2017 round 3: Bahrain comments thread

Couldn't be bothered this time - does the lack of response suggest that it wasn't a thriller?

D'oh - thinking (barely) of China!

I again really enjoyed the Grand Prix. I wasn’t ready to immediately slate 2017 F1 after Melbourne, that was very condition and circuit-specific as to why it was stale. I think we’ve seen a few good races.


Yet again like in Melbourne, Mercedes made some puzzling strategy calls yesterday. With Bottas driving around with excessively high tyre pressures due to a malfunctioning generator, Vettel was in hot pursuit and almost passed the Mercedes on the pit straight. This was surely the time to pit Bottas to not only get him on tyres with correct pressures, but to avert the potential of a Ferrari undercut with Vettel. That was exactly what happened. But unlike in Australia when Mercedes pitted Hamilton and put him out in traffic, Ferrari cleverly saw a gap to slot Vettel into to run fast laptimes in clean air. Plus, the tyre offset and circuit design meant that Vettel could go faster than both Merc’s, even when negotiating cars which hadn’t yet pitted. Despite Pirelli’s assurance that the 2017 tyres wouldn’t need conserving to a great degree, Bahrain was more like a typical Pirelli race – two optimum compounds with definite drop-off – thus making the undercut a threat.


I’m not sure what Mercedes were gaining by keeping the Bottas out there struggling with Hamilton sitting behind in turbulent air, whilst Vettel closed in on fresh tyres. Mercedes should have helped Bottas by pitting him early, allowing Hamilton to continue. Perhaps that would have confused Ferrari by Bottas and Hamilton going in two different directions. In fact, Mercedes were helped by the Safety Car. It wiped out any advantage that Vettel had gained on new tyres, but thankfully for Vettel, he managed to retain the lead because he had pulled that gap before the Safety Car got deployed.


Nobody can doubt the human and technical resource that Mercedes utilise to make such decisions. However, 2017 is evidently placing the team under new pressures and dilemmas. This isn’t a private dual between their drivers anymore. From tyre usage, undercut to the overcut, Mercedes can’t be cautious and worry about what happened in a previous event. Ferrari hasn’t been particularly aggressive with their race strategies, but appropriate and proactive. Ferrari’s only problem might be Raikkonen, because he evidently can’t perform the same job for Ferrari as Bottas can for Mercedes.


Despite Bottas’ high tyre pressures in the opening stint, he didn’t really have the pace or technique to keep his rear tyres alive whilst still making laptime. This is why I say the likes of Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso are gold-star drivers. It’s not about the car, it’s about how they use that car – just ask Barrichello, Webber, Kovalainen etc. Dazzling Q3 laps, wet-weather speed, tyre conservation and overtaking – they have it all with great consistency. When you get to a top team, this must get amplified to 11. Hearing Bottas’ puzzled nature about his own race pace after the first pitstop concerns me, and his poor drive in Shanghai. Someone like Hamilton will be relentless every week, and he needs to put a whole weekend together. I’m not saying it is easy; this is why I reference only a few really great active drivers (based upon previous performances). But Bottas needs to win a few races very soon to avoid becoming Hamilton’s number 2, and another Barrichello.