Who were the winners and losers of the Bahrain Grand Prix?

With sparks flying and safety cars aplenty, there was more than enough drama to go around in arguably the best opening race in recent memory, but who made the most of the conditions and who failed to deliver on expectations?

Winner - Lando Norris

A man beloved by drivers, pundits and fans alike, Lando Norris has grown season-on-season in F1 and 2021 looks like it could be the year he makes yet another leap forward in his development.

He’s been joined by Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren this year, after Carlos Sainz’s move to Ferrari, and that dynamic will be an intriguing one to say the least.

Whilst Norris dominated on Friday in Bahrain, taking third and second on the grid in FP1 and FP2 respectively, he fell slightly short of his Aussie teammate in qualifying on Saturday, with Ricciardo starting P6 with the 21-year-old in P7. 

Despite that deficit, Norris had an electric opening, passing Ricciardo before embarking in an epic duel with Charles Leclerc for fourth place, with Valtteri Bottas also briefly involved.

With his McLaren car clearly hooked up to his driving style and he himself on an absolute flyer of a session, Norris was able to oust Leclerc and claim P4 from the Monegasque driver on lap nine, and eventually see the chequered flag in fourth place.

McLaren have clearly looked like the third quickest team on the grid, and Sunday did absolutely nothing to disprove this; Norris will be hoping that he will be able to keep hold of fourth in the championship for as long as possible.

The Brit started 2020 with his maiden F1 podium, and after yet another impressive opening round, he’ll be desperate to keep his teammate Ricciardo behind him in the standings in 2021, something he was unable to do with Sainz last time around.

Winner - Sergio Perez

After the events of qualifying and the formation lap, the last name I expected to be a winner from the race was Sergio Perez.

The second seat at Red Bull has been somewhat of a curse in recent years, and before the lights went green in Bahrain, it seemed as though Perez was the latest to be burdened as Verstappen’s teammate.

He failed to reach Q3 in qualifying after running the medium tires in Q2, and ended up 11th, which suggested that the troubles that befell Alexander Albon last year, may be destined to occur to the Mexican as well.

A failure on the formation lap further enhanced the issues, but despite starting in the pit lane, Perez used all of his experience and nous on the track to charge through the pack just as he did during his win at the same circuit last year.

P20 on lap one, to P5 on lap 56, it was an outstanding day at the office for Perez.

His three pit stops were more than anyone other than Pierre Gasly in the field, and excluding Valtteri Bottas, who had a free pit stop in his attempt to set the fastest lap of the race, Perez had more pit stops than anyone in the top 10, and even the top 16.

Perez faced struggles throughout his opening race weekend at Red Bull Racing, but a P5 finish indicates he could be more than capable of challenging Bottas whilst Hamilton and Verstappen battle it out for P1.

Loser - Pierre Gasly

After qualifying in P5, it looked as though the Gasly of 2020 was in full flow in 2021.

However, bad luck intervened dramatically and he spent almost the entirety of the race running at the back of the grid with the Williams of Nicholas Latifi and the Haas of Mick Schumacher. 

After initially launching off the line excellently and fending off the McLaren’s behind, Gasly lost P5 to Norris at turn four on lap four and in the subsequent corner, he clipped the rear of Ricciardo’s papaya car and lost his front wing.

After pitting for a new wing, he dropped to P19, and his race was ruined as he never really recovered. 

He finished in P17, a full four laps behind the leader, after pitting four times during the race, double that of most the field and three more than Sebastian Vettel, who finished in P15.

After such a promising qualifying, and the Honda engine looking so quick, Gasly would’ve been aiming for at the bare minimum a points finish, and most likely to be in the top five come the chequered flag.

That aim couldn’t be further from the eventual truth and for arguably the third most impressive driver of 2020, it was a woeful start to the new season.

Loser - Sebastian Vettel

On the topic of Vettel finishing P15, the four-time world champion wasn’t able to recover from his poor 2020 at Ferrari, and it’s becoming a recurring theme to see the German out of the points.

His qualifying was hindered by Nikita Mazepin’s spin in Q1, but to finish in 18th was almost the worst situation imaginable, especially as his teammate Lance Stroll qualified in P10.

He was then moved to the back of the grid with a five place grid penalty for disobeying yellow flag conditions, and his attempt for a one stop strategy didn’t pay off.

Whilst he had a decent launch and found himself up to 14th at the beginning of lap four, after the yellow flag from Mazepin’s early spin, and looked quicker than those ahead, his tyres quickly let him down and Aston Martin’s gamble of a strategy didn’t pay off.

To finish in P15, behind the Williams of George Russell, after the team showed so much promise last year was not the start he would’ve wanted, especially as he aims to rectify the mess of his P13 finish in the championship last year.

It was a poor weekend for Vettel, and if Stroll finishes in the points, then Vettel should be as well. The German will need to improve in three weeks time at Imola.

Norris and Perez as winners, and Gasly and Vettel as losers. Who were your winners and losers from the Bahrain Grand Prix? Let me know in the comments. See you at Imola.