The Formula 1 lessons from Bahrain: Ferrari slides into a medium catastrophe

Max Verstappen parked his winning car on a golden stage, the roaring fireworks in his honor lit up the desert night.

The Formula 1 lessons from Bahrain: Ferrari slides into a medium catastrophe

Max Verstappen parked his winning car on a golden stage, the roaring fireworks in his honor lit up the desert night. A few meters away from the almost routinely celebrating Formula 1 world champion, "magician" Fernando Alonso was more happy than he had been for a long time: The Spaniard inherited an Aston Martin from the retired Sebastian Vettel, which has what it takes to get higher honors - and this with third place when Verstappen won in Bahrain in front of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. Our lessons from the season opener in the desert.

The new Red Bull shocks the competition: New year, old class: Red Bull has apparently provided world champion Max Verstappen with the best car again. The first of 23 races has only just taken place, and a completely different type of track with numerous high-speed corners awaits in Saudi Arabia in just two weeks. But the competition is already giving in. Mercedes driver George Russell said, unnerved, that the Bulls would win "every race" this year.

Aston Martin did everything right: Verstappen, however, carefully monitors what is happening at Aston Martin. As soon as Sebastian Vettel gave up and retired from Formula 1, the Silverstone plant made a big splash. Vettel's successor Fernando Alonso, at 41 the senior in the field, is looking forward to a very strong overall package like a wild youngster. Third place in Bahrain was fully deserved. If the race had gone better, the ex-world champion, who has been waiting for a win since May 2013, would have put pressure on at least Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull. The rich and ambitious team owner Lawrence Stroll wants to get to the top with Aston Martin, he recruited top engineers, especially from Mercedes and Red Bull - it seems to have been worth it.

Ferrari surprises with big problems: At the Scuderia, the new year began with a medium-sized catastrophe. Before the race, top driver Charles Leclerc had his battery changed, and according to an initial analysis, the engine went on strike in the Grand Prix. Zero points for the great hopeful, while team-mate Carlos Sainz was initially unable to keep up with the Monegasque and in the end also had to let Alonso pass. The new SF-23 has shortcomings that cannot be explained away. Even if Ferrari is still avoiding the topic.

Mercedes is already capitulating: the problems at Mercedes are no longer disputed. Head of Motorsport Toto Wolff even questioned the entire concept of the W14. The message: A team that has been the best for eight years must not lag behind the top for the second year in a row. The stupid thing: Because Aston Martin seems so strong, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell currently have to fear third place. A change of course in the concept can be the solution, Wolff at least suggested a serious discussion about it. However, steps backwards would be logical in the short and medium term before, ideally, there is a noticeable improvement in the long term. If you look at the ranking, Red Bull is on a different planet. Aston Martin is incredibly strong, the second fastest car on the track. With us: epidemic," admitted Wolff.

Nico Hülkenberg is unlucky: Nico Hülkenberg seemed electrified, he was beaming. Great practice result, then a top qualifying with tenth place on the grid. And then a tiny contact of his front wing with Alpine driver Esteban Ocon's car on the first lap destroyed the Haas driver's comeback. Hülkenberg chased after the field, changing wings too late was also unnecessary and cost a lot of time overall. In the end, Hülkenberg also received time penalties for leaving the track too often, but that didn't change anything in the frustrating 15th place. "It was a difficult race, actually it was more or less over from the first lap," said Hulkenberg after his 182nd Grand Prix start. "In the end we went for the Golden Pineapple, not close to the points. I used the race to experiment a bit."

Esteban Ocon experienced a total failure: The driver in the worst mood was Ocon, and not because of the contact with Hülkenberg. The Frenchman experienced an almost surreal punishment fireworks. It started when, according to the FIA ​​referees, he was not correctly positioned in the starting box - five seconds. He did this before his first scheduled pit stop. However, the first mechanic touched his car after just 4.6 seconds. Ocon received another ten seconds for this offense. And when trying to serve this penalty properly, the 26-year-old was in the pit lane at 80.1 instead of 80 km/h - which added another five seconds. The race was a total failure for him, after 41 of 57 laps Ocon parked his Alpine.