If you’re a fan of F1, you may have been lamenting the incoming end of this years racing seasons as only a few races remain as the F1 heads to the Middle East – it has been a year of ups and downs, a few records have been broken by both Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, we’ve seen tyres pulled to their absolute limit and struggle, and even testing on next years tyres which haven’t been met with great optimism. But these two weekends in Bahrain have certainly ignited passions from fans all around.
This past weekend saw the devastating crash of Romain Grosjean in what is being labelled as one of the most terrifying crashes in recent F1 memory – it has however put a lot of critics to rest as the huge advances made in the safety features in modern F1 cars had undoubtably saved his life. Notably in the mixed reception of the halo, with many saying it is an eye-sore and not needed, with incidents like this proving without a doubt that it has its place and is certainly going nowhere. On top of that the advances in fireproof clothing and all of the safety regulations required so drivers are prepared for this sort of incident and know how to react have certainly paid off. That was the only incident of the evening however, with both Racing Points ducking out early after one rolled over after an incident with Kvyat, and the other having engine issues that also ended the evening in flames.
The big news comes this following weekend however as the F1 heads back to the Bahrain circuit – with championship winner Lewis Hamilton being out of this weekends race due to testing positive for the coronavirus, and being replaced for the weekend by none other than Williams’ George Russell. Punters are already heavily speculating what this could mean as odds are flying up and down, you can find some here that operate outside of certain regulation such as Gamstop, but could spell huge change coming to the grid in the future – Russell had been eyed as a future Mercedes driver, and a strong showing here could secure him a seat some time after 2022 if Hamilton does decide to retire. It may also finally put to bed the theory, or reignite for some, that it is the car that is so good and not necessarily the driver – either way it’s bound to be a very exciting weekend for fans and the young driver alike, with a few others also needing to bring in replacement drivers, we may have a very competitive Sunday on a track where the Red Bulls are admittedly a little slower. Will George finally win his first point in F1 too and under the Mercedes banner at that? And with Lewis Hamilton being so dominant, will this allow Bottas to shine a little more with a less experienced team mate and show that he is no slouch either and deserves to be up there with the best.