HAMILTON HOLDS OFF RESURGENT RED BULL
PHOTOGRAPHY
Given the astounding levels of success Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have achieved in the past seven Formula 1 seasons, it’s somewhat surprising that their latest Bahrain Grand Prix victory – and Hamilton’s 96th F1 win – was something of an underdog tale.
Mercedes had ended pre-season testing seemingly well adrift of Red Bull on pure pace and with poor car balance. When the teams arrived back in Bahrain for the race, most of the obscured elements from the testing picture would be revealed. And Max Verstappen’s near 0.4-second pole margin over Hamilton confirmed that Red Bull was indeed the team to beat.
The race’s two main protagonists provided excellent foreshadowing of the battle to come when they eventually took the race start – each pointed slightly towards the other, anticipating an immediate challenge on the run to the race’s first corner. The start moment had been delayed by a lap after Sergio Perez had pulled the second Red Bull over on the initial formation lap after it “lost all its electrical power”, according to Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan. Verstappen led the pack around (the race length now reduced to 56 laps) while Perez, who had come “close to jumping out”, took his steering wheel on and off, which coaxed the car back into life and allowed him to take the start from the pits.
From Perez’s vantage point, a glimpse of the lead action flashed by. Verstappen and Hamilton got away in unison, with the Dutchman quickly moving to cover the inside line approaching Turn 1. Hamilton fell in behind Verstappen after the opening corners, with Valtteri Bottas
