Bahrain Grand Prix Awards

Please copy and paste the list below to help make your choices; and by all means add any extra information you think is relevant…


Best Driver:
Worst Driver:
Luckiest Driver:
Unluckiest Driver:
Best Rookie/New Driver:

Best Team:
Surprise Team:
Worst Team:
Best Overtake:

Biggest Surprise:
Most expected result:
Funniest moment:
Excuse of the weekend:

Special Mention:

Race Rating: ?/10

 

Best Driver: Leclerc by a mile
Worst Driver: Stroll
Luckiest Driver: Hamilton, though you have to be there
Unluckiest Driver: Leclerc by a mile
Best Rookie/New Driver: Norris

Best Team: Hmm....Merc made the best of it.
Surprise Team: Renault with their off switch
Worst Team: Williams, sadly
Best Overtake: Leclerc on Vettel. Sign o’ the times.

Biggest Surprise: Magnussen and Verstappen didn’t crash at the start
Most expected result: Ferrari conspiring to cock things up
Funniest moment: Renault’s off switch/Vettel’s spin
Excuse of the weekend: Binotto “we have two drivers doing a job” - I thought he was very ungracious afterwards.

Special Mention: McLaren. Getting things together. I’m no Lewis fan, but thought he showed class post-race.

Race Rating: 8/10 though also desperately sad that CLC didn’t win.

 

Even though the LeClerc pass on Vettel was good, I believe Lewis' pass on Vettel was more ballsy...reminded me of the early Lewis Hamilton. But really sad for LeClerc, hopefully he will come back stronger....by the way he will progress quicker than Max, he is a cool head.

 

Best Driver:LeClerc, probably
Worst Driver: Gotta give it to Seb
Luckiest Driver: Lewis, but also LeClerc got lucky with the SC.
Unluckiest Driver:LeCLerc
Best Rookie/New Driver: Norris

Best Team: guess it must be Merc with the 1-2
Surprise Team:McLaren had decent race pace
Worst Team: Renault, 2 mechanical DNF's.
Best Overtake: Lewis on Seb

Biggest Surprise: Stroll didn't hit Max.
Most expected result: Verstappen contact.
Funniest moment:
Excuse of the weekend:

Special Mention: Hulk wass having a good race until the engine went bang.

Race Rating: 8/10, great entertainment.

 

Best Driver: LeClerc. On top of his game all weekend and deservedly cruising to glory until the eleventh hour…

Worst Driver: Vettel. Not cool. Where's the subtlety, the finesse? He may be a four-time champ but those titles, effectively won from the front with his superb use of Newey's amazing blown diffuser, seem now to be asking what many thought – and some said – at the time: can he drive anything else at the same level of his competitors? Once again, he got rattled in wheel-to-wheel combat and didn't or couldn't control his angry right foot. His amateurish spin made the car look too powerful for him – and then he kept his foot to the floor on the brake, thus destroying his tyres, as he did in practice. Come on Seb, surely you can do better than this!

Luckiest Driver: Hamilton. But he'd very much earned second place before being handed the lead by Ferrari's misfortune.

Unluckiest Driver: LeClerc. I'm gutted for him not winning. To his credit though, he has already digested the result without any sign of bitterness, which bodes well for his future (Verstappen, take note). Also, Kvyat: he was an innocent victim. Ricciardo and Hulkenberg deserve a mention here too, especially in view of Little Jack's smugness at changing engine supplier.
Best Rookie/New Driver: Norris. I've always rated him more highly than Russel – who unfortunately is getting less opportunity to show his skill. Albon also seems to be faring better.

Best Team: Mercedes. Without doubt, this should have been Ferrari's day.
Surprise Team: Well, McLaren are, at last, quietly turning a few heads…
Worst Team: Williams.
Best Overtake: Hamilton v Vettel – who is as determined not to be overtaken as Verstappen!

Biggest Surprise: After just two races, the disproportionate gap in points at the top of the table.
Most expected result: Sadly, Vettel's racecraft.
(Lack of) excuse for a weekend to forget: To his credit, Vettel did NOT attempt to excuse his poor performance, so far as I know.

Special Mention: All those suffering injustices under the Bahrain régime. The sovereign state got the nod from Bernie who looked no further than their money, but the F1 event lends publicity and credibility to help whitewash its political façade.

Race Rating: 8.45/10 A disappointing end to a scintillating race in the desert.

 

Best Driver: Leclerc
Worst Driver: Vettel for his basic error
Luckiest Driver: Hamilton,who also made his own luck
Unluckiest Driver: Leclerc
Best Rookie/New Driver: Norris

Best Team: Merc - consistency
Surprise Team: Mclaren
Worst Team: Renault (beaten by a customer team...really?)
Best Overtake: Lewis on Vettel. Perhaps because it forced an error from Vettel, 2nd race and he is making them again, he can't help himself but also because Lewis made his own luck.

Biggest Surprise: Renault failures, same corner same lap.
Most expected result:Williams last
Funniest moment: Vettel’s error, punched the air!! That includes losing his wing as a consequence.
Excuse of the weekend: Was there an excuse?

Special Mention: 1. Norris for doing what Le Clerc was doing last season. 2. Vettel for providing the entertainment, just like the clown in a circus. Got his payback for 'Multi 21' (I never forgave him for that).

Race Rating: 9/10 bodes well for the season ahead.

 

Surprised people are quoting Lewis on Seb as the best overtake, Lewis completes it off the track - although I think it was the only one of note that wasn’t with DRS. I actually think their previous exchanges were better earlier in the race.

 

This

 

Best Driver: Leclerc comfortably
Worst Driver: Gasly - will he make it to the summer break?
Luckiest Driver: Hamilton, Verstappen for avoiding a penalty when he ruined Sainz's race
Unluckiest Driver: Leclerc
Best Rookie/New Driver: Norris

Best Team: Strong weekend for Mclaren
Surprise Team: Complete lack of pace in the Haas
Worst Team: Williams, Renault
Best Overtake: Leclerc on Vettel.

Biggest Surprise: Leclerc apparently allowed to race Seb
Most expected result: Ferrari cannot deliver when they have a top car.
Funniest moment: Vettel’s spin
Excuse of the weekend: Stroll "Has the best race pace of any of my team-mates", Checo you partnered Hamilton...

Special Mention: Kimi - definitely still has it
Race Rating: 9/10

 

Wasn't Leclerc's on Vettel also non-DRS? Even if maybe not the best overtake of the race, certainly the one that made the biggest statement of intent.

 

Surprised no one has Bottas for luckiest, had a dire race (wheres Bottas 2.0 gone, this used to be one of his best tracks also). Not one but both Ferraris fluffed it granting him 2nd.

 

Best Driver:LeClerc/Hamilton LeClerc for his determination and passing his team mate Lewis for pushing and not giving up.
Worst Driver: Vettel - sorry but spinning like that is a move I would have expected of Kvyat a couple of years ago not a 4 x WDC!
Luckiest Driver: Max - for not having any damage from contact with Saintz. OK so 50/50 on accident but Max lucky again.
Unluckiest Driver: LeClerc
Best Rookie/New Driver: Norris - some great driving.

Best Team: Merc - just kept racing in the hope of an issue and taking every opportunity and not giving up.
Surprise Team: Racing Point - will all the extra cash they have fallen badly behind - I thought Aus was just a 1 off!!!
Worst Team: Renault - MGU-K issues still after 3 years you can't build a reliable one??????
Best Overtake:Lewis on Vettel as Ferrari clearly faster car

Biggest Surprise: After Quali and start - Lewis winning - should have been LeClerc
Most expected result: Williams at back - although they did have some good scraps apparently - not shown on TV
Funniest moment: Vettel spinning - a rookie mistake
Excuse of the weekend: Don't think I noticed any excuses

Special Mention: LeClerc - he did a blinding job on Saturday and Sunday but for reliability to take the win away from him.

Race Rating: 9/10

 

I think it was the main straight wasn’t it, either way massive sign of intent

 

He had a good start, but once he'd lost touch with the others he seemed to just drive at a steady pace. Before LeClerc ran into problems, Verstappen was catching him, then he gets the message about LeClerc and picked up the pace, leaving Verstappen behind. I think it's quite possible he hurt is tyres when he locked up into turn 1, then, realsing he'd ended his chance for a podium, turned down the engine a bit to protect it until the LeClerc message. playing the longer long game.

 

LeClerc and Vettel had the same car, but LeClerc was faster all weekend so it was expected that LeClerc would have been faster, but Lewis passed Vettel Ferrari which is about half second faster than Lewis' Mercedes, and forced an error from Vettel. I think you also forgot to mention that the pass was around the outside too?

 

From the video I have seen Lewis was well on track when he overtook Seb. He went off track briefly, but the overtake was done and dusted by that time.

 

When Lewis completed the overtake on Seb he was well on track. if you check the videos carefully you would see he had already completed the overtake when he briefly left the track, but the overtake was done and dusted already.

 

Apparently a plastic bag got caught in his front wing. Again not a good excuse

 

I saw that, I assumed that happened late on as surely someone would have pulled it out at the pits?
Hamilton's turn next I suppose, get some smog in the eye or something.

 

Ahh that old chestnut