Grosjean’s miracle and a Racing Point nightmare - F1 Bahrain GP Winners & Losers

We round up F1’s winners and losers from an incident-filled Bahrain GP at Sakhir, which began and ended up in dramatic circumstances…
Grosjean’s miracle and a Racing Point nightmare - F1 Bahrain GP Winners & Losers

The 2020ไ Bahrain Grand Prix will go down as being remembered for the shocking opening lap and remarkable scenes of Romain Grosjean’s miraculous escape more than the result itself.

Grosjean’s terrifying accident left us drained and grateful for the incredible ཧF1 medical team and tireless work the FIA has put in over the years to ensure he walked away from the crash relatively unscathed.

Subsequently, Grosjean’s incident led to the race being red flagged for over an hour, before Lewis H🔜amiꦦlton ultimately prevailed by taking his latest win.

Here are our winners & losers from Bahrain…

Winner: Romain Grosjean and F1 safety

Without a doubt, Romain Grosjean is by far the biggest🌃 winner from Sunday’s race.

The heart-stopping, jaw-dropping crash left everyone shellshocked until images of Romain jumping out of flames into the hands of the FIA’s Medical Delegate Dr Ian Roberts brought a huge𒉰 sense oඣf relief. 

The speed of response by ꧅the Medical Car driver Alan van der Mewre and the marshal who sprinted across the track with a fire extinguisher, played a huge part in ensuring Romain’s safe extrication out of the c📖ar. 

The sheer bravery of Dr Ian Roberts, who rushed towards the flames to rescue Grosjean in an unprotected helmet and minimal fireproof overalls, was an incre🎃dible sight to see.&💎nbsp;

Time after time we forget these drivers ri𒈔sk their lives, and with a history mired with deaths, it is a testament to how safe these cars are that we did not lose another one.

There is no denying that the halo device, introduced following the t🌠ragic loss of Jules Bianchi in 2014, certainly saved Romain Grosjean’s life today. 

Haas has confirmed Grosjean escaped the incident with minor burns, wജith the Frenchman rem♉aining in hospital overnight for further observation. 

The heavily damaged Haas F1 Team VF-20 of Romain Grosjean (FRA) Haas F1 Team after crashed at the start of the race and exploded into flames, destroying the armco barrier.
The heavily damaged Haas F1 Team VF-20 of Romain Grosjean (FRA) Haas F1 Team after crashed at…
© xpbimages.com

Loser: Racing Point

With three laps to go, Racing 🐻Point looked set to sc🌊ore a second successive podium and take a giant leap towards claiming third place in the constructors’ world championship.

Sergio Perez was destined for third place until his engine dramatically failed just before the chequered flag, marking a huge moment in the fight for third place as Racing 🌃Point suffered agonising late heartbreak.

With Lance Stroll already out after being flipp♛ed upside down ൲at the restart, it meant the Silverstone squad ultimately came away from Bahrain with nothing, after staring at the prospect of an important 15-point haul.

What’s more, McLaren took fourth an𓂃d fifth to enjoy a huge꧋ 22-point swing over its chief rival in what might end up being a decisive moment in the battle for P3.


Winner: McLaren 

McLaren made a big step forward in the constructors battle for P3, with both Lando Noꦅrris and Carlos Sainz bringing home much-needed points for the Woking squad to move them into third. 

Norris drove a clever and calculated race as he rose up th💦e order before subsequently inheriting fourth after Perez’s late engine failure in the dying laps of the race. 

Sainz in particular had an impressive race, wit🥃h Spaniard reaping the 🍸benefits of the Soft tyres by making them work during the opening stint. 

He then went on to fi𒉰nish in fifth after starting f𝔉ifteenth, making some impressive moves against the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and future Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. 

Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren MCL35.
Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren MCL35.
© FIA Pool Image for Editorial Use

Loser: Daniil Kvyat 

Daniil Kvyat had a race to forget after narrowly missing getting tangled with Grosjean and adding to a🤪n already nasty accident. 

It didn’t get any better for the Russian after the red flag restart when he clipped Stroll, tipping the Racing Point upside down and knocking the Canadian♍ out of the race. 

He was then penalised with a 10-second time penalty & ultimately 🐓finished out of the points in 11th.

Daniil Kvyat (RUS) AlphaTauri AT01 makes a pit stop.
Daniil Kvyat (RUS) AlphaTauri AT01 makes a pit stop.
© xpbimages.com

Winner: Sergio Perez

Racing Point may be ranked as losers, but Perez remains a winner in our eyes, despite t🌟he fact he ultimately finishꦯed with a DNF to his name.

It was another brꦺilliant display from the Mexican all weekend as he first qualified fifth in qualifying and drove smartly to what looked to be a ce💯rtain podium before his late engine drama.

Perez may have missed out on successive podiums for the first time in his career, but a ꦅDNF will change little as to whether he finds himself landing the Red Bull drive or not next year.

Either way, Perez has proved his worth this season and knows he can leave F1 with dignity if it he is 🅷heading into his last t🍒wo races in the sport.

Sergio Perez (MEX) Racing Point F1 Team in the pits while the race is stopped.
Sergio Perez (MEX) Racing Point F1 Team in the pits while the race is stopped.
© xpbimages.com

Loser: Valtteri Bottas

After Turkey the other week you would think Valtteri Bottas’ race weekendsꦛ couldn’t get any worse. 

Enter Bahrain, where the Finn endured another difficult race as he limped home to eighth afterꦬ suffering two punctures༺. 

Bottas lost a handful of positions with a poor initial start and picked up a puncture when he ran wide over debris before recovering into the points until a second p💛uncture hit on the final lap, but luckily for Bottas he was able to reac𓆉h the finish line with the race neutralised by the late Safety Car period.

Kevin Magnussen (DEN) Haas VF-20 and Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Mercedes AMG F1 W11.
Kevin Magnussen (DEN) Haas VF-20 and Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Mercedes AMG F1 W11.
© xpbimages.com

Winner: Red Bull

Red Bull achieved its first double podium since Japan 201💛7🤪. 

Inevitably Hamiltonജ too𒉰k the lead & disappeared into the sunset, leaving Verstappen to coast along behind to a strong second place finish, also picking up an extra point with the fastest lap of the race. 

On a weekend where Alex Albon needed a solid 𝕴performance, he certainly provided the goods. Despite a nasty crash on ওFriday, Albon impressively recovered to qualify in fourth in qualifying and kept his cool in the race with no mistakes or dramas and some nice overtakes.

He was ultimately handed his third plaꦡce on the podium after the devastating blow to Per♓ez, but it was nevertheless a solid weekend for the Anglo-Thai driver. 

Who was your biggest winner & loser from Bahrain? Has Romain’s crash changed your mind on the effectiveness and necessity of the halo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to like and subscribe to Crash F1.

(L to R): Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing celebrates his second position with third placed team mate Alexander Albon (THA) Red Bull Racing.
(L to R): Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing celebrates his second position with third…
© FIA Pool Image for Editorial Use

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