Civil war takes headlines at F1 2019’s first four races

Formula One F1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan - April 28, 2019 Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas celebrates winning the race with Mercedes mechanic Stuart Green, second placed Lewis Hamilton and third placed Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel Reuters

By Darshana Abayasingha

As predicted in this column in its pre-season review the 2019 Formula 1 championship is all about civil war, as both Mercedes and Ferrari grapple with their drivers playing hardball for leadership within the team. 

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas crosses the finish line to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix  in Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan - Reuters

The Silver Arrows – Mercedes – have had a dream start to the season with four successive 1-2 finishes, becoming the first team in history to do so, and both drivers winning two races apiece. The team lead the constructor’s championship by 99 points over Ferrari, and ValterriBottas leads reigning champion Lewis Hamilton by one point in the driver’s by virtue of the extra point he gained for the fastest lap in Melbourne. 

‘Bottas Reloaded’ in 2019 after a dismal season last year, will give Hamilton much to think about and will no doubt add flavor to this championship, though it will be far from acrimonious as the Hamilton-Rosberg days. In Baku last Sunday, Hamilton and Bottas dueled into the first corner all the way up to third, with the latter prevailing to win the race eventually and both drivers attacking respectfully. 

Hamilton was full of praise of Bottas and the team, but one could easily sense that second place is not where the five-time world champion wants to sit. Hamilton added later he had been too conservative in his attack into the first corner. 

Bottas has certainly provided a surprise, but the bigger surprise is Ferrari, with Paul Di Resta quipping “Mercedes can do no wrong, and Ferrari can do no right”. Ferrari had shown the best pace during testing and their car is easily the fastest on the straights, however, coupled with a few questionable decisions over strategy and reliability woes in Bahrain; the Italian marque’s challenge is at present falling dismally short of expectations. 

However, the much bigger problem within the team seems to be managing its new driver pairing, with the young Charles Leclerc proving a talented and popular upstart against Sebastian Vettel. Leclerc defied team orders in Bahrain at a race that was his to win before reliability issues stuck, but considering the strange strategy calls that impeded him in China and Baku, one could almost assume this was Ferrari tactfully asserting positions within the team. 

But Ferrari have much bigger problems to address than its drivers and the team needs to find why its pace seems to have disappeared despite the promise during pre-season testing, free practice and even much of qualifying. Four races into the season, it is apparent that it is not just reliability and bad strategy decisions that have let them down; but the Ferrari despite its strong straight-line speed is still not the fastest car around a circuit.

Honda together with Red Bull are showing their hand, and the Japanese manufacturer can take heart that it is finally getting its formula together on the engine front, with Max Verstappen putting a strong performance for the Bulls in Baku in fourth place. He kept consistent pace with the Ferrari in front, and much can be anticipated in a high downforce circuit like Singapore which should favour the Red Bull later on in the season. 

Renault had yet another dismal race with Daniel Ricciardo clattering into a TorroRosso after overcooking a turn and retiring his car, whilst NicoHulkenburg ended 14th. The French manufacturer are currently lying 7th in the standings with Racing Point too doing better in Baku with a double point finish. Whilst McLaren are having a much better season so far and currently sitting fourth in the championship, much-publicized split with the former engine partner. Whilst Fernando Alonso serves as a welcome prospect to return to an F1 car next year, he would no doubt take note of McLaren’s woes with the Renault engine at its back.

The first four races have been dominated by the Silver Arrows for points, but it wasn’t all silver like we saw in Bahrain when the Ferrari disappeared into the distance before engine issues stole a sure victory. Mercedes have built a formidable lead in the championship, but with 17 races to go, and if Ferrari finds more pace, we will have an exciting championship battle on our hands. Whilst Red Bull can rise to the challenge, Frenchman Pierre Gasly continues to disappoint partnering Verstappen, as the youngster is still to come to terms with the car. 

What will be exciting to watch this season will be the civil wars within the top teams, as both Leclerc and Bottas will move to assert equal opportunity within their teams.Bottasdefinitely has stepped up and Mercedes have let their drivers’ race, whilst Ferrari have made it clear their onus is presently on Vettel – a decision which clearly does not sit well with young Leclerc. However, as we saw in Baku, he has a long way to go and to learn before he could call himself a true contender. Hamilton stated last week that Leclerc reminds him of himself when he started out; but whilst Hamilton did endure his fair share of mistakes due to age and inexperience, the Englishman definitely seemed to have far more racing edge than what Leclerc is displaying now. 

What will be really interesting to watch would be how Hamilton now reacts to the challenge posed by Bottas, and reassert his place at the top of his team. On to the Spanish Grand Prix in a fortnight.