and certainly not the fault of anyone in our pit-crew who have done a great job all year. That obviously caused huge damage to both driver's chances, both losing positions and Valtteri not even getting the fresh rubber we'd planned to fit. George did a great job fighting back through the field, but it was clear his bad luck wasn't over when we spotted a slow puncture caused by debris in the final laps. We had no choice but to stop; however, he was determined to not give up and did a great job recovering into a points-scoring position and claiming fastest lap. We've still got some work to do unpicking the issues that caused our problems at the pit stop but we have time to do that properly before the next race and we'll be going to Abu Dhabi focused on finishing the season with a good result.
The Sakhir Grand Prix provided nothing but disappointment for Scuderia Ferrari with only Sebastian Vettel seeing the chequered flag. Charles Leclerc was out of the race after an incident on the opening lap, which led to his retirement and cost him a three place grid penalty to be taken at the next Grand Prix.
When the five lights went out, Charles, who was on the dirty side of the track, lost a place but was still in touch with the trio ahead, made up of Vatteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. However, at turn 4, Charles collided with the Mexican in the Racing Point, damaging the front left suspension on the SF1000 which meant he had to retire on the spot.
Sebastian made the most of the chaos to move up from 13th to ninth place, but he was soon overtaken by Lando Norris, Alex Albon and Sergio Perez, which dropped him out of the points zone. For the entire race, the German fought around tenth to twelfth position eventually finishing in that place. The curtain comes down on the World Championship next weekend on the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi with the 17th round of the 2020 season.
Mattia Binotto, Team Principal: Charles' race ended after just four corners when he collided with Perez, whom we congratulate by the way for his first Formula 1 win. The Stewards investigated the incident and have imposed a three place grid penalty on Charles for the next race in Abu Dhabi, so that ends any discussion about the rights or wrongs of it all. As for Sebastian, it's a shame we could not get a single point out of such a crazy race. We have to look ahead, get this season done and then concentrate fully on next year.
"While it was a disappointing day for the Scuderia, it went very well for the Ferrari Driver Academy. Mick Schumacher took the Formula 2 title and we also had Callum Ilott in second place and Robert Shwartzman fourth. In Formula Regional, Gianluca Petecof won the title ahead of Arthur Leclerc. Out of 91 races across F2, F3, F.Regional and F4, our guys won 20 and were on the podium 59 times. These are amazing statistics that show what a great job our Academy is doing, as is the fact that Mick, Callum and Robert are all taking part in what is known as the Young Driver Test on 15 December in Abu Dhabi."
Christian Horner: "An incredibly frustrating end to the weekend with Max's race being cut short on the opening lap through no fault of his own. He managed to avoid Valtteri who had a slide at Turn 2 which cost him a lot of momentum and then unfortunately Leclerc misjudged his braking and hit Perez. Max was forced to take avoiding action and subsequently hit the barrier, which was a great shame as he would have been a real contender for the win today. Alex survived contact in the opening lap but struggled for pace in the initial stint. He pitted for the hard tyre which he seemed more comfortable on and we then took a bit of a risk under the last safety car to put the soft tyre on which he used to good effect to move up to P6. It was an entertaining race for the fans at home and congratulations to Racing Point and Sergio Perez for their first victories in Formula One."
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: "This morning we would've happily taken P4 and P10, but in the final analysis it is a disappointing outcome, with our competitors in the Constructors' Championship both scoring heavily today. Carlos drove a great race and maximised everything in our hands. Lando had a very strong opening lap and was in a position to fight for some good points, but unfortunately we couldn't extract the same performance as we could with Carlos's car due to an issue with the car. This is something we need to investigate.
"Thank you to the entire team here at the track and back home for the hard work. One more race to go, next weekend in Abu Dhabi. The team - together with our colleagues at Renault - will dig deep and give it our all to finish the season strongly."
Renault DP World F1 Team scored its third podium of the season at the Sakhir Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon finishing second to claim his best result in Formula 1. Daniel Ricciardo rounded off a fantastic Sunday with fifth place. The team remain fifth in the Constructors' Championship on 172 points heading into the final race next weekend in Abu Dhabi.
An action-packed race saw both cars start well with Daniel moving up to fourth and Esteban eighth after a first lap collision at turn four. The first stint was largely dictated by a DRS train and saw little action. Daniel boxed on lap 30 switching to the Harder compound tyres and lost out one place to Kvyat due to the undercut.
Esteban stayed out committing to a one stop strategy and didn't box for another 12 laps switching to Hard tyres. A fantastic pitstop put him in range of Stroll in ninth place with the Frenchman swooping past into turn four. Daniel then boxed again for his final stop on lap 56 re-joining the track in eighth, whilst Esteban capitalised on others pitting around him and moved into fourth.
A few laps later a Safety Car was brought out for a dislodged front wing on the main straight, and a slow pitstop from Bottas meant Esteban moved into second. He was quickly overtaken by Russell after the Safety Car restart, but the Mercedes was forced to pit again after fitting the wrong tyres during his stop. To add to his woes, Russell suffered a tyre puncture just laps later pushing Esteban back into second for the final stages of the race. The Frenchman held firm against Stroll to cap a stunning drive and mark his best result in Formula 1 whilst Daniel came home in fifth.
Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: "If a result like today is a team effort, it's clearly one for Esteban. I am very, very happy for him that he can also experience for himself the good vibes that we've been having since the summer shutdown when the team's progression has accelerated. We've had two podiums with Daniel and this time round it was with Esteban and we are all very grateful for that. His weekend was strong, the only challenging moment was in Q2 when we failed to progress into Q3. But that actually may have helped with the free starting tyre choice. From that point onwards, he drove a very strong race, managing to preserve the tyres at the start, be aggressive when it mattered and defending very well at the end against faster cars. There is a feeling that maybe we could have done a bit better with Daniel, which would have helped a bit our Constructors' Championship situation. We'll give our maximum in Abu Dhabi next weekend with the particular double thought and motivation of our last race with Daniel and as Renault F1 Team."
Claudio Balestri (Chief Engineer - Vehicle Performance): "Today's race was a good example of how tight the midfield battle is. After the first safety car, we were P5 with Daniil and P7 with Pierre, the pace was good on the first stint on the Option, then we fitted Prime tyres on both cars and the pace was still competitive. Monitoring the performance of the Hard compound on other competitors' cars, we decided to also fit the Hard tyre for the last stint. The deployment of the virtual safety car and the safety car helped cars running on a one-stop strategy, which wasn't an option for us. Today we have shown good pace, especially with Daniil. He did a solid race finishing P7. On the other side of the garage, Pierre was unfortunately just outside of the points finishing P11. Now we need to switch our thoughts on the preparation for the last race of this unprecedented season in Abu Dhabi."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "Both cars had a good start and we finished the first lap with Daniil in P5 and Pierre in P7. The first stint on the Option went as expected, we decided to pit both drivers on lap 26 and change to the Prime tyre. The drivers reported some understeer but nevertheless, the pace was reasonably good. We then stopped them again to move onto the Base tyre. We were a bit unlucky here, especially with Daniil, pitting just before the virtual safety car, and as a consequence, we lost a position to Ricciardo. Daniil's pace was good at this point, but Pierre on the other side wasn't happy with the car, so we will need to investigate the reason for this. Unfortunately, he was only able to finish P11. Daniil drove a fantastic race, one of his best races with us, fighting for seventh position. He wasn't able to catch Albon, but he could keep Bottas behind. I think his seventh position is something the team deserved, we had the speed to be within the top seven, maybe even fifth or sixth with a bit more luck. As for the strategy, it was a disadvantage for us to start with the Option tyre because the cars in front were on the Primes, giving them the choice of a one-stop strategy. However, this was, in general, a good weekend for us and we're looking forward to the final race in Abu Dhabi, where we hope to bring home some more points."
Otmar Szafnauer, CEO & Team Principal: "What an incredible day for the team: we delivered under pressure to get a massive result. Not many teams and drivers can say they went from P18 to P1, but we certainly can! Checo bounced back from the lap one crash and after his lock-up on his new mediums under the safety car, we managed the situation with him and overcame the vibration to keep him out on track. That proved crucial to our chances of winning. Both sides of the garage did a superb job and Lance drove incredibly well to get P3. It's another podium for Lance and he's still a young driver who's constantly improving. Checo's win puts him back in P4 in the Drivers' Championship, which I think speaks volumes. With his and Lance's points, we are in better shape for the Constructors' Championship battle for third with one race remaining. Today has been a huge team effort and we really demonstrated that this week. After a really tough weekend last time out with both cars damaged, the boys and girls back at Silverstone delivered by working day and night to ensure we had all the parts we needed for this weekend. That's what Formula 1 is all about: it's teamwork. But for now, there's a great Mexican restaurant at the hotel, we'll be celebrating with Checo and Lance before heading to Abu Dhabi!"
Lawrence Stroll: "When we took over this team, we knew we were taking over an operation that has always punched above its weight and delivered on a much smaller budget than our rivals. Today's result isn't a huge surprise considering this team in the past was able to deliver P4 in the Constructors' Championship in back-to-back seasons. When I arrived, it was about giving the team the funding it deserved and working with the outstanding core staff to allow the team to continue to flourish. The 400-plus members of the team can be hugely proud of their efforts and we'll continue expanding to ensure this outfit continues to be competitive and in the hope that we celebrate more days like today in the future! Checo drove an exceptional race and he has been a hugely important part of the team's history, while Lance also drove very well to ensure the double podium."
Bahrain produced a second spectacular race in two weeks as tonight's relatively sedate affair burst into action with a late safety car. Further surprises conspired to turn the order upside down and produce a new first-time winner in the shape of Sergio Perez, but unfortunately the shake-up didn't reward our efforts, with Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen finishing 13th and 14th respectively.
The race start saw Antonio gain one place from his P14 grid slot, while Kimi was the victim of a spin at turn three that compromised the remainder of his first stint. After that moment, the two managed their races, taking the chance of two virtual safety cars to visit the pits for some extra stops but unable to make progress on a track where overtaking remains a challenge.
The result keeps the team in eighth place in the constructors' championship with one round left on the calendar.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "We kept our cool in a race where many others made mistakes, but in the end that was not enough to bring home some points. Besides Kimi's spin on the opening lap, neither drivers nor team did much wrong and to bring home the cars in P13 and P14, behind a Ferrari, is probably as much as we could achieve tonight. Antonio had good pace throughout the race, but on this track it was quite difficult to overtake and he couldn't really express it to the fullest. We can still find something more and hopefully finish the season strongly in Abu Dhabi next week, so that we can carry this momentum into the winter break."
Haas F1 Team driver Kevin Magnussen finished 15th with Pietro Fittipaldi 17th at Formula 1's Sakhir Grand Prix, held Sunday at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Magnussen started from 15th position on Pirelli's P Zero Red soft tires and profited from drama elsewhere to move into 12th spot, executing a customary good start. Magnussen battled firmly among Haas F1 Team's usual rivals throughout the race, running a two-stop strategy, coming in for Yellow mediums on lap 26 and then again for additional softs on lap 56. Magnussen retained that set for the rest of the 87-lap encounter and crossed the finish line in 15th position.
Fittipaldi started his maiden Formula 1 race from 20th position on soft tires and gained four positions to hold 16th place through the early stint. Fittipaldi came in on lap 33 for medium rubber, then again on lap 56 for softs - he pitted for a third and final time on lap 64 for soft tires once again when the Safety Car was deployed. Fittipaldi stayed out of trouble for the remainder of the race to get a full distance under his belt first time out, greeting the checkered flag in 17th.
Haas F1 Team retains ninth in the Constructors' Championship with three points.
Haas F1 Team will be back in action for the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, to be held at the Yas Marina Circuit, from December 11 to 13.
Guenther Steiner: "We finished the race with both cars without any major drama. We're not happy with the positions we've finished the race in, but we know we have to improve everywhere. Pietro (Fittipaldi) did a good job in his first race having not driven a Formula 1 car in a year. He drove a solid race; he couldn't have done much more - the same goes for Kevin (Magnussen). We now look forward to the final race of the season and then a well-earned winter break."
Jack Aitken finished 17th in the Sakhir Grand Prix, and Nicholas did not finish due to a suspected oil leak which the team are now investigating. Nicholas started 16th on the soft Pirelli tyre, with Jack lining up 17th on the medium compound.
Jack ran a three-stop strategy, pitting first for the hard Pirelli tyre on lap 31, then for the medium on 54, making his final stop on lap 59 for the soft compound.
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: Until Nicholas had to retire with a suspected oil leak, he was driving very well and was able to manage comfortably the gaps to the Alfa Romeo and Haas cars and for a while he was in a race with Vettel, following a slow Ferrari pitstop. We are currently investigating the cause of his issue and we apologise to Nicholas for the retirement.
Jack was driving very well and was able to stay ahead of Raikkonen whilst chasing down Magnussen. Unfortunately, in doing so he span the car at the last corner, damaging the front wing. Fortunately, he was able to recover straight to the pit lane, and although his arrival caught us a little by surprise, the crew were able to service his car and get him back into the race. His pace in the final stint was good and he was able to regain position over Fittipaldi and again chase down Magnussen.
Although our final result was disappointing, there are positives to take away with Nicholas showing good pace throughout and Jack completing his first F1 race. He learned a lot today, raced well and gained a lot of race operational experience, all of which will serve him well in the future.
Racing Point's Sergio Perez claimed his first win, using all three compounds at a dramatic Sakhir Grand Prix. Perez made his first stop on lap one, moving from the Red soft to the Yellow medium, and then completed a shorter final stint on the White hard tyre.
Mercedes was affected by a misunderstanding under a safety car period while pitting their cars from first and second. George Russell had to immediately pit again after the wrong front tyres were fitted to his car, while Valtteri Bottas had a long stop that resulted in his original set of hard tyres being fitted again. Russell then had to pit for the fourth time with nine laps to go due to a left-rear puncture.
A safety car after the start had the effect of slowing down the pace at a crucial point in the race, with the cars full of fuel. This lengthened the pit stop window and also played into the hands of the soft tyre runners. Perez, who was involved in a crash on the first lap, was the only driver to pit under the first lap safety car, while his team mate Lance Stroll completed the longest opening stint (42 laps) on the soft tyres.
Track temperatures were a relatively cool 23 degrees centigrade at the start of the race, with gusting winds that blew sand onto the track from the surrounding desert, affecting grip.
There was a wide variety of one-stop, two and three-stop strategies seen in the race. Renault's Esteban Ocon and Racing Point's Lance Stroll were the only two drivers to stop just once.
Mario Isola: "A third safety car period turned the race on its head by lap 62, with some confusion in the pitlane that affected Mercedes, which had been running first and second up to that point. The cool conditions probably reduced the degradation of all the compounds, especially the soft C4, resulting in an extended opening stint and making a one-stopper possible: especially for those starting on the medium tyre. However, a two-stopper was also very effective, as Sergio Perez - who had only one set of medium tyres and one set of hard tyres available - demonstrated by using all three compounds to claim a spectacular win; having been right at the back after his first stop. With the strategy influenced heavily by safety cars, we were treated to a spectacular 20-lap sprint race at the finish, on the shortest lap seen this year.
"Congratulations also to Mick Schumacher for winning the Formula 2 title and keeping up the tradition of F2 champions graduating directly to Formula 1. F2 has proved to be an excellent preparation ground for the top category, and this includes tyre management. We've often seen thrilling and hard-fought races, as was also the case today. We were also delighted to present the F2 Driver of the Year award to Yuki Tsunoda, as voted for by media, and a scholarship cheque for €300,000 towards an F2 drive next year to F3 champion Oscar Piastri, in a ceremony after the race."
