Opinion – Heineken Chinese F1 GP
It’d be difficult to find a Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team fan who after watching the first three races of the 2019 season say, “Hmm, I think Mercedes winning again is starting to get boring.” But this is an opinion piece so I get to say my mind. And frankly, Mercedes winning is starting to get boring – has been so for the past few years. In fact, this dominance is even more boring than during Red Bull’s, and Ferrari’s time before that.
There’s a ‘but’ to this…
But, this is the car to beat… again. I can say that there’s at least six other drivers on the grid which can take that Mercedes F1 W10 EQ Power+ and cross the finish line at first place. It’s just that good of a race machine. Ferrari may have a powerful engine, but evidently the chassis could use some magic to fight the Silver Arrows.
The speed Ferrari showed during pre-season testing only appeared when it mattered in Bahrain, although it was also a Sunday Charles Leclerc would prefer to not remember. The Silver Arrows was a few tenths quicker than Ferrari during China’s qualifying, always in control of the proceedings. Toto Wolff and the pitwall gang even had the luxury of double stacking their cars for another tyre change.
Yesterday’s Shanghai GP was quite thrilling for the other 19 cars though. Although not everyone there had a good day.
The Good
Mercedes couldn’t have asked for more. The third consecutive 1-2 for the team this year, the manufacturer’s 90th win in F1, already having a huge lead in the manufacturer’s championship, and Lewis is not sulking. Good ol’ Kimi collected two point after crossing the finish line up in ninth despite starting 13th, and I do like the fact that Pierre Gasly managed to finish in sixth, the place where he started from on the grid. He’s not quite a rookie but certainly still new, and managed to stay out of trouble and collected the needed points.
Anglo-Thai driver from Toro-Rosso Alexander Albon was the real performer though, underlined by his ‘Driver of the Day’ comeback performance plus FTD (fastest time of the day). Started from pitlane after missing out of qualifying, his 10th place finish surely did no harm to his stock, which took a bit of a beating due to the FP3 crash.
Max Verstappen was his usual self, probably complained a bit too much after being robbed of a decent Q3 but maximised the RB15 to finish ahead of Charles Leclerc.
The Bad
For a race that was somewhat interesting, there’s plenty in this list. How about Kvyat for spoiling Lando Norris’ race? The British youngster looked solid in Bahrain and the McLaren race car shows some decent pace. Having said that, what’s happening with Carlos Sainz? Just four-tenths faster than Norris in Q2 and just a place higher than Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi, who himself should have done better looking at Kimi’s pace.
The Decent
Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll both are in here, although in a not flattering way. Racing Point (or in this context Force India) is usually a strong midfielder but has not been these first three races. Even less flattering are the two Haas – both outside the points after locking the fifth row in qualifying.
Some reports say that Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo is now the third highest-paid driver on the grid behind Lewis and Sebastien but has yet to impress. Renault needs to dig deeper than ever to complement their two excellent drivers. Speaking of which, the fact that teammate Nico Hulkenberg is keeping the Aussie honest – less than a hundredth of a sec in Q3 separates between the two – justifies what I’ve been saying all along, Hulkenberg is a top driver.
The Ugly
Williams. It’s really sad to say where they are now. And George Russel needs to prove himself, with nothing but three hundredth of a second distancing him to former-retiree Kubica (based on Q1 times) is not making him look good.
