Motorsport Monday

Let’s Talk Sport loves Mondays, because every Monday is Motorsport Monday! It’s been a comparatively quiet weekend in the world of motorsport, apart from a particularly extraordinary Bahrain GP.

Formula 1

F1 has blown away all the naysayers, with an epic Bahrain Grand Prix. Typically the race was a Mercedes walkover, but it was by no means dull.

As the race began pole sitter Nico Rosberg had a somewhat tardy start, with his team mate Lewis Hamilton drawing alongside into the first corner. Their battle continued all the way up to turn 3, much to the delight of everyone watching. Hamilton managed to come out on top, but it was a closely fought race. There were no first corner accidents to

speak of, but towards the end of the first lap Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne was sent into a spin by one of the Lotus’. Vergne accused the Lotus driver of ‘trying to kill him’ labelling the incident as ‘absolutely mental’. The damage caused him to retire just a few laps later.

Behind the Mercedes a brilliant fight for the last 8 points scoring places was under way, with Force India, Williams, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari in the mix. Force India was the eventual winner, with their cars running 3rd and 4th for a good while. Eventually Nico Hulkenberg had to give up his 4th place to a fast moving Daniel Ricciardo, as his tyres were finished.

Towards the end of the race the safety car was brought out, after a terrible looking crash between the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez and the Lotus of Pastor Maldonado. Gutierrez was following the racing line as Maldonado came out of the pits, and as he rounded the corner he was struck by the Lotus. The Sauber flipped over sideways, and the rear tyre came into contact with the ground, spinning the Sauber upside down and out of the race.

The safety car came in with 10 laps to go, and that meant the race was on. The Mercedes resumed their battle, with Hamilton somehow holding of Rosberg, despite being on the slower tyre. The fuel saved behind the safety car allowed all the cars to go flat out for the last 10 laps, which highlighted the true pace of the Mercedes. Even whilst battling each other, the Silver Arrows were still at least 2 seconds faster than any other car. Naturally it was a Mercedes 1-2, but 3rd place honours belonged to Sergio Perez and his Force India. This was his 4th F1 podium, and after a disappointing 2013 he was more than happy with the result.

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