It’s raining red in the desert!
By Harish Samtani
Sakir (Bahrain): Formula 1 had a brilliant start in Australia. Qualifying painted a picture that was pretty for the Mercedes team, but like watercolours in the rain, it dissolved showing only the Scarlet colours of the Ferrari in full bloom.
In motor racing, as in life, mistakes are waiting to raise their unwanted heads! These are the ones that all the planning and preparation on earth can’t erase. Mercedes looked invincible on Saturday but came to pieces when the hammer came down. They probably would have got Lewis on the top step but for the one glitch – if he had clean air he would have shown a pair of heels to the rest. But after a clever pit strategy by Ferrari that had Lewis in the dirty air, his car was gasping for cold air to maintain the right operating temperature. The rest is history.
To further carry forward his misery the 4-times world champ has to deal with a five-place grid penalty for replacing a suspect gearbox. Entirely legal but with cost-cutting measures in place it invited a penalty. His team-mate Bottas did the same but wasn’t penalised again because he had already paid the price once earlier in the year for a similar swap.
Force India, meanwhile, holds a record of sorts by never ever retiring a car in Bahrain. That’s a mean achievement by any standards! Their place in the top ten that they have held on to with ease, is now under threat with other mid-level teams snapping at their heels.
While Chase Carey, the head honcho of Liberty, the new owners of F1, is trying to bring in a spending cap of 150 million (driver wages, marketing costs etc), I wonder how he will ever control and monitor this. Just one word – IMPOSSIBLE.
He does come from a world of Indy 500 in which it’s one long left-hand-corner style of racing and wherein the manufacturer and technology is rather limited and this single or dual make concept will drive F1 quickly into the wrong kind of pits. The plus point for the American chapter is that a racing car is available to flat-pedal around with a little money and a lot of enthusiasm.
Regardless of the result of the Bahrain GP, there is hope for this to be a better year for F1 than the 2017 season. Permitting liberal use of the aero tunnel has helped in closing the gap.
The qualifying action was provided early on with the aggressive Max Verstappen going pedal down on a tight corner in Q1 and hitting a patch that careened him off into the barriers.
With Kimi in full flow, he held the fort for the Scuderia but not long enough to gain pole that was ultimately taken with finesse by the crafty Vettel.
In the frenetic scramble for positions, the main victim was Hamilton who finished a lowly fourth and then when it (Bah)Rains, it pours since he already had a five-place grid penalty staring down hard at him prior to this. However, his race-craft will see him make headway early in the race. History and his skill favour him in this aspect.
It does seem that Mercedes flattered to deceive themselves with the risky tweak in Australia and for now the battle of the giants is excitingly poised.
Red Bull is the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons and will add the much-needed flavour this year as will the surprise of the year, Haas. McLaren was a big loser of the day when they displayed a below-par performance.
Force India saved itself the blushes with Esteban Ocon eventually posting a respectable 9th and 12th for Checo. Their hopes for valuable points must be soaring high!
