The 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix results are in, and it was one of the best Grands Prix from the desert ever, and we have our alternative review with our Good, Bad and Ugly of the race.
We feature a few of our thoughts, a review crammed into a hundred words or less, plus the all important Good, Bad and Ugly. Where we assign points for those who had a good race, bad race, and also based on a few other mildly important stats.
Plenty to get through, so straight into the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix Results – Good, Bad, Ugly
2019 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX RESULTS IN 100 WORDS OR LESS
Ferrari new boy cruelly had his first win taken away from him late in the race, as his front running car developed a power issue and was overtaken by the two Mercedes, and likely by more until a safety car came out with a few laps to go to retrieve tho two Renaults who simultaneously collapsed.
Leclerc, who took pole position, did lose out to Vettel at the start, but was soon enough in front and dominating. Without the mechanical issue, he wins with an ease that may have Ferrari questioning which way the cars should be prioritized.
Behind him there was a showdown between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, which ended up well and truly in the favour of Hamilton, as Vettel spun off within a second of being demoted.
Even further behind was some great racing in the midfield, and some more gret performances by the rookies.
Daniel Ricciardo’s terrible start to 2019 continued, with a DNF putting an end to a race which was ruined by lying solo on the wrong strategy.
And you know the race is an improvement on Australia when you had to look up Fastest Lap rather thn have it as the main discussion point.
2019 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX RESULTS – MOMENT OF THE RACE
The initial confirmation of the power issue for Charles Leclerc.
2019 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX RESULTS – RACE RATING
We gave the potential excitement rating out of 50 in our preview of the 2019 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX, so why not have another tally of 50 to rate the race that was.
SURPRISE – 9/10
Leclerc blowing away Vettel was a mild enough surprise, his car problems were also surprising given the peace he seemed to be enjoying at the front. It does bring back one good thing from the 80’s turbo era, where car reliability was far more unpredictable, and dominant leaders were no certainty of finishing.
SUSPENSE – 9/10
Leclerc’s problems made for a tense last part of the race.
RACING – 9/10
Overtaking for the lead, battles for podiums, midfield arm wrestles, and plenty of action going into turn 1. You’d think it was F2, but it was Formula 1 at its best for a long time.
SIGNIFICANT EVENT – 8/10
After throwing away the 2018 Championship with mistakes, Vettel’s error after racing Lewis Hamilton was significant as doubts will now start whether Vettel is up for it again.
SEASON DEFINING – 8/10
Leclerc’s domination, and Vettel’s spin may just have Ferrari re-evaluating their team orders. Lewis Hamilton winning the battle with Vettel showed
TOTAL RACE RATING 43/50
Best Bahrain Grand Prix of all time, with something for everyone. Except possibly Daniel Ricciardo fans.
2019 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX RESULTS – GOOD, BAD, or UGLY
Who was king of the road,? Who was the villain? Who stunk up the place? Who outperformed expectations? Or was just plain unlucky? We split up the best of the best and worst of the worst with Good, Bad and Ugly of the 2019 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX.
THE GOOD
CHARLES LECLERC (Best of the Good)
What else can you say about the Monegasque driver other than he was robbed and F1 is unfair sometimes. Having taken Pole position on the Saturday, hopes were high for another new race winner on the Sunday. It didn’t quite work out at the start, but soon enough he was back in front of his experienced rival and then proceeded to disappear, like he did more than a few times in his F2 Championship year. Had he not been let down by mechanical issues here, and team orders in Melbourne, he could be close to leading the World Championship. One gets the feeling he may still do that at some stage this season.
LEWIS HAMILTON
Better to be lucky than good sometimes, and Hamilton was just that to win a track where Ferrari were the better car. But Hamilton would not have been in the position to grab the win if he didn’t take second place from Vettel, which he did with authority. Hamilton went on to record yet another grand prix whilst his German rival lost the car, and had to settle for a modest bag O points. As hard as he makes it to like him off track sometimes, no one could deny he is the best of this current high quality crop of drivers. Makes so few mistakes.
LANDO NORRIS
Continues to shine after impressing on his debut in Melbourne. Picked up best of the rest for the race in Bahrain, and looked comfortable in the midfield battles throughout the evening. He showed that his excellent racecraft, which was his strength in F2, is just as strong, and he has made it to Q3 twice in his first two races.
NICO HULKENBERG
Outqualified by his teammate on Saturday, but he made up for it on race day, looking the stronger of the two Renaults and was the big mover in relation to original grid slot. Of course was helped that his team put him on the right strategy like almost everyone else, but he used it to his advantage and showed once again how strong he can be in races. The big teams may continue to pass him by, but if he can cover Daniel Ricciardo they may still take notice. DNF ruined what would have been a decent finish.
KIMI RAIKKONEN
Kimi Raikkonen continues to do the job for the Alfa Romeo team, grabbing points, and patiently making progress during the races. To say that the partnership is working out for both parties is a slight understatement.
ALEXANDER ALBON
First time points for the Toro Rosso driver, who has done a decent job in his first two races. Proving the depth of quality from recent F2 seasons, Albon has looked comfortable and his 9th was a decent reward in Bahrain.
GEORGE RUSSELL
Doing all he can with what he has. Outqualifying his more experienced teammate, trying to make the Williams not look like the Pinata it probably is, and was almost racing with other cars in Bahrain.
THE BAD
SEBASTIAN VETTEL (Worst of the Bad)
Possibly a bit harsh for the German to get the very worst for the race, but it was almost season defining some of the events in Bahrain. The way he was completely blown away by Leclerc in the same style that he used to run and hide in a Red Bull must have been a little demoralising. Possibly not as bad as spinning away a podium (and subsequently a possible race win given Leclerc’s problems). After a 2018 where it felt like he threw away a golden opportunity for a rare post Schumacher Ferrari title, dropping it this early is a worry. And there is another Schumacher on the horizon in the Ferrari system.
DANIEL RICCIARDO
Missed Q3 by one place but at least outqualified his team mate. Was the only one on the alternative one stop strategy, and whilst it gave him some front running time, it never looked likely to work long term. Could have scored points if not for a mechanical issue which stopped his race just before the end. You could also argue that the touch between the two Renault drivers when Hulkenberg went past was Ricciardo’s fault, as Hulkenberg did leave plenty of room. To say the move to Renault hasn’t worked out yet is an understatement, and F1’s Mr Happy is decidedly less so. And it feels like a return to the old King of Disappointment days following Mark Webber.
THE UGLY
PIERRE GASLY
Missed Q3 again, and finished with a few points, rather than a bigger bag like his team mate Verstappen got. Needs to get qualifying sorted, as the midfield is way too competitive this year to need to try and slice your way through it every week. Given the way Red Bull treat their driver, he could be sacked by Belgium,
VALTTERI BOTTAS
Many were wondering Australia was just a freak result and if the temporary domination of Hamilton and F1 would continue. No is the answer, and despite finishing second, it was a reasonably invisible weekend from Bottas.
LANCE STROLL
Lance Stroll an thank his father for getting him of the Williams which would have made for a woeful season, but his Bahrain Grand Prix performance would not have erased much of the
2019 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX – GOOD, BAD and UGLY
We have our very own system of awarding point for the above Good, Bad and Ugly, plus rewarding other stats from the F1 weekend to have our own tally of who is going well in F1 in 2019, not just by scoring points, but performance in relation to car and expectations. The latest Grand Prix’s results are below.
| Driver | Total | GBU | Top 3 | F Lap | Qual | Outqual | Outraced | Accident/Incident | Start | Best Rest |
| Charles Leclerc | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Lewis Hamilton | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Kimi Räikkönen | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Kevin Magnussen | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Lando Norris | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Alexander Albon | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| George Russell | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Carlos Sainz Jr. | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Sergio Pérez | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Max Verstappen | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Nico Hülkenberg | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Valtteri Bottas | 1 | -1 | 2 | |||||||
| Antonio Giovinazzi | 0 | |||||||||
| Lance Stroll | 0 | |||||||||
| Daniel Ricciardo | 0 | -1 | 1 | |||||||
| Daniil Kvyat | 0 | |||||||||
| Robert Kubica | 0 | |||||||||
| Romain Grosjean | -1 | -1 | ||||||||
| Pierre Gasly | -1 | -1 | ||||||||
| Sebastian Vettel | -2 | -2 | 1 | -1 |
2019 F1 SEASON ULTIMATE GOOD, BAD and UGLY
And here is the current season tally of the Good, Bad and Ugly.
| Driver | No | Total | AUS | BAH |
| Lewis Hamilton | 44 | 11 | 5 | 6 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 77 | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| Charles Leclerc | 16 | 8 | -1 | 9 |
| Max Verstappen | 33 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 20 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Lando Norris | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| George Russell | 63 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Kimi Räikkönen | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Alexander Albon | 23 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Carlos Sainz Jr. | 55 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Sergio Pérez | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Lance Stroll | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Nico Hülkenberg | 27 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Romain Grosjean | 8 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Daniil Kvyat | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Antonio Giovinazzi | 99 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 5 | -1 | 1 | -2 |
| Robert Kubica | 88 | -1 | -1 | 0 |
| Pierre Gasly | 10 | -2 | -1 | -1 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 3 | -3 | -3 | 0 |
Points can be meaningless, so we have devised our little point scoring activity that rewards everything, not just race wins.
There’s no point in compiling of all the F1 data we can find, without working out a grand total. So here it is.
1 point for featuring in Good, -1 for featuring in Bad or Ugly. A bonus point for the very best and worst.
1 point for Outqualifying and Finishing ahead of team mate.
3 points for a Race win, 2 for Podium, 1 for Fastest Lap.
1 points for most overtakes on the first lap.
2 points for Pole Position, 1 for a Front Row start.
1 point for Best of the Rest in Qualifying and Race.
-1 for an avoidable accident.
