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Lights went out on the 2021 season over the weekend in Bahrain – but the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Lights went out on the 2021 Formula One season this past weekend as round one kicked off at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Prior to Sunday’s race it was 105 days since fans were last treated to racing action – this time out there were new coloured racing cars, rebranded teams and exciting changes in the paddock.
This didn’t come with monumental change come race time, however. As predicted, the silver arrows were as dominant as ever, with Lewis Hamilton clocking up his 96th career win.
Max Verstappen started off his 2021 campaign strong, bagging pole position. Come race time he put it all on the line, making a late move on Hamilton claiming the lead – the move unfortunately deemed illegal. He finished the race in a very respectable second position, sandwiching himself between both Mercedes cars.
We picked McLaren as one to watch, and while Ricciardo lacked pace, finishing in seventh, Lando Norris was strong all weekend. He closed out his weekend in fourth place.
Haas wasn’t so lucky with Nikita Mazepin crashing out on the first lap and Mick Schumacher spinning off early. Schumacher finished at the back of the grid behind Aston Martin Racing’s Sebastian Vettel.
Ferrari didn’t end its weekend as far down the timesheets as expected with young-gun Charles Leclerc ending up in sixth, and new teammate Carlos Sainz not too much further down in eighth.
F1 now begins its European journey heading to Italy for the next round in April. Practice kicks off on the 30th, with race day on May 2.
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