Race Four - 2025 Bahrain GP [Sakar]

[Nitrodaze]

Piastri takes pole from a rapid Russell in the Mercedes. LeClerc finding speed in the Ferrari to take 3rd. Norris 6th, Verstappen back in 7th. Hamilton with the new floor in 9th.
Due to penalties for the Mercedes pair, Leclerc would start second on the grid tomorrow. Four races in and the daggers appear to be out at Ferrari. It is still not a championship-winning car as it is very tricky to drive as LeClerc pointed out and the process of developing it into a championship-winning shape seems to be fraught with internal turmoil. These things need time to come about, especially with a new car and a new driver.

[airshifter]

That was a great session.

After the practice sessions it looked like McLaren would easily sweep the front row, and the other teams and drivers did well to make sure that didn't happen.

If race pace varies as much as the difference between practicing qualifying this race could still be wide open.

Four different manufacturers starting in the top five great positions. And some thought this formula would not bring the teams closer together.


If the race is anywhere nearly as unpredictable as qualifying it should be a great one!

[N. Jones]

Good race, but the races here are always good. When Russell fell in the order due to a bad transmitter, I thought the race director had missed something!

[Williams]

Very entertaining race ! Chaos from the FIA and very happy to see Gasly again in the top 10

[Nitrodaze]

Lots of drivers put out great racing throughout the grid. Beasrman from the back of the grid to 10th place. Verstappen from the rear of the grid to 6th. Hamilton from 9th to 5th. Both Haas, Tsunoda and Gasly in the top ten. Russell battling in the mix of the papaya cars. Back to Great Racing after a boring Japanese GP.

The fight for dominance takes a different complexion as the season is effectively now reset as both McLaren drivers have three point separating them. Piastri seems to have the bit between his teeth at the mo.

LeClerc is winning the qualifying battle to Hamilton but the points gap is only 7 points. I expected him to be much further ahead; to be honest. This shows what a great job Hamilton is doing learning that Scarlet Ferrari. Perhaps, it is a reflection of how much behind the Ferrari is to the competition ahead. The Ferrari was the third fastest car today but still a long way behind McLaren and Mercedes. But surprisingly ahead of Redbull in these conditions.

Stars of the race for me today was Russell, Bearman, Hamilton and Verstappen.

Of course, Piastri was mega!

[airshifter]

Overall an interesting race, enough action to keep us wondering who was moving up or down the field.

Oscar was the only one that really didn't have to fight with others at some point, and he is good at staying cool no matter where he is on track. The SC mixed it up a bit for him, but within laps he had the gap and was controlling pace again without issue. The guy is so chill on the radio that you could easily forget he is racing a car at the time. On the flip side of the coin, I think Lando is deep in his own head. Though he did well to fight back with race and retain a WDC lead, some of his interviews leave the impression he doesn't have that WDC mentality and lets things inpact his mental state quickly. It will be interesting to see how the season progresses for these two, and when McLaren declare a #1 driver if needed.

I'm still not sure on that safety car. They really didn't clear much of anything, and usually they would have just kept running. I'm ok with it, but they should at least be consistent going forward if that is the precedent they are going to set.

It seemed nobody really liked the hards, especially Max and RB trying them early. I do wish they could have some more durable tires for tracks like this, I hate seeing everyone just driving in tire conservation mode most of the race.

Shame for Antonelli this race. He really didn't do anything wrong and the pit sequences and strategy screwed him in the long run. In all fairness it caught out a few teams and drivers with the safety car, but it happens. Overall ALL the rookies seem solid, and some appear to be upper notch level potential right out of the box. I suspect within a few years we will see their names quite a bit more on race weekends as they progress up to the better teams.


I almost hate to see this be the last year of these regs. Only four races in and every single team has points. Though the top four teams do stand above the rest, the advantages swing with tracks, weather, driver performance... and of course sheer luck. But it's no longer a thing of one car dominating every session, and any mistake is costly. I do with the dirty air issue was less a factor, but it always manages to play a part. Drivers who can stay in clean air can make time and still have a chance to attack at least.

[Nitrodaze]

Very entertaining race! Chaos from the FIA and very happy to see Gasly again in the top 10

2025 is the election year for the FIA Presidency. Most of the crazies are gimmicks of the reelection campaign. But with the resignation of the vice president, the mood seems to be one for change.

Let's face it, Ben Suleman has not impressed. He was supposed to calm the waters after the dodgy 2021 fiasco. But he has gone the other way. Drivers are not happy, Teams are not happy. And the fines galore have left everyone puzzled.

Sainz's hefty fine for taking a dump kinda underlines the issues with the FIA at the moment.

[Steve Boyd]

I'm still not sure on that safety car. They really didn't clear much of anything, and usually they would have just kept running. I'm ok with it, but they should at least be consistent going forward if that is the precedent they are going to set.

I wasn't sure either but I think the logic goes something like this.

They decided the debris needed clearing but if the cars are fairly spread out around the lap then there isn't a big enough gap for a marshal to get out and clear it. A VSC doesn't really help as the gaps stay where they are (OK they get a bit longer as the cars move past slower but there still might not have been enough) so they use a full SC to bunch the field and give them a big enough gap to clear the track.

At least the Stewards reacted sensibly to Russell's issues:
https://www.fia.com/system/files/dec...fringement.pdf

[Steve Boyd]

Let's face it, Ben Suleman has not impressed. He was supposed to calm the waters after the dodgy 2021 fiasco. But he has gone the other way. Drivers are not happy, Teams are not happy. And the fines galore have left everyone puzzled.

The trouble is that most of the people that aren't happy don't have a vote and even if they did there isn't another candidate to vote for yet.

Maybe Robert Reid's resignation gives him the opportunity to stand, that is if he isn't just glad to get well away from it!.

[Used to be Starter]

They decided the debris needed clearing but if the cars are fairly spread out around the lap then there isn't a big enough gap for a marshal to get out and clear it. A VSC doesn't really help as the gaps stay where they are (OK they get a bit longer as the cars move past slower but there still might not have been enough) so they use a full SC to bunch the field and give them a big enough gap to clear the track.[/url]

Having been a marshal for many years I can tell you that dancing among the cars is not high on anybody's list. Good call to clear the debris (which may have caused havoc with cut tires and crashes) and then getting back to the racing.