Martin Brandl on the Bahrain Grand Prix results

      This year's Bahrain Grand Prix was an interesting race in its own way, and since Oscar Piastri clearly dominated and was out of reach of his rivals, it was logical that Martin Brandl, a Sky Sports commentator, analyzing the events of last weekend, called the Australian racer one of the main contenders for the title.

      Bahrain has once again given us a great race, and now Oscar Piastri can be considered a potential favorite for this year's championship. He almost regained the gap in the individual standings that had formed after his home Grand Prix in Melbourne, where the Australian was unlucky: he made an unplanned excursion to the side of the road and then took quite a long time to get on the track from the wet lawn.

      But he continues to demonstrate enviable speed, and he does it calmly and confidently. From the outside, it seems that Oscar's pulse is not speeding up at all. I remember some other racers who were very good at controlling their emotions, for example, one of them was Alain Prost, nicknamed "Professor".

      McLaren's main shareholders are from Bahrain, and the team has finally won this Grand Prix, which took it 21 years. Previously, it was thought that the stages in Sakhir were not very interesting, but when the weekend schedule changed and the Grand Prix began to be held in the evening in the spotlight, which coincided with the transition to hybrid power plants, everything became different.

      Surprisingly, the asphalt surface there has not changed since 2004, and it does not look like a billiard table at all, and the bumps on it give the track a special character, which is also not bad. In addition, the abrasive asphalt, which can withstand the effects of extreme heat and sandstorms, becomes a real torture for tires, and this creates conditions for a variety of tactical schemes.

      This means that all three tires are used, and the teams have all sorts of ideas about how to use these tires. Another factor that complicated the task for everyone was the appearance of a safety car on lap 32 of the race – this was due to the fact that the wreckage from Carlos Sainz's damaged Williams had to be removed from the track.

      The race management made the right decision to release the safety car, because the debris was lying very close to the race track and at the same time quite far from the curb, and even the VSC (virtual safety car) mode would not be enough for the marshals to safely remove them.

      Norris was supposed to finish second.

      Lando Norris had difficulty qualifying, so he started the race from 6th position, but he started well and was third after the first three turns. But the problem is that he overdid it before the start, and while taking up a position on the grid, he drove too far ahead, for which he received a 5-second penalty, which he served at the first pit stop.

      Sometimes, from the window of the commentary booth, I notice that the riders stop almost a meter before their position, because it is simply not visible from the cockpit, although there is also a special yellow line on the asphalt that helps the rider navigate.

      At the restart, when the safety car left the track, Lando tried to wedge himself between the Ferraris of Charles Leclair and Lewis Hamilton in the first corner, but he failed. The need to overtake two red cars had a noticeable effect on his race, but even with that in mind, McLaren had such a pace that Norris still had to finish second.

      However, George Russell had a different opinion about this, although his situation was complicated by problems with the brakes and the electrical system on his Mercedes, but he coped with everything perfectly. In addition, he also got off to a great start, and this race can be confidently attributed to his best performances in Formula 1.

      Moreover, he distinguished himself very timely, because he will have to negotiate a contract with Mercedes for 2026 and subsequent years, especially against the background of rumors that Max Verstappen is going to look for a new job.

      Piastri clearly dominated, Russell and Norris took the second and third steps of the podium, and the Ferrari drivers finished 4th and 5th. Leclair and Hamilton were pleased with how the upgraded underbody was working on the SF-25, but even though the safety car had gathered the peloton, Charles finished the race only 20 seconds later. after the winner, and Lewis after 28.

      It is worth noting that the Scuderia extended the first leg and made pit stops only on lap 17, after which both Ferrari drivers simply flew along the track until a safety car pulled onto it. In order for the Italian team to catch up with the leaders, Maranello must make very serious efforts, and there is no doubt that they have some plans, but it is not so easy to successfully implement them.

      The task is complicated by the fact that the races are held in a row, while it is necessary to take into account budget constraints and at the same time throw the main forces into preparing for 2026. In general, it is quite difficult to quickly regain the gap these days.

      There is a need for a serious conversation at Red Bull.

      Even Verstappen's talents were not enough to save Red Bull that hot weekend. It seemed that the car had obvious handling problems: during all the sessions, it was clear that it was difficult for Max to slow down at key braking points and take turns.

      He drove an infinite number of laps behind Pierre Gasly's Alpine, but at the end of the race he was still able to beat him and finish in a distant 6th place. Hitches at pit stops and failures in the operation of Red Bull equipment also did not contribute to the cause.

      Yuki Tsunoda scored his first points behind the wheel of a Red Bull Racing car: he was 9th in Bahrain, but considering that just a week ago this team won the Japanese Grand Prix, everything looked pretty strange. The team probably understands this too, and serious conversations have already begun there.

      I expected Williams to have a confident weekend, and at first it seemed that everything was going well for the team, especially considering that Carlos Sainz started in the top ten. But he immediately lost several positions, and then there was a hard contact with Tsunoda's car, besides, at the restart, Carlos pushed Kimi Antonelli off the track. As a result, he was not only fined, but also dropped out of the race altogether.

      Alex Albon, his teammate, finished 12th because the points remaining from the top teams were credited to the Haas drivers: Esteban Ocon finished 8th, and Oliver Berman took 10th place. The young Briton had a great race, although he started last.

      Haas F1, a team with relatively modest capabilities, now ranks 5th in the Constructors' Championship, ahead of Aston Martin, which will continue to have very serious problems. It must be painful and insulting for Fernando Alonso, because he still hasn't scored a single point.

      There was a lot of contact between the cars during the race, so the stewards had a lot of work to do to issue fines. In the end, Nico Hulkenberg had to be disqualified because the control bar on his Sauber was wearing out more than allowed by the rules.  

      The respite between the two races will be very short, and in a few days we will have a very fast track in Jeddah.