Verstappen’s chance of redemption

It was a disappointing start to his title🎀 defence in Bahrain for Max Verstappen after he was forced to retir🐼e with three laps to go.

A suspected fuel ꦚpump problem was the reason for his early retirement which also affected Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, spinning the Mexican out of the grand prix on the final lap.

Up🃏 until that point, Verstappen did his best to contend for the victory against the quicker Ferrari, overtaking Charles Leclerc on three separate ocꦓcasions before being re-overtaken again.

While it was🅘n’t an ideal start to the season, Red Bull has still started the season competitively and will be confident of a🌠 strong performance in Jeddah.

The RB18’s straight-line speed performance was impressive in Bahrain and ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚwith engine power being i♉mportant in Saudi Arabia due to the long straights, Red Bull will be fancying its chances.

Verstappen will also be eyeing redemption.

The Dutchman will be hoping to get his season back on track as he ꦡalready trails Le🔜clerc by 26 points in the title race.

It’s also been three months since the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ꦓand the scene of Verstappen’s breathtaking qualifying lap which unfortunately ended up in the barriers a𒁃t the final corner.

Without that mistake, Verstappen’s lap would have gone down as one of the besℱt in re꧃cent F1 history.

He’ll have a point to prove this weekend as he looks to right the wrongs of the first race in Bahrain and last year’s dramat🏅ic first outing in Saudi Arabia.

A test of Ferrari’s title credentials 

Ferrari returned to the top step of the🌸 F1 podium in Bahrain for theꦉ first time since 2019 as Leclerc won ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz.

It has been a long time coming for F1’sꦫ most successful constructor, enduring its worst season in over 40 years in 2020.

2021 was a positive step forward🀅 for Ferrari, finishing third in the constructors’ championship but that grand prix victory still alluded it.

After a positive pre-season campaign, Ferrari’s pace seems to be genuine and it remains the ౠearly favourite in the ꧑opening phase of the season.

With the development rate 🔯of this new generation of cars expected to be rapid, Ferrari will need to make the most of its current advantage as Red Bull improves its reliability, while 🙈Mercedes tries to get on top of its own issues.

This weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is an ea🦋rly test to see whether Ferrari’s title credentials are genuine or if Bahrain was potentially a one-off given its advantage over Red Bull and Mercedes.

Will Mercedes join the lead fight?

It was damage limi🐠tation for the reigning constructors’ championships as it came away with a third and fourth in the season-opener.

Given its poor pace in testing and Friday practice, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was understandably satisfied with the big points haul in Bahrain but in terms of pure pace, it lacked at least half a second to Ferrari and Red Bull🥀.

Porpoising has dominated the F1 media headlines since the start of pre-season testing in February and it is understood to be the main cause of 💛the W13’s lack of competitiveness.

Even with an entirely different track configuration and s𓄧moother track surface, Hamilton doubts💎 Mercedes will be in a better position to challenge for victory this weekend.

“No, I don't think so,” Hamilton said when asked if Mercedes will go better this weekend. “But of course, we've learned a lot from this week. Their [Ferrari] straight-line speed as well as the Bulls were very q༺uick in a straight line and their performance through corners is quite a bit different to us. 

“So the car was very hard to drive but it could always be worse. So I’m hoping for the next race we manage to find some improvements but it's a f🌺undamental issue that’s going to take a little bit longer I think to fix.”

Mercedes will no doubt turn it around but it's probably too soon to expect either Hamilton or George Russell to win on pure perf🥀ormance.

More joy for Haas?

Haas enjoyed its best weekend since 2018 as Kevin Magnussen finished a remarkable fifth inಌ Bahra🐟in.

The American outfit’s decision to write off last year in a bid to focus on F1’s new generation o🤪f cars has proved to be a masterstroke as it led the midfield pack.

Haas has benefitted from Ferrari’s significant power unit upgrade so it was nꦺo surprise to see Alfa Romeo also up there in the hands of Valtteri Bottas.

Both Haas and Alfa Romeo were the best of the rest behind the top𒅌 three teams, and they will be hoping to continue that trend at Jeddah.

Behind them, Alpine and AlphaTauri will be hoping to find a couple of tenths to move them ahead of the aforementioned Ferrari-♐powered teams, while McLaren and Ast𝓀on Martin will be needing a miracle based on their disappointing performances on Sunday.

Potential for chaos under the lights 

With F1’s regulations for the year making the ca🏅rs even heavier and reducing visibiliಌty with the introduction of wider tyres, we could be set another chaotic Saudi Arabian GP this weekend. 

The inaugural race in Jeddah was a memorable one with two red flag stoppages and an acཧtion-packed duel beಞtween the two title contenders. 

Ahead of the season, many drivers already expressed concerns about visibility at street circuits with the new rule🃏s set for another test this weekend.

Verstappen commented: “With the tyres as well, they’re quite a bit bigger, so visibility is a bit different. I think on a track like [Barcelona] thisꦯ is less of a problem. When you go to street circuits, it’s going to be a little bit more challenging.”

Fernando Alonso also believes it will be “a new challenge for everyon🔯e”⛄.

“In some of the street circuits, maybe it’s a challenge because we don’t have the same vision from the cockpit, and the front tyres are bigger and you have that thing on top ꦏof them. We’ll see. I think it’s a new challenge for everyone.”

F1 could be set for🐼 another dramatic race under the lights.