Glory for Lewis as Ferrari blow it
Hamilton claims victory after Leclerc power failure
THE defining image of the Bahrain Grand Prix is Lewis Hamilton, helmet still on but visor up, holding Charles Leclerc by the shoulders in commiseration.
Hamilton had won, Leclerc should have done. Both knew it but each conducted himself sportingly in the aftermath, as if proving true Kipling’s line about victory and defeat being twin imposters.
For Hamilton it was the 74th win of a stellar career but only after Leclerc’s Ferrari gave up on him in the closing stages of a gusty night race in the desert.
Leclerc admitted: ‘It was sad. I was so close to fulfilling a childhood dream.’
Hamilton, who drove well, was generous in his verdict, recognising the 21-year-old Monegasque’s strong showing in only y his sseco second d race for Ferrari. ‘He has been an outlier all weekend,’ said the five-time world champion. ‘ He has been faster than his team-mate. He has a beautiful, bright future ahead of him.’
Those comments touched on Sebastian Vettel, the said d team-mate, and how w damaging this trip to o Bahrain was to his s standing. More of f him later.
But, first, the unfolding - agony of the unlucky ucky Leclerc. Leclerc Having been composure itself for much of the weekend, he suddenly started to leak a near 10-second lead in a lap or two.
‘What’s happening?’ he asked. His engine was giving up the ghost, down on power to the tune of 30mph. Hamilton passed him comfortably with nine laps remaining.
‘Oh my God,’ said Leclerc, who had started on pole. He finished third, once the second Mercedes, of Valtteri Bottas, came from nowhere to catch the limping Ferrari for a runners-up spot. ‘You can’t believe your luck in those circumstances,’ said Hamilton of his win. ‘But what can you do? You can’t deny yourself victory. You just have to push on.’
Now back to Vettel and a few days in which he looked far from the £36million-a-year driver he is meant to be.
He was erratic in qualifying, driving off track and locking up. And then the two vignettes from yesterday that suggest his confidence may be shot.
The first came about like this. Leclerc, who kept his calm after a slow start cost him the adv advantage his pole position should h have conferred on him, passed Bottas and Hamilton. He was then on Vettel’s tail. ‘I’m quicker,’ said the youngster as he was breathing down Vettel’s neck at the end of the fifth lap.
OK, Charles, now make a move stick on your illustrious teammate. He did.
On the start straight, Leclerc poked his nose in front and zoomed beyond the German at the first corner. Vettel tried to fight back but could not. Was it a symbolic moment, a torch passing from the old to the new?
The second incident occurred later in the race, when, having lost out to a clinical move by Hamilton in the battle for second, Vettel spun.
His face must have been as red as his overalls as he ended up facing the wrong direction on a one-way road. His rubber marks were scorched on to the Tarmac.
The car’s front wing then fell off as he hobbled on vibrating tyres back to the pits. He plunged to ninth place, finally clawing his way back to a finish of fifth.
Too early to be sure, but the evidence of Vettel’s demise as a driver of the front rank is stacking up. A pattern has developed. He spun in Monza, Suzuka and Austin last year. The pressure is now on to disprove those who suspect his Ferrari days may be numbered.
Vettel is 22 points off championship leader Bottas, the winner in Australia a fortnight ago, and 21 adrift of Hamilton.
The defending champion was all smiles before, and afterwards he was glad that the supreme pace Ferrari had shown in practice on Friday was no longer there. It gave him hope that he will be in a competitive car that will not always require the misfortune of a rival to transport
him to victory this season. There was at least one mercy for Leclerc — a late safety car called out because the two Renaults had conked out within yards of each other.
It meant that Red Bull’s Max Verstappen could not catch him. So the new starlet held on for his podium place, even if it meant an eventful race finished with the anti-climax of a regulated procession.
The fireworks soon lit up the night sky. ‘Hopefully, the win will come one day in the future,’ said Leclerc, once the smoke had cleared. He is owed it.