BAHRAIN GP: PIASTRI READY FOR WORLD TITLE FIGHT

Oscar Piastri sent a clear, resounding message: he’s ready to fight for the world title. No ifs or buts. His performance in Bahrain was nothing short of flawless—controlled, calculated, and composed, like a seasoned pro. Starting from pole, he fended off George Russell’s early attack and managed all 57 laps with absolute precision. Not even the safety car, which bunched up the field, could bring his rivals close enough to challenge.

With 50 Grands Prix under his belt and four wins to his name, Piastri now sits second in the overall standings with 74 points, just three behind teammate Lando Norris, who leads with 77. McLaren finds itself facing a delicate intra-team dynamic that will require smart management.

As for Norris, he delivered a solid race: from sixth on the grid to third at the finish line, despite a five-second penalty for being slightly out of position in his grid box. That small, premature movement at the start probably cost him second place, which he nearly snatched from Russell on the final lap. Earlier in the race, Norris fought hard to get past Charles Leclerc—succeeding only after several failed attempts. All in all, a challenging start but an impressive recovery.

Things looked far worse for Red Bull-Honda. Max Verstappen had a weekend to forget: brake issues in qualifying, a car that never felt balanced during the race, underperforming tires, and slow pit stops. Just a week after dominating at Suzuka, the RB21 looked completely out of sorts on the Sakhir circuit. Verstappen, usually able to overcome any obstacle, struggled for pace and spent much of the race behind Pierre Gasly’s Alpine-Renault, only overtaking him in the final corners. The lone silver lining for Red Bull came courtesy of Yuki Tsunoda, who finished ninth—scoring the first points of the season for the team’s second car.

On the flip side, Russell held on to a well-earned second place for most of the race, and Mercedes showed promising signs. It wasn’t smooth sailing, though. In the closing laps, Russell had to deal with a DRS system that only worked manually and relied on real-time coordination with his race engineer, Marcus Dudley. At one point, he mistakenly hit the DRS button outside of a designated zone—he meant to hit the radio—an error that could potentially cost him a post-race penalty. On top of that, his steering wheel display was flickering and gear changes weren’t always responsive. Despite it all, Russell held off Norris at the end and bagged 18 valuable points, bringing his total to 63 and putting him just seven behind Verstappen in fourth place overall.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli missed out on the points for the first time this season, finishing 11th. He lost two places at the start but quickly regained them. Mercedes’ strategy didn’t help him—he was fitted with soft tires mid-race, just before the safety car came out. A second pit stop dropped him down the order, and despite some impressive overtakes, he couldn’t crack the top 10 this time. No big deal.

Ferrari walked away with 22 points thanks to Leclerc’s fourth and Hamilton’s fifth-place finishes. The team gambled at the start, putting both drivers on medium tires while most front-runners opted for softs. It was an aggressive strategy that partly paid off, though the hard tires used at the end didn’t perform as hoped. Hamilton, who fought his way from ninth to fifth, struggled in the closing stages and called the tires “rubbish.” Leclerc, meanwhile, gave it everything trying to hold off Norris for the podium but ultimately had to settle for fourth.

Gasly deserves a major shoutout. His fifth-place qualifying result looked like a fluke that wouldn’t hold up in race conditions, but he proved the doubters wrong. Thanks to a perfect strategy and some very clean driving, he brought the Alpine-Renault home in seventh—scoring the team’s first points of 2025. Jack Doohan spent much of the race flirting with the top 10, but a track limits penalty dropped him to 15th, despite a strong overall drive.

Haas-Ferrari had a standout day, with both drivers finishing in the points: Esteban Ocon in eighth and Oliver Bearman in tenth after an incredible charge from the very back of the grid. This marks the second time this season that Haas has put both cars in the top 10—after a strong showing in Shanghai with Ocon fifth and Bearman eighth. The American team now sits fifth in the Constructors' Championship.

Williams-Mercedes, however, had a day to forget. Alexander Albon, who had scored points in the first three races, ended up 12th. Carlos Sainz retired after contact and uncharacteristic mistakes, despite a solid qualifying effort that saw him start eighth. The Spaniard still seems unsettled in the FW47. The Racing Bulls-Honda also remained off the radar in Sakhir.

The struggles continue for Aston Martin-Mercedes. Fernando Alonso is still stuck at zero points, while Lance Stroll—after promising showings in Melbourne and Shanghai—has looked lost at both Suzuka and Sakhir. As for Sauber-Ferrari, not even the efforts of Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were enough to pull the team out of obscurity.

© Cavalieri Garage & Co.