Comments from Formula One commercial rights owner Bernie Ecclestone as well as officials from Red Bull Racing and Ferrari in the build-up to Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix could have led spectators to believe that the sport’s demise was close at hand.
The engines are too quiet. The cars are too slow. The fuel regulations are making the drivers have to cruise too much to conserve fuel. All have been blamed for the alleged problems in the sport.
But the Mercedes-GP drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg demonstrated F1 is alive and well last night in Sakhir as they put on a thrilling tussle at the front.
Hamilton took the victory, but Rosberg summed up the emotions of most in F1 when he said on his slowing down lap on the way back to the pits “No one can tell me that this sport is boring”.
Hamilton’s triumph came seven days after he had prevailed in Malaysia and it is the first time since 2010 that he has won back-to-back races.
Rosberg pushed him hard though, as the Mercedes cars proved to be the class of the field, often circulating more than a second a lap faster than anyone else on track.
Rosberg had started on pole position, but it was Hamilton who got the better start and led the opening laps.
But Rosberg looked the quicker man and twice went down the inside of his teammate at Turn 1, but was unable to make the move stick.
Hamilton’s decision to stay on the soft tyres at the first set of pit stops had looked as if it would win him the race as Rosberg fell almost 10 seconds adrift as he took on the harder medium compound.
But the race was transformed when an ill-judged passing move by Pastor Maldonado’s Lotus saw him spear into Esteban Gutierrez on Lap 39, flipping the Sauber over, and bringing out the safety car.
Both Mercedes men pitted with the track under full caution, but with Hamilton now on the medium tyre and Rosberg on the soft, with F1 regulations dictating drivers must use both compound during the race.
With more grip, Rosberg pushed Hamilton hard, briefly getting ahead after under braking into Turn 1, but again was unable to keep Hamilton behind him on the run out of the corner.
Hamilton held on to claim the 24th win of his career, and the 2008 world champion said: “It was exciting. Nico drove fantastically well, very fair, and it was very hard to keep him behind. I was on the knife edge the whole time.”
Rosberg acknowledged Hamilton had proven too good in defence.
“I was quicker today, which I was pleased about. I tried to overtake at the end of first stint but couldn’t make it stick,” he said.
“I had a shot again at the end with the option [soft tyre], it was a good lap again, but unfortunately I couldn’t make it happen. He did a great job defending.”
Rosberg remains at the top of the championship standings despite being beaten by his teammate, though Hamilton is now only 11 points adrift.
Sergio Perez picked up his first podium since the Italian Grand Prix in 2012 as he finished an impressive third for Force India, the Mexican holding off a late charge from Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull Racing.
The second Force India of Nico Hulkenberg was fifth, with world champion Sebastian Vettel completing the top six, ahead of the two Williams cars of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
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