Formula 1: Ferrari blew a lot more than a 1-2 finish in Bahrain

Ferrari squandered more than a great opportunity to secure a 1-2 finish in the second race of the 2019 Formula 1 season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, at Bahrain International Circuit.

After dominating the early stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix race weekend, Scuderia Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel qualified on the front row for the 2019 Formula 1 season’s second race, with Leclerc’s pole position for this race being the first pole position of his Formula 1 career.

On the first lap of the 57-lap race around the 15-turn, 3.363-mile (5.412-kilometer) Bahrain International Circuit road course in Sakhir, Bahrain, Leclerc relinquished the lead to Vettel and fell back to third place behind Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Valtteri Bottas.

Leclerc ended up passing Bottas for second place a few laps later, and he then passed Vettel for the lead before going on to dominate the race and putting Ferrari in a position to respond to Mercedes’ season-opening 1-2 finish in the Australian Grand Prix with a 1-2 finish of their own.

But the Scuderia still managed to throw away a potential 1-2 finish and more, which is unfortunately not surprising given how their past few seasons have gone.

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Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton passed Vettel for second place on lap 38, and right after he made this move, Vettel spun out. His front wing then sustained damage and flew off in spectacular fashion, forcing him to make his way to the pits for an unscheduled pit stop. He only managed to rally for a fifth place finish.

But even following Vettel’s spin, Ferrari had a great opportunity on their hands. They had the opportunity to see clear proof that Leclerc, who had worked his way to more than 10 seconds ahead of Hamilton in second place, is their top driver.

Then heartbreak struck the 21-year-old Monegasque, whose car’s engine suddenly experienced an issue that drastically reduced his speed. After seemingly being well on his way to earning the first victory of his Formula 1 career, he was passed by Hamilton for the lead and by Bottas for second place.

Additionally, Leclerc needed a late safety car period, which effectively ended the race before all 57 laps had been competed, to prevent him being passed by Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen for third place, which is where Leclerc ended up finishing behind Hamilton and Bottas.

This engine issue was completely out of Leclerc’s hands, whereas Vettel’s issue took place as a result of yet another unforced error, to which he has become no stranger over the course of the past few seasons. He has thrown away a boatload of points as a result of his many unforced errors in recent seasons, and the Bahrain Grand Prix resulted in more of the season.

But the driver standings don’t take into account whose fault these issues are. Leclerc currently sits in fourth place in the standings with 26 points, and he sits just four points ahead of Vettel in fifth with 22.

While it has been overwhelmingly clear through the season’s first two races that Leclerc is faster than Vettel, will Ferrari really consider the second-year driver who has driven in just two races for the team their top driver when his margin over his teammate in the driver standings is just four points?

Not yet.

Ferrari will ultimately want to do what is best for their chances to win both the driver and constructor championships. That may very well end up being prioritizing the teammate of the driver who they have prioritized for four seasons.

But at this point, neither one of Ferrari’s two drivers has undisputed better odds to finish higher than the other one in the driver standings, and the team are not in a position to experiment this early in the season given the fact that they already trail Mercedes by 39 points (87 to 48) in the constructor standings due to a disastrous start to 2019.

This situation could be a whole lot different on many levels had the once promising Bahrain Grand Prix not turned into a complete disaster for the Prancing Horse, but the fact is, this is what they are facing moving forward.

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How will Ferrari approach the rest of the 2019 Formula 1 season following a disappointing first two races, particular the Bahrain Grand Prix? Will they end up picking a driver to prioritize? Will one or both of their drivers contend to win what would be the team’s first driver championship since Kimi Raikkonen won the title in the 2007 season, and will the team contend to win what would be their first constructor championship since they won the title in the 2008 season? A total of 19 races remain on this year’s 21-race schedule, so only time will tell.

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