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George Russell of Mercedes claimed third on the grid, with Hamilton a somewhat disappointing ninth after his flying start to the season curtain-raiser. But Hamilton explained that while some tweaks to his set-up may have sacrificed a bit of single-lap speed for the Mercedes in qualifying, he is hoping they benefit him in today’s race. “It’s amazing for us to have a car that we can fight with,” Hamilton said. “It reignites the fire and the flame within us drivers.”
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Today’s grand prix kicks off a season of record-breaking length, with 24 events, scheduled to finish in Abu Dhabi in December. It is also sure to be memorable – emotional, even – being Hamilton’s final campaign with Toto Wolff’s marque before his switch to Ferrari next year.
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There has also been a smattering of controversy and drama off-track, of course, with Christian Horner cleared by an independent investigation into controlling behaviour on Wednesday, only for anonymous emails sent on Thursday to reveal alleged messages between the Red Bull boss and the staff member who made the complaint against him. Horner declined to comment yesterday, apart from saying the next step is to “go racing”. So that is what we’ll do.
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Lights out: 3pm GMT (6pm local).
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important events
Giles Richards
max verstappen Verstappen officially took pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix, the opening round of the new F1 season, but under floodlights and palm trees all eyes were still on Verstappen’s team boss Christian Horner and the Red Bull team this week. Ta.
Amidst all the turmoil and drama swirling around Red Bull, this is a useful reminder that as a sporting organization they remain admirably sharp against all the turmoil surrounding their core purpose of racing today. It was something.
Even if you are a Lewis fan,Max’s fan, or anyone else’s, please email me your thoughts on today’s race and the upcoming season.
through Mercedes F1 websiteLewis Hamilton’s words after qualifying: “The car feels really great, but we’ve only made a little bit of progress towards improving our race pace. I wasn’t that happy yesterday, so that’s what I focused on. I definitely sacrificed my single lap performance more than I expected too, but I hope it pays off tomorrow.”
Toto Wolff also agreed with this idea. On changes to the car that Mercedes hopes will benefit them in the race: “Yesterday we looked a little bit better than today with our one-lap performance. We tried to set up the car and hope we’re in a more sweet spot for tomorrow’s Grand Prix.
“The set-up changes we made certainly contributed to our poor performance today. At the beginning of qualifying I thought maybe we sacrificed too much for tomorrow, but in the end It wasn’t too bad. Third place is a good place to start, but I was still three tenths off pole position.”
Max Verstappen says: “Everyone is looking forward to the race…very excited. Usually our cars do well in the race. In qualifying the gap was very small, so I think it will be the same in the race. .
“I feel like the top eight or nine cars are pretty close. I think it’s going to be a really interesting race.”
Giles Richards
christian horner On Friday night, he was still fighting for his future in F1, but the uproar over his innocence continued to dominate the Bahrain Grand Prix agenda following complaints about his behavior from female Red Bull employees. He continued to insist that he had no intention of going anywhere.
preamble
The developments leading up to the season-opening Grand Prix were more dramatic than usual. Mercedes showed surprisingly formidable pace in Thursday’s opening practice session, with Lewis Hamilton setting the fastest time in the team’s new car design. However, Friday’s qualifying seemed to quickly restore order with Red Bull and Max Verstappen, with the world champion taking pole position by two-hundredths of a second over Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
Mercedes’ George Russell took third on the grid, while Hamilton finished a somewhat disappointing ninth after a flying start in the season opener. However, Hamilton explained that some tweaks to the set-up may have cost Mercedes a bit of lap speed in qualifying, but he hopes it will be a positive in today’s race. . “It’s great for us to have a car that can compete,” Hamilton said. “It reignites the fire and flame within us drivers.”
Today’s Grand Prix begins a record-length season with 24 events and is scheduled to conclude in Abu Dhabi in December. It will also be Hamilton’s last campaign with Toto Wolff’s brand before he moves to Ferrari next year, so it is sure to be an emotional, even memorable one.
There was, of course, some controversy and some drama that went off the rails, with Christian Horner acquitted on Wednesday by an independent investigation into regulation, but on Thursday, messages exchanged between Red Bull bosses and staff An anonymous email clarifying the suspicion was simply sent. member who filed a complaint against him. Horner declined to comment yesterday other than to say the next step was to “go racing.” That’s what we do.
Off: 3pm GMT (6pm local time).
