SAN FRANCISCO, December 06, (THEWILL) –Â Mexican racing driver Sergio Perez claimed the first Grand Prix win of his career for Racing Point at his 190th attempt. It was an astonishing Sakhir GP that witnessed how a Mercedes tyre mix-up and then a puncture cost George Russell a fairy-tale victory of his own in Bahrain.
Russell appeared to be heading for a remarkable victory as stand-in for Lewis Hamilton to cap an astonishing week in Formula 1 since last Sunday’s first race at Sakhir. The Brit racer led Valtteri Bottas commandingly heading into the race’s final third after taking the lead at the race start.
However, the appearance of a Safety Car pushed Mercedes into an extra pit stop for both cars on safety grounds to protect their lead. Only for that to trigger an astonishing sequence of events that, ultimately, led to an agonising race-losing result for Russell and Mercedes.
First, Bottas’ tyres were incorrectly fitted to Russell’s car, with the Finn then delayed behind as the mix-up ensued, and they returned in fifth and fourth positions respectively. Even Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff described it as a “colossal” error from F1’s dominant world champion team.
On the lap that followed, Russell was forced to pit again to change to the correct tyres. The Englishman was in fifth place when racing resumed but still seemed capable of hunting down Perez, who, by that time, had worked his way back up the order to an inherited lead.
It was surprising how Perez did that because he had ended the opening lap in last place after a three-car incident at Turn Four which saw Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen crash out.
Russell put some effort in his driving, overtaking Bottas, who was still on the same tyres as before Mercedes’ fumbled stops, and then Stroll and Ocon in quick succession, to put himself three seconds behind Perez only to sustain a rear puncture and had to pit again.
In the end, Russell finished ninth for his maiden F1 points, but it was scant consolation for what probably should have been. He is also under investigation for Mercedes’ fitting of incorrect tyres on his car.
Finishing the race in second place was Esteban Ocon for Renault with Lance Stroll third in the second Racing Point. Carlos Sainz was fourth for McLaren having briefly run second ahead of Bottas in the race’s early stages after the lap-one Safety Car.
