Summary
Live coverage of the Formula One season-opening race in Bahrain
Rookie Piastri out with electrical problem.
Alonso recovers from a prang with stroll to battle for 3rd
Leclerc out of race with 16 laps left
Verstappen eased to first win of the season in Redbull 1-2
Ocon retires after penalty strewn race
Mercedes have a lot of work to do
17:05 Look forward to our coverage of the next round in Saudi Arabia in 2 weeks. I’ll be here again for qualifying on the 18th from 16:30 and the race on the 19th from 16:30.
Look out for our reviews/previews during the wait from the rest of the team.
17:03 Meme of the day sent to #BrigF1 goes to
17:02 To cap off a fantastic weekend for the Matador Alonso, he wins driver of the day too.
16:59 Has Verstappen gained the Bahrain curse? we won’t know for a while as this record-breaking season still has another massive 22 rounds to go.
16:53 Here is the post-race interviews from the podium finishers
16:46 He really loved it out there today, what a drive from the double world champion
16:45 All hail the elder statesman Alonso…
16:44 Final Clasification:
1 Verstappen
2 Perez
3 Alonso
4 Sainz
5 Hamilton
6 Stroll
7 Russell
8 Bottas
9 Gasly
10 Albon
11 Tsunoda
12 Sargeant
13 Magnussen
14 De Vries
15 Hulkenburg
16 Zhou
17 Norris
OUT Ocon
OUT Leclerc
OUT Piastri
16:39 Perez takes home 2nd for a one-two for Redbull, But the story of the day is the 41 year old Fernando Alonso taking a podium for Aston Martin in his team debut after a superb dual with Lewis Hamilton
16:38 MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS!
16:37 FINAL LAP
16:36 McLarens race summed up…
16:33 Vertsappen didnt have much to worry about today bar his wee gearbox issue that turned out to just be a scare more than anything else. 12 seconds ahead of Perez who had a rough start off the line and fought back. And then we have Alonso 24 seconds behind in 3rd.
16:32 Hamilton seems to have settled for 5th as he’s now fell to more than 2 seconds behind the Ferrari of Sainz, Alonso now 8 seconds ahead of his fellow Spaniard.
16:31 Three laps left
16:30 The old man of the grid has had fun today…
16:29 The early casulties of the season are so far, Piasrtri who exited with an electrical issue early in the race, Leclerc who crawled to a stop late in the race, and Ocon. Who had over 30 seconds of penalties today.
16:28 Stroll now just over 4 secs behind the Mercedes, and slowly closing but it’s not going to be enough with just 5 laps to go.
16:27 The Brit now falling out of DRS of the Ferrari, Has his chance gone? Charging the battery for a last couple lap attack?
16:25 Hamilton better get a move on here, Stroll has cut the gap by three seconds whilst he sits behind the Sainz
16:24 Hamilton taking his time behind the Ferrari as Alonso has opened up a 4 sec gap in front. Norris pits for the 5th time for more hydraulic fluid.
16:23 Actual finger biting going on in the Aston Martin garage right now. What a story this could be for the former Racing Point/Force India team
16:21 Sainz has fell out of the DRS of Alonso and Hamilton gets a hint of a p4 with 11 laps to go
16:20 Now it’s Hamilton’s turn to put Sainz under pressure.
16:19 ALONSO INTO P3!
16:18 Alonso all over his fellow spainard, but he tags the ferrari into turn 4. Its a drag race down the back straight
16:17 Sainz tells the pit wall if he pushes to defend Alonso he might not make it to the end
16:15 Alonso is now in Sainz’s DRS and 2 seconds ahead of Hamilton. This is going to get spicy
16:14 The moment Leclerc left the race…
16:13 VSC ended, 16 laps to go Now whos going to get the final podium position? Sainz? Alonso? Hamilton?
16:12 The intro memes just keep coming.
16:11 The car just slowly died on him, no smoke, no electrical we can see as steering wheel was still on. What a shame
16:10 VSC (Virtual Safety Car)
OH NO Leclerc is crawling to a stop by the side of the track
16:08 Has the Spaniard taken too much life out of his tyres after pushing from pit to the overtake 4 laps later, as Hamilton is sticking by him. They are closing on 4th placed man Sainz while they are at it.
16:06 Alonso stays within 2 tenths the rest of the lap, doesn’t sent it at turn one but he’s squirrelling all over the back of the Mercedes, and overtakes down the slow hairpin of turn 10. What a move that was!
16:05 He can’t get him into turn one, but he sends it down the inside of turn 4 but Hamilton with a textbook switcheroo where he fought that epic battle with nico 9 years ago and retakes 5th
16:04 Max comes in with 21 laps to go Alonso is now right on Hamiltons gearbox now
16:03 He’s not hanging around either as he sets a purple middle sector and is now in the DRS of his old teammate/rival
16:02 Alonso finally pits but he’s closer to Hamilton on 4 lap fresher tyres
16:01 Here’s that fight between Perez and Russell…
16:00 And it’s Perez that pits before his teammate this time as Max stays out in the lead
15:59 Ocon told to come in for FIFTEEN second penalty, what a day for the frenchman
15:58 Stroll now the fastest man on the track with his fresh rubber. Meanwhile Alonso trying the overcut as he continues to stay out
15:57 Russell comes out in front of Stroll who duly overtakes him at turn 4, Perfect undercut from the Aston Martin team there
15:55 Sainz, Russell, now come in, Alonso up to 4th but stays out
15:53 Second round of pits starting now on lap 31Hamilton pits for fresh Hard tyres to negate any undercut from Alsonso in his mean green machine inching up on him
15:52 Ocon with ANOTHER penalty, speeding in the pit lane this time. He’s treating that pit lane like a taxi rank today
15:51 Max on the radio saying his left front is giving up, but he’s still faster than his teammate on younger tyres
15:50 Nice piece of unbiased commentary from Sky Sports makes us lol…
15:49 Want to see Perez taking 2nd from Leclerc? We got you…
15:48 Then promptly tells him his deg (tyre degradation) is the best in the field so he can go faster if he wants to
15:47 As Alonso starts to get bigger in Hamilton’s mirrors, the 7-time champion is on the radio to ask if his management is ok or if he needs to pick up the pace. The pit wall tells him to keep manageing
15:46 And he gets him into turn one, but Charles didn’t give up easily, but Perez has so much more grip to play with and keeps it in front
15:45 Here comes Perez, it’s surely just a matter of time now as they head onto the main straight
15:44 Ocon didn’t serve his penalty properly…
15:43 Ferrari inform 2nd placed man Leclerc that the degradation of his tyres is lower than expected, wether that will keep the man in his mirrors Perez behind on softs is another thing
15:42 Alonso is slowly reigning in Hamilton whilst Russell is falling back, The Aston Martin with the same engine is clearly the faster race car
15:40 Perez is flying now with the fastest lap as he tries to hunt down Leclerc nearly a whole second he’s gained over the last 2 laps
15:38 Hear Zak Brown on the issues with Piastri and Norris
15:36 I was about to say everything seems to have calmed down after the first round of pits, but then Maz pops up on team chat saying the downshifts are now manageable but still not great. Drama still to come?
15:35 Poor Piastri…
15:33 Nightmare start to the year for McLaren as Norris pits yet again. He’s now plum last.
15:32 Perez is the last man to pit, from the lead, 17 laps on the soft tyre and comes out on fresh softs to attack the Ferrari on Hard tyres
15:31 Russell now trying to hunt down Alonso on his new hard tyres, but Alonso isn’t hanging around and puts Bottas between him and Russell
15:29 Piastri is wheeled into the garage and out of the race, Zak Brown says it’s an electrical issue. Lando Norris also has a hydraulics issue their managing too
15:28 Ocon gets a 5 sec penalty for being in the wrong position on the grid
15:27 The rookie Piastri in the McLaren is complaining of losing the gearbox, told to pit for a new steering wheel, but it’s so slow, as the engine is needing restarted, shaking of the head of the rookie as he sits helpless in the pits
15:26 Both ferraris come in on the same lap, followed by Russell, but it’s a slow stop for the Englishman
15:24 Alonso is all over the Merceded of Russell, and he gets him into turn 4, Russell goes side by side and cedes position into turn 6. George will be fuming he wasn’t pitted earlier
15:23 Russell now complaining of tyres going off, but it’s hamilton in the pits first and out in 9th on Hard tyres
15:22 Lap 12 Leclerc is now 8 seconds behind, he’ll really need that gearbox issue for Max to develop to have any chance of a win
15:21 Max told to change a strat to see if it helps his downshifts. Meanwhile Lando is in the pits due to an engine issue.
15:19 10 laps in now, pit windows will start to open. Will Ferrari keep true to last years form?
15:19 Maybe not so plain sailing after all, Max on the radio to say that he’s having issues with downshifting, its giving him some rear locking.
15:18 Russell on the phone to the garage asking if Lewis is slow or struggling as he’s been in his DRS zone for a while now, Pit wall responds “Struggling, he’s struggling”
15:17 how Alonso wasn’t spun out I’ll never know
15:15 Biggest winner from the opening 8 laps is Albon up 4 places to 11th
15:14 The grid is still all bunched up with 8th to 18th separated by around 10 seconds
15:12 Leclerc locked up a couple laps ago and now Perez is breathing down his neck
15:11 The new liveries be like…
15:10 Not looking good for Leclerc as his last lap is 0.849 slower than Max, now over 4 seconds behind the leader
15:09 Hulkenberg has shed the left end plate of his front wing after ramming it into the rear of another car
15:08 Max Verstappen is just steaking ahead, nearly 3 seconds ahead of Leclerc now after 4 laps
15:07 Lance just out braked himself into turn 4 and nearly wiped out Alonso, causing him to drop down behind the two Mercedes
15:05 Awful start for perez, Leclerc is up to 2nd, The two Aston martins touch, Hamilton up to 5th Alonso down to 7th
15:03 The lights are out and we are off!
15:01 Lance stroll left the track on the tight hairpin, are those wrists really ok?
15:00 And The Champion max Verstappen leads the grid off the line for the parade lap, can anyone catch him today?
14:59 Heres is your starting grid as the parade lap gets set to start
14:55 The adrenaline is starting to build, who is your shout for today and the season ahead, remember to tweet us @Brignewspaper with the hashtag #BrigF1
14:54 Never fails to lift the winter blues
14:41 Less than 20 minutes to go, so far no pre-race issues, looks like the biggest issue for anyone today is going to be the pace of the two frontrunners. If Max and Checo (perez) can serve up half of what Rosberg and Hamilton did in 2014 we will be in for some treat.
14:21 Welcome to our LIVE coverage of all the action from what promises to be a fantastic season opener in Bahrain. Stay tuned and tweet us @brignewspaper with the hashtag #BrigF1 to get involved in the conversation. Your best F1 memes will be included here at the end of the race.
Trying to find my voice in the modern digital journalism landscape.
Have a creative flair, and not scared to rock the boat.
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