The school leaving certificate: Bahrain

SEBASTIAN VETTEL: Led, botched, beaten: the big loser among the top drivers was Sebastian Vettel. The German has won the Bahrain Grand Prix four times and has rarely had such a difficult time as he did on Sunday. The start was excellent, the rest was mainly inadequate. The experienced Vettel lost crucial duels against Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton and then lost his nerve. A spin, a destroyed front wing, fifth place - after two disappointments in two races, Vettel made a false start to the new season. Even more: the question arises about the balance of power at Ferrari.

CHARLES LECLERC: The reason for this is Charles Leclerc. Young, polite and already at the forefront when it comes to driving. Given his calmness, it is hard to believe that the 21-year-old from Monegasque was only competing in his second race for the Scuderia in Bahrain. In qualifying he won pole position and the team's internal duel with Vettel. Leclerc also overshadowed him in the race. In the end, it was only enough to finish third because the Ferrari bucked, not because of a mistake by the driver. “He is the moral winner,” said Mercedes motorsport director Toto Wolff. And probably a future world champion.

MERCEDES: Wolff grinned mischievously in the pits as Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas crossed the finish line. The world champion team took first and second place, their second double victory after their dream start in Australia. The coming about? Was extremely flattering after the late bad luck for Leclerc. Wolff admitted that the joy was somewhat muted. Because: The best driver of the evening was Leclerc, the best car was actually the Ferrari. The Silver Arrows were happy to take the 43 points anyway.

FERRARI: Yes, the best car of the weekend was actually the red one. The Scuderia dominated all training sessions, with Leclerc and Vettel setting the fastest times in qualifying. Finally, according to the prevailing opinion, Ferrari showed its true colors with the new SF90 car. The performance advantage was large, Ferrari could not be beaten on the straights. At the decisive moment, however, the Italians presented themselves as they had too often in the recent past. Mistakes and breakdowns cost the team the title in 2018 after a strong first half of the year. A new edition is on the way.

SAYING OF THE WEEKEND: “The bottom line is that it’s my mistake.” (Sebastian Vettel after fifth place in Bahrain.)

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The school leaving certificate: Bahrain

Double victory for Mercedes at the Bahrain Grand Prix: World champion Lewis Hamilton and opening winner Valtteri Bottas benefited from the engine failure of the leading Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.

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