The Bahrain Grand Prix promised to be a game changer, and it certainly delivered. What started out as a demolition derby of tyre smoke and smashed carbon fibre, ended with a Silver Arrows podium, led by Nico Rosberg, under floodlights and fireworks.
Fans were treated to a true feast for the the senses, as the Mercedes AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team once again took the fight to the competition over the 57-lap desert Grand Prix.
Making the most of the difficult getaway from pole sitter, and teammate, Lewis Hamilton, Nico raced away at the lights and literally didn’t look back. “The key was the start – I got a great getaway and then I just tried to control the pace,”explained Nico.
“We have been working a lot on the starts since Australia so I was pleased I was able to get away cleanly; and that made my race. We went with the safest strategy rather than the fastest to cover off all the eventualities. Even holding slightly longer in the pit stops to make sure everything was done perfectly.”
The win in Bahrain now marks Nico’s fifth victory in a row – since the Mexican Grand Prix last season. When asked about the prospect of taking a championship title at the end of this year, Nico responded: “I am just taking it race by race now, not looking at the big picture. It was an awesome weekend – now I’m focusing on the next race in China.”
Even though Lewis eventually joined Nico on the podium – fighting back to third place, behind Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen; race day and Saturday’s qualifying could not have been any different for the reigning champion.
Despite his difficult start, and being able to tuck in behind Nico, and the empty track space that a retired Sebastian Vettel had occupied on the grid – Lewis had his whole weekend dictated by a first lap smash.
Heavy contact and damage with Williams’ Valtteri Bottas, who made a risky dive up the inside at turn one, lost Lewis aero performance; equating to around a second per lap. “I didn’t get a good start today – but it actually wasn’t as bad as the last one. They were completely different incidents – both painful, but this one probably more so. In Melbourne I had loads of wheel spin but this time I just didn’t get away as well as I needed to and that was down to me. If you start on pole and go backwards it quickly becomes a domino effect. It’s so easy to get clipped from there and unfortunately that’s what happened at Turn One. I lost a lot of performance of the car after the incident with Bottas. There was a lot of damage to the side and floor of the car. I am not too sure what happened to be honest. He [Bottas] was on the blind side but these things happen. It was a racing incident,”Lewis told us after the race.
“After that I was just trying to manage the tyres with no rear end and get as much out of it as possible. I got some points but it was a case of damage limitation.
“The team felt there could have been a safety car and I was just trying to keep the tyres unless there was a chance but it didn’t come. “Congratulations to Nico I was an easy race for him I would presume, but I am glad I was able to stay out and get some points.”
Two races down, and Nico leads Lewis by 17 points in the drivers’ standings. The scene is set for an epic battle in the east at the next race – the Chinese Grand Prix on April 17th. Make sure you check back with us in a fortnight’s time to read how it all goes down.
Credit Monster