3rd April 2019
Esteban Ocon recently said that it would take Charles Leclerc two races to be able to match Sebastian Vettel’s speed, and he was certainly right!
On pole by three tenths, he lost the start but then overtook Vettel immediately, before driving off into the distance like a man with multiple world championships.
Unfortunately for him though, engine troubles meant he had to surrender his lead as he was passed by both Mercedes, instead taking ‘just’ a podium and fastest lap too.
But he has now announced himself on the world stage, and proved he is undoubtedly a future world champion after a weekend-dominating performance.
Despite Lewis still taking the chequered flag, this soaring Ferrari pace was still very troubling, especially their straight-line speed advantage which was estimated to be around 6km/h faster.
The qualifying comparisons between Leclerc and Hamilton showed the Italian team pulling huge amounts of time on the straights compared to the Mercs, around two tenths per straight.
After all these years of acing the hybrid era with their engine advantage, Mercedes again appear to be second best in power terms this year.
Hopefully some of this will be drag related that they can fix for upcoming races, rather than it being about pure power or energy deployment.
The Mercedes was definitely gaining through the corners, whether it be high or low speed, so I do get the impression that Ferrari went for a low-drag set-up this weekend, while Mercedes put more front wing on to help save the tyres.
If this is the case, hopefully they will be able to be closer to Ferrari at the upcoming races in China and Baku, because the red cars didn’t look great at low-speed themselves.
I’ve read a lot of articles saying that Ferrari may have gone down the wrong route aerodynamically compared to the other two teams, and this is why perhaps they haven’t had the huge advantage everyone was expecting.
If their is car is indeed lacking front downforce, you can’t just put it all to the rear because your car will be nowhere in the corners, as it will be ridiculously unbalanced, so the development war is going to be fascinating between the two.
Then again, it could be irrelevant if Seb Vettel continues to be driving as he is. Not only is he arguably speed-wise not the same driver from Red Bull, but now he has in Leclerc a driver who doesn’t look prepared to play second fiddle.
I’m also not buying this wind theory debate that is going on as well with regards to his spain. Cars like the Williams and Haas looked painfully slow throughout the race but none of their drivers let the rear of their car go like that.
It seemed like another desperate chance to win a wheel-to-battle he knew he had already lost, and against Hamilton he has again come out second best.
In a year that could ultimately define Vettel’s entire career, he is doing nothing to silence the growing doubters. Of course when he is hooked up with his car, he is amazing. His driving style is unique, flowing and blisteringly quick, but these days look few and far between at the moment.
Unlike Vettel, Hamilton is still at the peak of his powers. He won the race because he put himself in a winning position that his car didn’t warrant.
He drove the wheels off the car, and because he got ahead of Vettel it was ultimately Hamilton that was the one who benefitted from Leclerc’s woes.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ob__u0N-zns
Ferrari were very quick along the Sakhir straights
Someone else who appeared to get the most out of his car was Alex Albon in the Toro Rosso. After out-qualifying experienced team-mate Kvyat again, he took the first points of his career in ninth. After starting his F1 journey so impressively, what are the chances he begins to get rumoured with the Red Bull Honda seat should Pierre Gasly continue to struggle like he has been?
Also in the midfield, I was pleased for Lando Norris and McLaren. It looked like they had the fourth fastest car throughout the weekend, and had Verstappen not collided with Sainz, it could well have been two McLaren’s in the top seven.
They look a far better team this year; the car looks driveable and kind to its tyres. Who knows if it still had a Mercedes or Honda in the back of it, where they could be at the moment? Then again, we’ve heard that a lot these past few years.
As we head to China next, I think fellow Merc fans need to look at last year to realise that Ferrari were faster in Bahrain then too. This track doesn’t suit the rear tyres that Mercedes often struggle with, nor does the point-and-squirt track layout suit Hamilton’s driving style, something he echoed afterwards.
At least we’ve learnt that Melbourne was for sure an outlier, and that Mercedes vs. Ferrari is now well and truly on for 2019.
Photo: NAvin Shetty Brahmavar
joeharbert 