Sakhir GP: Sensational win for Perez
Sergio Perez’s F1 future may be uncertain – but whatever happens, the Mexican is now an F1 winner, after he benefitted from a nightmare Sakhir Grand Prix for Mercedes to claim his first ever Formula 1 victory, as Renault’s Esteban Ocon and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll completed the podium on a wild evening in Bahrain.
Heartbreak for George at Sakhir
It had initially looked as though George Russell was set to pull off an incredible maiden victory on his first outing for Mercedes. He aced the start to lead pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas for the majority of the Grand Prix. But Mercedes gave Russell the wrong tyres when he was pitted under a Safety Car. He thus had to pit again to correct the error. However, Russell then suffered a puncture that left him P9 at the flag for what was at least his first ever F1 points finish.
Perez deserves to be on the F1 grid
Perez had to pit at the end of Lap 1. The crash dropped him to the last place. That crash eliminated Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, and was due to be investigated after the race.
But an incredible turn of pace from the Mexican allowed him to benefit from Mercedes’ pit error – which also left Valtteri Bottas on old hard tyres, the Finn coming home P8 – to sensationally claim his and Racing Point’s first ever victory, a week after an MGU-K failure had robbed him of a podium.
Redemption for OCON
After a difficult return to F1, Renault’s Ocon claimed his first ever podium finish in the sport. Stroll held off a charging Carlos Sainz to take his second rostrum of the year. The McLaren driver came P4 and Daniel Ricciardo P5.
Alex Albon was P6 in the sole surviving Red Bull, ahead of the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat.
The Mercedes pair of Bottas and Russell in their P8 and P9 positions led home the second McLaren of Lando Norris, who took the final point of what was a stunning evening in Sakhir.
Sakhir GP final race classification
