Rosberg, Ricciardo and Grosjean star under the lights in the desert...
Tuesday 5 April 2016 11:44, UK
Easy does it for Nico Rosberg. Both on the podium and in his post-race interview with Sky F1, Lewis Hamilton appended a note of congratulations to his victorious team-mate by suggesting Rosberg's victory was "easy". And it probably was. But the fact of the matter is that the German has not only started 2016 with back-to-back victories but he's won five in a row since October and now boasts a handy 17-points advantage in the Drivers' Championship.
His move past a slow-starting Hamilton off the line might well account for the only overtaking move Rosberg has made this year but, after dominating every session this weekend with the exception of Q3, his victory in the desert was deserved. The new favourite for the title? Now there's a thought.
Rating out of ten: 9
The curse of second place continues for Kimi Raikkonen in Bahrain. That's now five runner-up finishes and no wins for the Iceman in 11 attempts in the desert, the last four of which have come since his F1 return in 2012.
While wins may have got away from him here in the past, this particular runner-up finish was probably better than he could have hoped to achieve given both Mercedes cars finished the race - although Lewis Hamilton wouldn't have been quite as easy to keep at bay had Valtteri Bottas not barreled into the W07. Still, Raikkonen's own initial getaway was even worse, having dropped to fifth, the 36-year-old displayed the kind of incisive, effortless overtakes that many feared were beyond him now.
Outqualified by Sebastian Vettel again, albeit this time by just 0.2s, the German may have given Rosberg a slightly harder time had his Ferrari not let go on the formation lap. Raikkonen finished just six seconds behind - but Rosberg suggested he was taking a cautious approach up front. We'll never know which Ferrari would have come out ahead but, what certainly isn't in doubt is Kimi likes Sakhir and this was the most convincing performance F1's eldest statesman has delivered in quite some time.
Rating out of ten: 8
The start to Lewis Hamilton's attempt to become Britain's first quadruple world champion can be summed up by two phrases - "sexy laps" and "damage limitation". Now, you could accuse the Briton of lacking originality in his post-session soundbites after qualifying and the race respectively, but they are apt descriptions of his season so far. Unbeaten on Saturdays, but undone on Sundays by back-to-back poor starts.
Whereas wheelspin was the culprit in Australia, Hamilton admitted his own reactions could've been sharper at the lights in the desert - although he was still on Rosberg's tail into Turn One before an over-eager Valtteri Bottas looked for a gap that was always going to close. From there, Hamilton recovered well, and although Mercedes' attempts to try something different at the first and final stops didn't pay off, the Briton kept Raikkonen honest before the Ferrari pulled away in the final stint.
Seventeen points adrift in the standings after two races might concern a championship novice, but Hamilton - provided he can sort out his starts, is probably right to be feeling "pretty chilled".
Rating out of ten: 8
And to think that Daniel Ricciardo considered pitting on the first lap after damaging his front-wing in the first corner mayhem. All concerns immediately assuaged by his subsequent pace, the Aussie got his head - and foot - down to deliver one of the drives of the race to claim what was ultimately a comfortable fourth place. "The last part was a bit lonely but it was a nice lonely because we know Ferrari and Mercedes are step ahead," Daniel remarked after the race.
Courtesy of his efforts, which also accounted for fourth in Australia, Red Bull can be now regarded as the third-quickest package on the grid - heady relief for a team fretting they were also behind Toro Rosso, Force India and Williams in winter testing. But where would they be without Ricciardo?
Rating out of ten: 9
If Romain Grosjean compared his sixth-place finish at the Australian GP to a race victory, what is he going to call this?
Grosjean produced another incredible drive in Bahrain, somehow managing to better Haas' debut in the sport. They seem to be at the front of the midfield pack - with help from Ferrari, of course - and have an incredibly well-balanced package which Grosjean is making full use of. We always knew he was quick, but Grosjean has now matured into a team leader. If he carries on like this - could we even see a move to the Scuderia on the cards?
"I think Romain's looking at the big picture," Paul di Resta said. "He wants himself in a red car, doesn't he?"
Rating out of ten: 9
Now that's more like it, Max Verstappen. After the impetuousness of Melbourne, F1's youngest driver was back to displaying the kind of mature-beyond-his-years form which so wowed the sport in his rookie campaign.
Incredibly, sixth place represented Toro Rosso's first-ever points in Bahrain in 10 years of trying, with Verstappen making up four positions from 10th on the grid. There was less than a tenth of a second in it with Carlos Sainz in qualifying and the Spaniard, again, bore the brunt of the team's misfortune after a tangle with Sergio Perez at the start punctured his tyre. Still, that wasn't Verstappen's worry and it was an impressively attacking - yet error-free - performance from the Dutchman.
Rating out of ten: 8.5
After qualifying down in 15th, it looked like it was going to be another miserable weekend for Daniil Kvyat. The Russian needed to pull something out of the bag following his retirement in Australia and, credit where it's due, he made up plenty of ground come race day.
Kvyat started on the soft compound and was the last man to stop for fresh rubber. This allowed him to eek out another long stint on the same tyre before being able to go hell-for-leather on the supersofts, not having to worry about wear. The plan worked perfectly.
While he had to manage degradation in the early periods, and was easy prey for the likes of Grosjean and Verstappen, the 21-year-old made it count late in the race by passing both Williams cars.
"It was a very good recovery from yesterday," Kvyat said. Quite.
Rating out of ten: 7
There isn't yet an official F1 poll for 'start of the day' - although if there were, Rio Haryanto would probably win by a landslide even if he stalled on the grid - but the unofficial winner in Bahrain was certainly Felipe Massa, who made light of the chaos around him to surge from seventh from second. Sadly for him, it proved the falsest of dawns.
We've seen such getaways from the Brazilian veteran before, but perhaps none have given way to the kind of race Williams endured on Sunday. Quite why the team stuck with a two-stop strategy on a medium tyre that wasn't enjoying the evening conditions is anyone's guess, but it left both of their drivers as sitting ducks. Repeatedly passed by cars on one of Pirelli's two quicker tyres, Massa eventually finished a lapped eighth - although his race was still better than team-mate Bottas's, who ended up one place behind. Fifth and eighth places from the opening two races are Williams' best results so far. Ouch
Rating out of ten: 6
Valtteri Bottas must have been licking his lips when he was bumped up to fifth on the grid after Sebastian Vettel's pre-race retirement, and even more so when a fast start saw him pass both Raikkonen and Ricciardo.
His eyes lit up into Turn One and the Finn was certainly over-eager, nearly ending both his and Hamilton's race when crashing into the right-hand side of the Mercedes. At best, it was a reckless manoeuvre.
"Lewis left the door open, but I don't think I'd have walked through it," said Brundle. "Valtteri was a day late and a dollar short."
Bottas received not only a drive-through penalty; he paid for his mistake for the rest of the evening as Williams struggled with their strategy and race pace. Battling in midfield, he seemed to always find himself in the wrong place - and also made errors during a fight with Daniil Kvyat.
All in all a miserable day for Bottas.
Rating out of ten: 3
A point in a McLaren? Debuts don't get much better than that. Stoffel Vandoorne took full advantage of his late call-up to replace Fernando Alonso, and simply didn't put a foot wrong all weekend.
Last year's GP2 champion out-qualified his team-mate on Saturday and, after avoiding any incidents on the first lap, gave us an indication of his talent on the biggest stage. Vandoorne looked comfortable both defending and attacking in Bahrain, with his overtaking the most impressive, executing one fine move on Sergio Perez in the Force India.
The Belgian doesn't have a racing background - in fact he only started racing because his father, an architect, was designing a restaurant at a track - but it already looks like he'll go far in the sport.
Will Alonso return for China? Do McLaren even need him back? As Brundle puts it, the boy's "a bit special".
Rating out of ten: 9
And the rest...
Kevin Magnussen certainly had his work cut out in Bahrain, having to start from the pitlane after failing to stop for weighing during practice. But work he did, as the Dane made the most of the Renault engine to almost climb it into the points. He was even involved in some of the tastier scuffles of the evening.
One with Marcus Ericsson, where he sneakily tried to capitalise on Lewis Hamilton lapping the pair of them with an overtake, was a highlight.
It looks like straight-line speed will be the problem this year with Magnussen complaining that it was impossible to get past a Manor as it is "like a rocket" on the straights. He clearly has the driving skill to pull off a few manoeuvres, at least.
If we were lauding Jolyon Palmer in Australia, Magnussen deserves the plaudits too - even though the chaotic nature of the race suited him.
Rating out of ten: 7.5
Was Marcus Ericsson the unsung hero of the Bahrain GP? Defying Sauber's off-track woes amid fresh speculation about the depths of the team's financial plight, and overcoming a car that his team-mate apparently does not trust, the Swede brought home his C35 in 12th having fought for a points-scoring position for much of the race before being forced to ease off to save fuel. At the moment, Marcus is the Sauber driver making the most of a bad lot.
Rating out of ten: 8.5
Thirteenth place may not seem much to shout about, but it's not often - if ever - in their six years in F1 that the Manor team have finished ahead of four other classified finishers. So Pascal Wehrlein's Sunday performance was certainly highly commendable - especially when two of those cars he beat were similarly Mercedes-powered Force Indias.
The German has shown more than a few flashes of his undoubted talent in his two race weekends to date and his 16th-place on the grid was one of the best performances of qualifying. Finishing nearly half a minute ahead of team-mate Rio Haryanto at the chequered flag told its own story.
Rating out of ten: 9
The heady days of Felipe Nasr's first weeks in F1 this last year must seem like a long time ago now. Sauber's C35 is hardly the most driver-friendly machine, but Nasr is particularly struggling with it. In Bahrain, the Brazilian was first out in qualifying on Saturday and, although his race was better as he worked his way up to 14th, team-mate Marcus Ericsson was two places and nine seconds further up the road. "I did the best I could, but this result was the maximum today as I struggled again with the car." Updates can't come quickly enough.
Rating out of ten: 5.5
Sometimes F1 can be an unrewarding business. Having produced a stellar performance in qualifying to take eighth on the grid while his team-mate fell at the first hurdle, Nico Hulkenberg's Bahrain GP then effectively came to an end at the first corner of Sunday's race. Another victim of the carnage triggered by Bottas' mistake, Hulkenberg lost his front-wing and, forced to pit, was immediately put a lap down on the field. After that it was all about waiting for a Safety Car which never appeared. Sometimes, some days…
Rating out of ten: 7
An awful weekend for Sergio Perez from start to finish. It was always going to be difficult after failing to get out of Q1 due to Force India's lack of planning, but Hulkenberg's P8 on Saturday indicated they had the pace to at least move up the grid.
That just didn't happen for Perez, and though he found himself briefly in the points on a few occasions, his only highlights from the race were being passed. A poor start to the season for Force India.
Rating out of ten: 4
Well, at least Rio Haryanto finished his first Formula 1 race. Running at the back for the duration, it looked like the Indonesian hopeful was driving last year's Marussia.
Wehrlein proved the 2016 Manor is a solid runner, a contender for points and certainly not adrift from the Saubers and the rest. For that reason, Haryanto can't score highly.
Rating out of ten: 5
Did not finish: Sebastian Vettel, Jolyon Palmer, Jenson Button, Esteban Gutierrez, and Carlos Sainz
Don't miss the F1 Report: Bahrain GP on Wednesday night at 8.30pm when The Times' Kevin Eason and Ben Hunt of The Sun will join Natalie Pinkham to review events in the desert
