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2018 Bahrain Thoughts

ESPN: Thank you ESPN. Thank you Liberty Media. Thank you for listening to the fans and the outcries by fixing the broadcast. Though we would still prefer an American-centric broadcast, we really can't complain. This is definitely the next best thing ... and very watchable.

THE BIG PICTURE: Still early in the season for sure, but the fight being extended beyond two teams is not materializing. Mercedes vs. Ferrari will certainly be entertaining, but where's the Red Bull challenge? And the much wished McLaren spoiler?

TRACK: A perfect elixir after Australia.

EVENT: Sure, a few more fans are showing up. But still for all intents and purposes, nobody.

QUALIFYING: Ferrari strikes back, Force India partially recovers, McLaren fails, Haas is a split fail, and Verstappen's "turn" to crash out of Q1.

RACE: That was fun. An exciting first third, an okay middle third, and a nail biting final third.

START: Vettel does what he needs to, Bottas definitely does what he needs to, Magnussen elbows his way through, and Perez twirls around.

VETTEL: Last week was luck. This week, no way. It was a great display of driving skill and smarts.

RAIKKONEN: When he jumped out of the car in a huff, we know he didn't realize what had happened to his mechanic. But his body language afterward when it was obvious he should know ... one doesn't know what Kimi was thinking nor what he did after he got in the garage, but it was terrible optics.

FERRARI: Sometimes, technology is not the answer. Bring back the lollipop man. Get well soon, Francesco!

BOTTAS: One can't help but wonder if Hamilton -- or even Nico Rosberg -- were in Valtteri's position, the outcome would have been different.

HAMILTON: Lewis won't panic. But he sure would like a race win really soon.

MERCEDES: They seemed to overthink their strategy.

GASLY: Pierre was hailed as the next phenom. He certainly is backing that prediction up.

SAINZ: And Carlos may have just dropped in the pecking order for when a Red Bull seat opens up.

HULKENBERG: Which brings us to Nico who is not just holding his own against Sainz, but beating him all weekend.

MAGNUSSEN: Kevin revenges last week's heartbreak.

GROSJEAN: While Romain will be spoken to for his unnecessary and childish antics against his own teammate.

HAAS: Australia's performance was not a fluke.

ALONSO: Once again, take away the DNFs by the obviously faster cars, and Fernando does not get any points. Plus, he was beaten soundly by a Toro Rosso. And, Fernando was lapped.

MCLAREN: No more hiding behind Honda's failures...

HONDA: We're not yet ready to praise Honda's performance. But, we just might be getting there.

ERICSSON: If it weren't for Gasly and Magnussen, Marcus would be the underdog star of the race. Outside of other DNFs, his position was earned. Kudos to the much maligned driver.

LECLERC: While the pressure builds up for Charles -- the other driver hailed as a phenom -- who looks lost out there.

WILLIAMS: Speaking of looking lost. Just a miserable car with drivers incapable of developing it.

VERSTAPPEN: His overaggressive driving caught Max out ... again.

RICCIARDO: His bad luck just follows him like a black cat.

RED BULL: And just like that, Red Bull goes home.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Fractures.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 200 -- The actual 200th start for Vettel, and the fourth driver to win his 200th start.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Much is being made the last time a driver who won the first two races did not win the championship was in 1982. Vettel is correct there are a lot more races now, so this stat doesn't mean much. Nonetheless, the last time it happened, Alain Prost won the first two races -- South Africa and Brazil -- and that was it. He only ended up on the podium one more time (a second in the Swiss GP). It was the consistency of Keke Rosberg with just one victory who took the title. Prost had seven DNFs (and one NC) to finish fourth.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Sebastian Vettel during the cooldown lap, "These tires were done! They were done!"

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Vettel at the post-race press conference lashing out at what he considered an inappropriate question directed at Hamilton, "I don't think it's justified to give us this kind of shit question and making up a story out of nothing."

SCHEDULE: Just one week to pick the next team that will pack up their two cars early...

Copyright © 2018 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.



RACE RESULTS
  Driver Laps
1. Vettel 57
2. Bottas 57
3. Hamilton 57
4. Gasly(R) 57
5. Magnussen 57
6. Hulkenberg 57
7. Alonso 56
8. Vandoorne 56
9. Ericsson 56
10. Ocon 56
11. Sainz 56
12. Leclerc(R) 56
13. Grosjean 56
14. Stroll 56
15. Sirotkin(R) 57
16. Perez 56
17. Hartley(R) 56
NC Raikkonen 35
NC Verstappen 3
NC Ricciardo 1

Time of Race
1:32:01.940

Margin of Victory
0.699 sec.

Virtual Safety Car
1 for 2 laps

Lead Changes
3 among 3 drivers

Lap Leaders
Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas

Fastest Race Lap
Valtteri Bottas

Pole Position
Sebastian Vettel

CURRENT STANDINGS
  Driver Pts.
1. Vettel 50
2. Hamilton 33
3. Bottas 22
4. Alonso 16
5. Raikkonen 15
6. Hulkenberg 14
7. Ricciardo 12
  Gasly(R) 12
9. Magnussen 10
10. Verstappen 8
11. Vandoorne 6
12. Ericsson 2
13. Sainz 1
  Ocon 1

  Team Pts.
1. Ferrari 65
2. Mercedes 55
3. McLaren 22
4. Red Bull 20
5. Renault 15
6. Toro Rosso 12
7. Haas 10
8. Sauber 2
9. Force India 1
 
 

2024 Thoughts
Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Japan
China Miami Emilia Romagna Monaco
Canada Spain Austria Great Britain
Hungary Belgium Holland Italy
Azerbaijan Singapore United States Mexico City
Sao Paulo Las Vegas Qatar Abu Dhabi

2023 Thoughts
Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Azerbaijan
Miami Emilia Romagna Monaco Spain
Canada Austria Great Britain Hungary
Belgium Holland Italy Singapore
Japan Qatar United States Mexico City
Sao Paulo Las Vegas Abu Dhabi

2022 Thoughts
Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Emilia Romagna
Miami Spain Monaco Azerbaijan
Canada Great Britain Austria France
Hungary Belgium Holland Italy
Singapore Japan United States
Mexico City Sao Paulo Abu Dhabi

2021 Thoughts
Bahrain Emilia Romagna Portugal Spain Monaco
Azerbaijan France Steiermark Austria Great Britain
Hungary Belgium Holland Italy
Russia Turkey United States Mexico City
Sao Paulo Qatar Saudi Arabia Abu Dhabi

2020 Thoughts
Austria Steiermark Hungary Great Britain Anniversary
Spain Belgium Italy Tuscany
Russia Eifel Portugal Emilia Romagna
Turkey Bahrain Sakhir Abu Dhabi

2019 Thoughts
Australia Bahrain China Azerbaijan Spain
Monaco Canada France Austria
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Russia Japan
Mexico United States Brazil Abu Dhabi

2018 Thoughts
Australia Bahrain China Azerbaijan Spain
Monaco Canada France Austria
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Russia Japan
United States Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2017 Thoughts
Australia China Bahrain Russia
Spain Monaco Canada Azerbaijan
Austria Great Britain Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Malaysia Japan
United States Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2016 Thoughts
Australia Bahrain China Russia Spain
Monaco Canada Europe Austria
Great Britain Hungary Germany Belgium
Italy Singapore Malaysia Japan
United States Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2015 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Canada Austria
Great Britain Hungary Belgium Italy
Singapore Japan Russia United States
Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2014 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia Bahrain China
Spain Monaco Canada Austria
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Japan Russia
United States Brazil Abu Dhabi

2013 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Canada Great Britain
Germany Hungary Belgium Italy
Singapore South Korea Japan India
Abu Dhabi United States Brazil

2012 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Canada Europe
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Japan South Korea
India Abu Dhabi United States Brazil

2011 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Turkey
Spain Monaco Canada Europe
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Japan South Korea
India Abu Dhabi Brazil

2010 Thoughts
Bahrain Australia Malaysia China
Spain Monaco Turkey Canada
Europe Great Britain Germany Hungary
Belgium Italy Singapore Japan
South Korea Brazil Abu Dhabi

2009 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Turkey Great Britain
Germany Hungary Europe
Belgium Italy Singapore
Japan Brazil Abu Dhabi


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