13/04/2025
NEWS STORY
Pitpass, unlike most, does not believe that Lando Norris is a world champion in the making.
While we can understand his despair after qualifying the fact is that it is something we have seen too often over the last couple of years.
While the Briton plays to the gallery his teammate just gets on with it, learning from every (rare) mistake as he hones his craft.
Unlike Norris, Oscar Piastri has the killer instinct, that trait that sorts world champions apart from mere racers.
It's not just the on track stuff either, it is all the rest of it.
While we are aware that there is an 'admin' behind Norris' social media account, there's no such stand-in for the numerous pouty pictures and giggling videos.
Think back, had social media been around, do you believe that the sport's legends would have given it the time of day, they would have seen it as a needless distraction from the job in hand, hat of being the best.
So, while we expect Norris to give a good account of himself today and throughout the season we do not expect to see him winning the title and in time we feel that his employers will come around to a similar way of thinking.
As for today, at the very least we can expect an improvement on last weekend's procession. That long, long run to the opening corner should allow for some reshuffling while the complex of corners that follows should also help to mix things up.
Put it like this, had he qualified on pole yesterday Max Verstappen wouldn't have been able to do today what he did last week.
As a result of those pathetic penalties, Charles Leclerc now starts alongside Piastri, with Russell next ahead of Gasly, Antonelli, Norris, Verstappen, Sainz and Hamilton, with Tsunoda, Doohan, Hadjar and Alonso to keep them company.
Over the course of the weekend we have seen numerous mistakes due to over zealousness, lack of grip, the gusting winds and various other reasons, while once track limits were imposed in qualifying that too took a toll. Consequently this will need to be taken into account.
In terms of strategy, the picture is more complex than it might seem at first glance.
"The first points is that all three tyre compounds can come into play and although a one-stop is clearly slower on paper, it cannot be ruled out completely, especially as eight drivers have one new set of each of the hard and medium. This group might consider starting on the mediums and extending the first stint as much as possible, before switching to the hards.
If there is excessive degradation in the closing stages of the race then, switching to softs, even new ones for those who did not take part in all three qualifying sessions, could offer a performance advantage, with no need for further stops.
For a two-stop strategy, on paper the fastest route involves using two sets of mediums and one of hards, with pit stop windows between laps 14 and 20 and then again between laps 34 and 40.
Those who want to make the most of having extra grip from the soft for the start will need to pit earlier, between laps 10 and 16 to make the most of the potential undercut advantage, which is very effective at this track. Finally, there's the option to use all three compounds, for example for those who only have one new set each of the hard and medium available."
The pitlane opens and Hulkenberg leads the way, followed by Bortoleto, Hamilton, Sainz and Norris.
Air temperature is 28 degrees C, while the track temperature is 34 degrees.
Last to take their places on the grid are Antonelli, Leclerc and Russell.
"Lando will be the interesting one," says Russell, "I'm confident he is going to come back through and be in our race at some point.
"We've only got one hard and one medium, so we will definitely be on the soft at some point."
"A 1-2 is the plan," says Zak Brown, "but we will have to execute well.
"It's going to be a fun race," he adds. "Norris needs a good start, picking off a car or two on the first lap would be good.
"With Lando, don't overthink it, relax, there is a reason you are the championship leader. Just do what you do best."
Most are starting on softs bar Leclerc, Hamilton, Alonso, Lawson and Bortoleto who are on mediums. Leclerc, Hamilton, Doohan, Hadjar, Alonso, Ocon, Albon, Hulkenberg, Lawson, Bortoleto, Stroll and Bearman are all on fresh rubber.
Surprising that so many have opted for an aggressive opening stint.
They head off on the formation lap. All get away cleanly.
By the time Bearman gets away, Piastri is already at Turn 9.
The grid forms.
They're away. Great start from Piastri, while Russell is up alongside Leclerc on the run to Turn 1.
Into Turn 1, Piastri leads while Russell locks-up nearly hitting Piastri while Norris and Leclerc are side-by-side following a storming start from the championship leader.
Norris goes around the outside of Leclerc in Turn 4 he is up to 3rd while Antonelli has run wide battling Sainz and dropped to 7th and Tsunoda is all over Hamilton as they battle for ninth.
Starting from the very back, Bearman had a particularly impressive start, scything his way through the field.
At the end of Lap 1, it's: Piastri, Russell, Norris, Leclerc, Gasly, Sainz, Antonelli, Verstappen, Hamilton and Tsunoda. At the back, Bortoleto passes his teammate for 19th, while Bearman, is up to 15th.
At the start of Lap 3, Albon passes Alonso for 13th as they head into Turn 1.
Oh, oh, Norris has been noted for a false start, being out of position.
After 3 laps, Piastri is 1.4s clear of Russell, while Leclerc has dropped 1.2s behind Norris.
"Grip is quite poor on this tyre," reports (medium-shod) Hamilton.
Antonelli makes a brave, no-nonsense move on Sainz to claim sixth while Verstappen also nails the Spaniard. "He didn't leave me a car's width," claims Verstappen.
Meanwhile, it was Verstappen who drew attention to the fact that Norris was out of position on the grid.
Hulkenberg pits at the end of Lap 5. Next time around Hadjar pits.
"Leclerc is struggling a lot with the medium," reports Gasly.
Norris gets a 5s penalty for a false start, the news passed on to the driver for whom it could have been worse.
"These brakes are so inconsistent, it's so annoying," complains Leclerc.
Sainz is passed by Hamilton as Verstappen also moves in. The Dutchman nails the Williams driver, who is subsequently passed by Tsunoda also.
Doohan pits at the end of Lap 9.
"The softs are starting to struggle," Hamilton is advised.
Verstappen, Gasly and Norris all pit at the end of Lap 10, Norris opting to serve his penalty in the process.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Manama here.
A strange stop for Verstappen, who lost time but it is unclear why. He has rejoined in 17th while Norris is 13th. "****, man," exclaims the four-time world champion.
Tsunoda pits and rejoins in 19th.
As Antonelli pits at the end of Lap 12, Piastri leads by 3.8s. Stroll also pits.
Gasly makes short work of Ocon then Bortoleto to claim 11th.
"Yellow was flashing man, oh my God," says Tsunoda as he also experiences a strange pit stop.
Russell pits at the end of Lap 13, as does Bortoleto. Russell rejoins in 7th, ahead of Norris.
Piastri leads Leclerc, Hamilton, Sainz, Albon and Bearman, all of whom have to stop.
Piastri pits at the end of Lap 14, as do Sainz and Bearman.
Piastri rejoins in third, Sainz in fifteenth.
This leaves Leclerc leading his Ferrari teammate.
"At the moment we're still on Plan B for Bravo," Leclerc is told.
As Sainz passes Hulkenberg for 15, his Williams teammate and Alonso both pit.
Antonelli is hard on the heels of Verstappen.
Bearman has been noted for an unsafe release.
Leclerc is told to pit but he's not happy. He and his teammate both pit, rejoining in 5th and 11th, both on fresh mediums.
"Mater, no grip at all," complains Verstappen, as Leclerc makes short work on Gasly.
Hamilton passes Tsunoda and Sainz passes Hadjar.
Antonelli continues to harry Verstappen. The youngster eventually nails the struggling Dutchman with a cheeky move in Turn 4, which gets loud applause in the Mercedes garage.
Hamilton posts a new fastest lap (36.798) as Verstappen complains that "everything is overheating".
Bearman nails Hadjar for 13th, as Hamilton leaves Verstappen for dust.
"I can't even brake anymore," says Verstappen, "it's ridiculous." "OK, Max," comes the world weary reply.
Hadjar and Antonelli are both shown the black and white for exceeding track limits.
Leclerc is within DRS range of Norris.
As Leclerc continues to hound Norris, Hamilton closes on Antonelli.
Both succeed in their respective missions, Leclerc claims third while Hamilton is up to seventh.
Having found his rhythm, Hamilton passes Ocon for sixth, as Leclerc remains 1.5s down on Russell.
Despite being 6s clear of his closes rival, Piastri has his time deleted for running wide in Turn 11.
Verstappen pits at the end of Lap 26. However, again there's an issue, this time with the front-right. He rejoins in 20th - yes, 20th!!! - on fresh mediums.
"Pace is good, Leclerc just has fresher tyres," Norris is told. "Stay with 'em, looking good."
Ocon and Antonelli both pit at the end of Lap 27. Rejoining in 14th and 15th, however it's a nightmare for Antonelli, now on softs, who is immediately passed by Stroll while Lawson also tried his luck.
Next time around the Alpine pair pit, as does Hadjar.
"Why is my right red light on, I can't turn it off," asks Norris.
Verstappen posts a new fastest lap (36.167).
There is some debris on the track in Turns 2 and 4 which drivers are having to avoid. Seemingly the result of a clash involving Tsunoda and Sainz as they battled for position.
Sainz, in sixth, heads a DRS train consisting of Tsunoda, Albon, Gasly and Bearman.
The Safety Car is deployed on Lap 32, probably due to that debris.
Perfect timing for the race leader who is first to pit. Russell, Leclerc, Norris and Hamilton follow suit. Piastri is now on mediums, Russell softs, Leclerc hards, Norris mediums and Hamilton hards.
More drivers take the opportunity, but not Verstappen who improves to 8th.
"Good jobs with the stops, guys," says Hamilton. "Great job."
"24 laps on a soft is pretty audacious," observe Russell. Norris is advised of Russell's concern, but the McLaren driver doesn't feel his Mercedes rival has any need to be worried.
The Safety Car is withdrawn at the end of Lap 35. Piastri's lead is now down to 0.3s.
As they round the final corner, Piastri lets rip, as Norris loses out to Hamilton in a cheeky move. The McLaren retakes the position in Turn 4, but did he run wide in the process.
Yes, he did!
"Give back the position," Norris is told. He obeys.
Elsewhere, Sainz barges his way past Antonelli for 13th.
Verstappen passes Ocon for 6th as Russell drops to last... he doesn't really it is just the transponder on his car.
"This tyre sucks," insists Hamilton as he is passed by Norris in Turn 4, this time legally.
Mayhem as Ocon, Doohan, Tsunoda, Bearman and Albon all battle for 7th.
Antonelli passes Albon for 11th.
Stroll has been noted for a Safety Car infringement, as Lawson gets 5s time penalty for causing a collision.
Piastri leads Russell by 1.9s with Leclerc a further 1.6s behind.
Lots of argy-bargy in the midfield including Sainz and Antonelli, Sainz and Tsunoda and Lawson who clashed with Stroll.
Sainz gets a 10s penalty for forcing Antonelli off track. The Spaniard is currently 16th.
Medium-shod Norris closes on hard-shod Leclerc, with (soft-shod) Russell just 3 ahead.
"We have a DRS issue," Russell is warned. The Briton is told that he will be instructed when he may use it, albeit manually.
The cameras pick up on the damage done to Sainz' sidepod, and which caused the Safety Car.
Norris makes a move on Leclerc but fluffs it, as Sainz says that Tsunoda should be investigated for the earlier clash.
"Box to retire the car," Sainz is told. "You've worked well today, but the car is too damaged," the Spaniard is told by James Vowles.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Manama here.
"Remember to use the drink," Piastri is told. "I would if it was working," he replies.
Norris closes on Leclerc again, he attempts to go around the outside of Turn 4 but runs out of track.
"It was very clear he pushed you off," Norris is told.
"There is a chance we'll lose the dash, just keep driving as normal," Russell is told. "As long as the steering wheel doesn't fall off," the driver drolly replies.
Norris finally nails Leclerc one again going around the outside, but this time not taking no for an answer.
Russell has been noted for a DRS infringement.
Verstappen is closing on sixth-placed Gasly as the Frenchman is advised that Norris is on a black and white for track limits.
"No more track limits," Norris is firmly told.
Behind Verstappen, Ocon, Tsunoda, Bearman, Antonelli and Albon form a DRS train.
Lawson is given another time penalty (10s) for causing a collision.
Tsunoda gets the black and white flag.
"We can only use DRS when we are 100% sure we are within it," Norris is warned, which appears to be linked to Russell's earlier transponder issue.
Out front, Piastri leads by 12.5s.
Verstappen is the latest to get the black and white.
At the start of the final lap, Norris attempt to go around the outside of Russell, but the Mercedes driver slams the door, firmly.
Piastri takes the flag, McLaren's first victory in Bahrain, while Russell holds off Norris but will it stand. Further back, Verstappen has passed Gasly, while Doohan gets a 5s time penalty for track limits.
Behind Piastri, Russell and Norris, it's: Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Gasly, Ocon, Tsunoda and Bearman.
Antonelli is eleventh, ahead of Albon, Hulkenberg, Hadjar, Doohan, Alonso, Lawson, Stroll and Bortoleto.
"A tough race," says Norris. "I made too many mistakes with the overtakes, and out of position.
"A messy race from me," he adds, "I'm disappointed not to bring home a 1-2 for McLaren.
"It was good racing throughout so no complaints, good overtakes, on the limit as it should be so good fun. Russell did a good job, I thought I'd be able to get him.
"I'll try and step it up for next weekend."
""It felt all under control, and then suddenly we had a brake-by-wire failure, so the brake pedal was going long, it was going short," explains Russell. "One more lap and Lando would have got me.
"Oscar was in a league of his own so congratulations to him and McLaren," he added. "But for ourselves, four races, three podiums at different kinds of tracks is pretty good.
"We were having all sorts of failures, one lap I clicked the radio button and the DRS opened. I hit close and backed off, so didn't gain any advantage."
"Great to have this result out here," says race winner Piastri. "It's been an incredible weekend, to finish the job today in style was nice.
"I can't thank the team enough for the car they've given us, it is pretty handy out there.
"It's never been a track that's been kind to us, so it's nice to finally get a result here.
"I would have preferred not to have the Safety Car," he admits, 2but I was still pretty confident. It was relatively straightforward. I was never going to let that one go."
After the tedium of Suzuka we deserved something, and this certainly fitted the bill, dull it wasn't.
Again, Norris admits to the mistakes, while Piastri keeps his head down and gets on with it.
We've seen nothing this afternoon to alter the sentiments expressed at the start of the report.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Manama here.