F1 | BAHRAIN MALAYSIA GP, THE POINT BY GIAN CARLO MINARDI “VERSTAPPEN PERFECT, ANTONELLI WITH A VERY HEAVY SECOND PLACE. FERRARI MAXIMISES ITS RESULT”

As was easy to predict, the Sepang Grand Prix was strongly affected by bad weather that delayed the start by about 90 minutes. This delay could have also influenced the planning of the strategies, given that we are talking about a track with asphalt that tends to dry quickly. This is precisely why we saw very different choices among the drivers: some chose the Soft tyres, including the two Ferrari drivers, while Verstappen, Antonelli and Russell started with the Mediums. On the other hand, the two McLarens chose the dry weather Medium tyres.

The strategies then changed quickly. In Ferrari, we saw two different choices: Leclerc returned to the pits to switch to the Mediums, while Hamilton chose the stay on the track with the dry tyres, and he then managed to make up many places. It was a decision that paid off in the end and allowed the Englishman to take an excellent third place, with Leclerc fourth.

The race was dominated by an absolutely flawless Verstappen. Max consistently posted excellent lap times and managed an extremely complicated race, characterized by the wet track, by the progressive changes to the conditions, by the Safety Cars and the Virtual Safety Cars, to perfection. He was always composed, finding an excellent race pace even when the track was drying. After having slipped behind the two Mercedes in the early stages, he took back the lead and from that moment he built up a well-deserved victory, without making any mistakes.

Albon’s retirement then triggered the Virtual Safety Car, that was then turned into the Safety Car.  At that point all the frontrunners took advantage of the neutralization to make another pitstop. The closing stages first gave us Norris’ mistake when, during the Safety car, he risked crashing into his teammate by braking too late and losing several places, and then, the biggest turning point, Russell’s retirement due to technical difficulties. George was in the running for the podium and could have limited the damage in relation to Antonelli. The problem at the end cost him crucial points and paved the way for Hamilton’s third place, and fourth place by Leclerc, at the end, they had the better over an excellent Hadjar who crossed the finish line in fifth place.

Hadjar confirmed once again that he is an excellent teammate for Verstappen, and, at this time, he is one of the drivers who can put him to the test within the team. Even in Sepang, he disputed a very solid race, staying in the top places for much of the race.

On the other hand, for Antonelli second place carries enormous weight in terms of the championship. Kim disputed a very mature race, managing conditions that were anything but easy and taking home a hugely important result. Russell’s retirement, which came a few laps from the finish, further highlighted the significance of this result. Antonelli consolidated his lead in the ladder and took his lead over his teammate to 84 points. This result is worth more than the 18 points collected, it is another very important step forward in the battle for the World Championship.

For Ferrari, Hamilton’s strategy proved particularly effective. Starting from the front row, Lewis knew how to make the most of what his Ferrari could achieve today. After dropping down to the rear due to the choice of Soft tyres in the wet conditions, he managed to stage an extraordinary comeback to finish in third place. Leclerc too, after the early difficulties, recovered back up to fourth place. Considering the conditions and the choices of strategies, this was therefore a doubly positive result for Ferrari. Today’s result is probably the best they could have hoped for. Also, thanks to some favourable circumstances arising from outside the team.

A round of applause also goes to Alonso. After the renewal of his contract and some positive signs that came out over the weekend, Fernando showed once again that he is competitive and took home an excellent eighth place. In a race that was chaotic and conditioned by the strategies, this was a very positive result for Aston Martin.

This was also a decidedly positive weekend for Racing Bulls who said goodbye to Sepang with both cars in the points: Lawson seventh and Lindblad tenth. This was an important result in view of the head-to-head battle with Alpine which finished the weekend outside the points. Racing Bulls consolidated fifth place in the Constructors’ World Championship.

McLaren, on the other hand, faced major difficulties, both in terms of the performance and due to Norris’s mistake at the end which wiped out part of the result. Piastri did not go beyond sixth place, while Norris finished only ninth after ending up in the gravel during the Safety Car. This weekend was decidedly below expectations for a team that, for the values shown in the track during the season, could have been even more a frontrunner.

Now we look ahead. In a week’s time they go back onto the track in Singapore which will also host the Sprint Race. This is another very special round, on a street circuit that is completely different from Sepang, where the world championship could yet throw up some new twists in the challenge for the title.

Gian Carlo Minardi