2021 Bahrain Grand Prix - Sakhir, March 26 - 28

[dfegan358]

Think max with a good start can control this race and win with a bit in hand provided no bad luck or major pit stop errors. Be interesting to see the race pace of all the cars

[214270]

Anyone know if OCO was affected by SAIs yellow flag in Q2? I gather he was passed the MAZ incident so was unaffected by that spin.

His sector one was matching Alonso but lost half second in S2 due to driver error.

On the youtubes, OCO claims half a second lost because of yellows; go figure.

[MtthsMlw]

ICYMI races start at the top of the hour again

[Manoah2u]

As usual, it's probably a matter of multiple causes. No doubt drivers were impacted by both Mazespin's yellow flags aswell as Sainz' yellow flags, and getting that 'offset' at the start of your lap already compromises you also mentally because you already know you've lost that lap anyway and it puts you in unwanted heat.

[Hammerfist]

Pirelli thought the new construction of the soft tyre would make it the favoured race tyre and expected teams to use it for the start of the race, it is 0.9 seconds faster than the medium so the teams starting on it will not fall behind so quickly after the start.

If the longevity matches the medium of the front runners there will be few gaps to pit in and get out ahead as happened previously and so the lead drivers may have to pit and come back out into traffic, this is where Perez may be able to help Max today. I expect Perez to start on the soft, I presume he has a new set, and will make up quite a few places early on.

The high winds today will play a major role in deciding the outcome of the race, Mercedes appeared susceptible as did McLaren, I would expect Aston Martin to be affected too.

Leclerc did some his long runs on the soft tire and it was very slow compared to Sainz's medium run. I don't think the soft tire is going to work at all with a heavy fuel load. I think most of the soft runners are going to pit real early and try an agressive strategy. I'm just not sure it's the superior strategy. I think it's the very reason Redbull did not put Perez on softs. They were thinking that they wanted nothing to do with the soft tire during the race. Perez should have the pace to overcut all the cars that started on softs. Of course an untimely saftey car can ruin his progress.

[NathanOlder]

Perez did only lose out by 3 tenths to Max, in his first ever qualy session for RedBull. In the RB16B that he has used for 15 hours.

Nope, Stats will show he was 1.6s slower than Max in Quali. Thats how it has always been, no ifs and buts. If you want to compare like for like on the same track condition, he was outperformed by Gasly on a much slower car. RedBull no longer have the issues that plagued the car over two years, Honda is top of the field, Max had floor damage worth 1 tenth from Q1, so he has no excuses for having the fastest car. Only one race so too early but he needs to out-qualify Merc who are struggling at the start and in Redbull territory last year.

And only a blind fan will see it that way. when you look at what really happened, Perez was 3 tenths off Max with same tyres. Max was 7th, Perez 11th. The team will know this. RedBull took the gamble with both on mediums, and they missed out by a tiny amount. Perez didn't do so bad as he was pretty much as close to Max as Albon/Gasly were at their best. Perez will only get stronger.

[Just_a_fan]

Think max with a good start can control this race and win with a bit in hand provided no bad luck or major pit stop errors. Be interesting to see the race pace of all the cars

A good start should do it. The Mercs will be fighting each other in to T1 and through T2/3. Hamilton is on the dirty side of the grid and I wouldn't be surprised to see all of the even-numbered grid slots struggle at the start - the sand blowing around won't be a help, that's for sure. Indeed, I can see Gasly, Norris and Alonso making life difficult for Hamilton and Leclerc in to T1. It promises to be an interesting first lap.

[NathanOlder]

On 2nd run Max was almost 1s up in first 2 sectors on medium tires. I think his first lap was just so so hence Merc being ahead

His second run was on the soft tyres. He then aborted the lap near the end when they knew they made it through on the previous medium tyre run.

He wasn't on the mediums as you say.

[NathanOlder]

double post

[NathanOlder]

Think max with a good start can control this race and win with a bit in hand provided no bad luck or major pit stop errors. Be interesting to see the race pace of all the cars

A good start should do it. The Mercs will be fighting each other in to T1 and through T2/3. Hamilton is on the dirty side of the grid and I wouldn't be surprised to see all of the even-numbered grid slots struggle at the start - the sand blowing around won't be a help, that's for sure. Indeed, I can see Gasly, Norris and Alonso making life difficult for Hamilton and Leclerc in to T1. It promises to be an interesting first lap.

Won't the sand help the even side of the grid, as it won't be the dusty side, as they will both be equally dusty/sandy.

[RZS10]

Just read that Masi/stewards will be less lenient when it comes to first lap incidents and late direction changes - one of the scenes that they discussed was Leclerc/Stroll in Russia last year (iirc a majority here was surprised he wasn't penalized) - so it's a welcome change

[Just_a_fan]

Think max with a good start can control this race and win with a bit in hand provided no bad luck or major pit stop errors. Be interesting to see the race pace of all the cars

A good start should do it. The Mercs will be fighting each other in to T1 and through T2/3. Hamilton is on the dirty side of the grid and I wouldn't be surprised to see all of the even-numbered grid slots struggle at the start - the sand blowing around won't be a help, that's for sure. Indeed, I can see Gasly, Norris and Alonso making life difficult for Hamilton and Leclerc in to T1. It promises to be an interesting first lap.

Won't the sand help the even side of the grid, as it won't be the dusty side, as they will both be equally dusty/sandy.

Not sure. The rubbered in side is always going to be be a bit better except, possibly, in the wet.

[Just_a_fan]

Just read that Masi/stewards will be less lenient when it comes to first lap incidents and late direction changes - one of the scenes that they discussed was Leclerc/Stroll in Russia last year (iirc a majority here was surprised he wasn't penalized) - so it's a welcome change

I can see a number of penalties being imposed that will affect the race result. Knowing the current mob, they'll probably decide to look at any incidents after the race and impose penalties some time after everyone has switched over to something else on the TV. You'll read about the revised result in the news on Monday morning.

[aMessageToCharlie]

Things to look out for today (besides hopefully a great fight between the two best drivers on the grid):

-Will the RB make it to the finish line or will the WDC fight once again be hampered by reliability issues?

-What can Gasly do from P5? He definitely put the pressure on Perrez there.

-Can Leclerc manage another surprise podium finish?

-Will Mercedes throw Bottas under the bus again to help Hamilton against Verstappen?

-How will Sainz and Perrez perform compared to their team mates? Both are known for their good race pace.

-How good is the AM and will we see RBR Vettel or Ferrari Vettel this season?

-What can Ricciardo and Alonso do in their respective cars?

-Can Mazepin mange a f1 race distance without a scandal?

-How good are Tsunoda and Schumacher in their first f1 race?

[Morteza]