Team by team analysis of Sunday’s season-opening Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix (listed in championship order):
MERCEDES (Lewis Hamilton 1, Valtteri Bottas 3)
Hamilton’s record-extending 96th career win, 75th for Mercedes and fifth in Bahrain. The Briton, who started second and made two stops, withstood a tough challenge from Verstappen. He also claimed another of Michael Schumacher’s all-time records with his 5,112th lap led. Bottas, let down by a slow pitstop on lap 30, secured an extra point for fastest lap in his 80th race for Mercedes.
RED BULL (Max Verstappen 2, Sergio Perez 5)
Verstappen started on pole and carried out a two-stop strategy, pitting later than Hamilton who undercut him on the first. The Dutch driver passed Hamilton four laps from the end on fresher tyres but was told to hand back the advantage after going off track. Perez’s car cut out on the formation lap and he had to start from the pits. He was voted driver of the day.
MCLAREN (Lando Norris 4, Daniel Ricciardo 7)
Norris started seventh but was quick all weekend. Ricciardo, on his debut with the team after switching from Renault, slipped a place from sixth on the grid. This was the first race for McLaren with Mercedes engines since 2014.
FERRARI (Charles Leclerc 6, Carlos Sainz 8)
Leclerc had qualified fourth, and ran third for a while, in a boost for a team who slumped to their worst overall finish in 40 years last season but are showing clear progress with a faster engine. Sainz made a solid Ferrari debut.
ALPHATAURI (Yuki Tsunoda 9, Pierre Gasly 17th)
Tsunoda became the first Japanese to score points since Kamui Kobayashi in 2012 and 65th rookie driver on his race debut but was disappointed to lose places at the start. Gasly broke his front wing in contact with Ricciardo on lap one and damaged the car’s floor. He failed to finish but was classified.
ASTON MARTIN (Lance Stroll 10, Sebastian Vettel 15)
Stroll secured a point as Aston Martin returned as a constructor for the first time since 1960. Vettel had a nightmare, starting last in the grid after a five place drop. He picked up five penalty points in total over the weekend and a 10 second penalty in the race for causing a collision with Ocon.
ALFA ROMEO (Kimi Raikkonen 11, Antonio Giovinazzi 12)
Both drivers ran in the points for large parts of the race but remained tantalisingly outside the top 10.
ALPINE (Esteban Ocon 13, Fernando Alonso retired)
Double champion Alonso, 39, started ninth in his first race since 2018 and retired with overheating brakes after debris entered the ducts. Ocon was shunted from the rear by Vettel on lap 44, with the German apologising.
WILLIAMS (George Russell 14, Nicholas Latifi 18)
Williams, last and without a point in 2020, looked ahead of Haas at least and more competitive. Latifi was retired by the team on lap 52 with a suspected boost leak but was classified.
HAAS (Mick Schumacher 16, Nikita Mazepin retired)
Russian rookie Mazepin spun into the barriers at the third corner on the opening lap after suffering oversteer on cold tyres. Schumacher, rookie son of Germany’s seven times world champion Michael, was the last car running. He said he was 90% happy and had learnt a lot.