After the setback in Suzuka, McLaren returns to winning form, and they do so for the third time in four races. Oscar Piastri secures his second win of the season and sends a clear message, yet again, to Lando Norris in terms of the championship, especially after a complicated weekend for the Briton, who qualified sixth in a disastrous session and struggled to reach the podium today after a tough battle with Leclerc.
Bahrain GP: A Missed Double
There are only three points separating the two McLaren drivers in the world standings: Norris is ahead solely due to his teammate’s misstep in Melbourne, where Oscar Piastri was more unfortunate than Lando, having both made the same mistake. Even today, the Australian was quicker in the race, but he obviously had an easier job, starting from pole position.
Norris’ problem is always the same, a mental one: yesterday, after qualifying, he repeatedly said that the issue was himself, despite having a fantastic car. A mix of negative emotions that inevitably affect him. Oscar Piastri, on the other hand, is much more focused; it’s obvious he is ice-cold, a bit like Kimi Raikkonen, and his talent speaks for itself. It’s likely we will see a growing gap between the two over time.
Yes, because the Melbourne kangaroo is stronger than his teammate, both in terms of speed and personal management. However, today Norris deserves credit for partially recovering from the disaster of yesterday, even though he had a hard time with Leclerc and was unable to overcome George Russell, despite having a better car. Considering the penalty he received for starting slightly ahead on the grid, he could and should have done more overall.
The New Iceman
Piastri is ice-cold; he was hardly ever in the spotlight and managed the race perfectly. Why is he called the Iceman? Because he doesn’t show any emotion: this can be seen as a negative trait, but it’s part of his nature and has led him to win on his first attempt in every category. For the first time in his career, he has a strong car from the start of the year in Formula 1, and he will likely not let this opportunity slip by.
“A fantastic result, an extraordinary weekend that started with excellent qualifying yesterday,” said Oscar Piastri. “Today we completed the job in the best way, and it was beautiful. I’ll never stop thanking the team for the car they’ve given us: it’s really a pleasure to drive. I’m proud of what we’ve done here. Bahrain is an important race for us, especially because of our owners: it’s never been a favorable track, so winning here feels special.”
“I would have preferred to avoid the Safety Car, but I was still confident. Our pace was competitive. I knew I could restart well because both Lando and I had the right tires, the mediums, and from there everything went smoothly. The start is always a variable, you have to get it right, and I’m glad I did. It was a perfect weekend for the whole team, and there couldn’t have been a better place to get such a result. I’m sure we all had fun.”
Norris Needs to Watch His Back
Norris patched up what could have been a disastrous weekend. Qualifying sixth with that rocket under him was criminal, but his super start brought him back into podium contention after just a few corners. He did well and was probably lucky, but he made every effort to get himself into trouble again, first with the wrong position on the grid, then with a battle won only on the third attempt against Leclerc. Finally, he couldn’t pass George Russell and had to settle for the last available spot on the podium.
“It was a difficult race, I made several mistakes, even in overtaking,” admitted Lando Norris. “I often found myself out of position, everything was very chaotic. It’s disappointing not to finish with a double podium; it would have been nice to achieve that in front of our home crowd. Despite everything, there are still positives to take away. Some overtakes were fun to make.”
“Russell did a great job. I thought I could pass him, but in the end, he managed to hold something extra and managed it better. Well done to him. Congratulations to Oscar and the whole team: they did a fantastic job. As for me, I’ll try to raise my level next weekend and come back even more competitive.”
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