GP Bahrein – UP & DOWN
Besides my personal support, the GP in Bahrein was stunning and exciting in every way. It was featured by exciting battles, overtaking (even between drivers of the same team), punctures, recoveries, technical issues and a lonely win.
In other word, a bit of everything happened in a hot Sunday where Sebastian Vettel gained ground and Lotus achieved the second place in the constructors’ championship, thanks to its two drivers who finished second and third. It was also a revenge race for McLaren and Lotus’ second drivers and Di Rasta’s performance won the audience’s applause and pushed Force India to the fifth position, ahead of the Walking giant. It was also a race during which Fernando Alonso showed his great strength again, recovering several positions despite lacking the DRS.
Given this premise, let’s grade drivers:
Fernando Alonso – vote 9. The two laps he ran with the DRS open were excellent. Despite DRS malfunction, he drove an amazing race, as well. He could have fought for the victory against Vettel. Despite the issues, the Ferrari’s driver scored four more points in comparison with the past season; this makes us hope for the best.
Sebastian Vettel – vote 8. The German driver took an excellent start, getting the better over Alonso and Rosberg. He started driving a successful race since the first few laps. Then he drove a “lonely” race, not being disturbed by rivals.
Paul Di Resta – vote 8. He knew how to make the most of his Force India and he will be soon in the hunt for a podium. He’s helping his team to make step forward. Thanks to him Force India classified 5th in the overall standing and it is the first among secondary teams.
Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean – vote 8. They finished behind Vettel, taking home important points for the Championship, without making any mistake and making the most of the material made available. They are playing gooseberry in the hunt for the title.
Lewis Hamilton – vote 7.5. His teammate got the better over him in qualifying. He recovered during the race showing talent, determination and experience until the last lap. He finished fifth.
Nico Rosberg – vote 7.5. He drove a super qualifying lap. His Mercedes continued to wear out tyres, this doesn’t support his on-track determination, causing long run issues.
Sergio Perez – vote 6. Surely we had fun seeing his shootout against Button, but in the next races he will have to calm down and clarify with Jenson. Some actions were on the edge of the fair play.
Mark Webber – vote 5. He was not determined on track and seeing what his teammate is able to do, finishing seventh is not so much.
Felipe Massa – NC. Two tyres’ punctures are too many. Punctures’ causes should be analyzed and so much work still has to be done for the future.
