FP1 in Bahrain raised a ton of hope among F1 fans that this year might be more competitive than last. FP2 and FP3 continued to raise hope, but then the inevitable happened. Red Bull was only a top three fastest in one of the three practice sessions, but Verstappen got pole in qualifying and put in an even bigger margin of victory than he did last year as Red Bull finished 1-2 and left with maximum points.
There were plenty of big stories out of the race weekend including the struggles of Alpine, qualifying 19 and 20. They finished 17 and 18, with the only two drivers behind them being Valtteri Bottas who was in a lap one collision that saw him drive the rest of the way with a damaged front wing, and Logan Sargeant who had mechanical issues and had to pull off the track for nearly a minute before switching out his steering wheel.
RB went downhill all weekend after Daniel Ricciardo was fastest in FP1 and Yuki Tsunoda was third fastest in that session. They qualified 14th and 11th respectively but the focus was late in the race when Tsunoda was instructed to give up position to Ricciardo but the move was argued and delayed quite some time, creating clear frustration from both parties.
Only five teams scored points, with Red Bull going 1-2 followed by the Ferrari’s finishing 3 and 4. Mercedes and McClaren are in an early battle as George Russell finished just ahead of Lando Norris, who was just ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who was just ahead of Oscar Piastri. The final two points spots went to the Aston Martins.
Jeddah is a high speed tight track that is sure to provide plenty of action, although it seems clear already Max Vestappen is a class all his own yet again, and the rest of the pack will battle behind him.
F2 and F1 Academy will serve as support races this weekend, just as F2 and F3 did a week ago.
F3 saw 16-year-old Arvid Lindblad win the sprint race and Luke Browning take home the featured race. Meanwhile, the F2 weekend was dominated by Zane Maloney, as he won both the sprint and featured races. He should see plenty of competition this weekend though, especially from Gabriel Bortoletto, who won pole position but made contact Isack Hadjar and was given a a 10 second penalty as Hadjar and Enzo Fittipaldi, who had the fastest lap in the sprint, both retired on lap one.
F1 Academy is in it’s second season, and this year we will see F1 liveries on the track. Amna Al Qubaisi, Hamda Al Qubaisi, Abbi Pulling, and Bianca Bustamante headline the field as they all return for another season. One name that may standout for facing fans is Lia Block. Block is the daughter of legendary late American rally driver, Ken Block. Lia will be driving for ART in the Williams livery car.
The Stain Sports 