Bahrain had been Ferrari's territory in terms of qualifying, but coming to China for round 3, the pecking order changed once again. The Red Team had turned into the underdog again. For the first time this season, Q2 saw different tyre strategies. Both Mercedes and Ferrari sent their drivers out on the yellow-walled medium Pirellis, which proved an extremely competitive compound. Red Bull's Verstappen also opted for the medium rubber. The Finnish Mercedes pilot Bottas had topped the time sheets in the first segment, also setting the benchmark in the second session. However, teammate Hamilton switched to another set of medium tyres at the end of Q2 and went fastest. The pace of the red-suited drivers was quite evenly matched, but both of them were half-a-second off the pace. It was crystal clear, that the battle for pole was down to the Mercedes teammates.
Bottas continued his top form and took provisional pole by seven thousandths of a second to his teammate. Unfortunately the Scuderia aces proved unable to match the Silver Arrows' pace. Neither one of them, nor Hamilton, managed to improve his lap time at the end. Bottas took his first pole of the season, and Hamilton made it a front-row lock-out for Mercedes. The battle was fiery between Sebastian and Charles, as they were separated by 17 thousandths of a second only, in favor of Sebastian. Both Haas and Red Bull sent their drivers out too late, which prevented their drivers from starting the last flyer in time. It was a costly error especially in terms of Verstappen, as the Dutchman might have fought for a second row grid slot. The pecking order was obvious: the front row belonged for Mercedes, the second row for Ferrari and the third row for Red Bull. Renault locked down the fourth row, with Ricciardo having an upper hand on Hulkenberg. Haas drivers conquered the fifth row, with Magnussen 9th and Grosjean 10th.
2019 Chinese GP marked the 1000th race in the history of Formula 1. However, this statistic detail was meaningless, as the lights went out. Pole-sitter Bottas suffered from wheel spin due to the white line on the start straight. Teammate Hamilton saw his chance and attacked his teammate right away, storming past the Finn. The order of the Ferrari teammates changed as well. Leclerc had an advantage, going into tricky Turn 1, moving past his teammate. Aggressive Verstappen in P5 was right at Sebastian's tail. The action-zone was further down in the pack. Toro Rosso's Kvyat hit McLaren's Norris, which led into contact between the McLaren drivers. Virtual safety car was deployed.
Hamilton was leading the race, with teammate Bottas following him closely. Sebastian seemed irritated after losing his third place to Charles at the start. The red-suited drivers were within DRS distance of each other, and Sebastian reported on the team radio, that he was quicker than Charles. The young Ferrari debutant was told to push and go faster. On lap 11 it came: a team order from Ferrari. Leclerc was told to give way to his teammate, and he had no option but to obey. Sebastian got his third place back, but he proved unable to pull away from his teammate. He was under immense pressure, trying to build up a gap to Charles, and locked up his front tyres a couple of times in the heat of the duel.
The top five drivers had an identical tyre strategy for the second stint; everyone opted for a fresh set of white-marked hard tyres. The first pit stop roulette brought no changes to the order of the top five. Sebastian's gap to Verstappen was tenuous, and the flying Dutchman was like a rattle snake, ready to attack any moment. Max left his braking unbelievably late, and dived alongside Sebastian! This time the German kept his head cool and controlled his nerves. Sebastian managed to stay ahead of Max, just barely.
Ferrari's team order proved costly for Leclerc, who lost his fourth place to Red Bull's Verstappen during the second pit stops. The top three teams were on a 2-stop strategy, whilst Renault's Ricciardo, Racing Point's Perez and Alfa Romeo Racing's Räikkönen were on a one-stopper. With three laps to go, the fastest lap time was under Sebastian's belt. However, Red Bull's Gasly, who was driving in solid P6, pitted for a fresh set of soft tyres, and snatched the fastest lap time from Sebastian! Hamilton crossed the finish line as the race winner for the 75th time in his career, and Bottas made it already the third 1-2 for Mercedes this season! It's a significant statistic detail, as last time three 1-2s in three opening races was achieved by Williams in 1992. What a sweeping start to the season for the reigning world champions. Sebastian completed the podium, with Verstappen 4th and Leclerc 5th. Finally Gasly managed to deliver at the wheel of his RB15, finishing in P6. This time "the best of the rest" in P7 was Renault's Ricciardo.
With this result, Hamilton deprived his teammate of the championship lead by six points (68-62). Verstappen is still third with 39 points. The battle between the Scuderia drivers is very much alive, as Sebastian has now 37 points to Charles' 36. Mercedes have already a huge lead in the constructors' standings, as they have 130 points to the Red Team's 73. The amount of home work to be done by Ferrari is continually increasing!
I think, that deep down in his heart Sebastian isn't satisfied with the race result. Not only because the gap to Mercedes was almost a light year, but also because he made it on the podium thanks to the team orders. It doesn't feel the right way to beat your teammate! Personally I think team orders aren't justified at the beginning of the season. The drivers should be free to race, and whoever of the drivers has more points towards the end of the season, should be promoted "the number one driver". The status should be earned on track, not on contract. One thing is self-evident: the harmony within the Red Team has definitely shaken this year.
Onward to Azerbaijan. Forza Ferrari!
With passion for racing red,
Iina Huhmarniemi
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