F1 | GP Bahrain, Ferrari: a Saturday worth remembering, with a double to keep in the race too

It's a sweet, very sweet Saturday in Sakhir for Ferrari. After achieving the best performance with Kimi Raikkonen during the third and final morning free practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Cavallino team repeated their top position in qualifying, monopolizing the entire front row of the grid.

An excellent Sebastian Vettel took pole position, author of the best performance in 1'27"958, followed just under a tenth and a half by Kimi Raikkonen, who once again appeared on the ball in these first outings of the season. He is a rejuvenated, perky, decisive, "badass" Iceman who has been admired so far: perhaps the best since his return to Formula One. Are we really sure that 2018 is his last year on track before retirement?

In view of the race, which will start tomorrow afternoon at 17pm Italian time, the Red team has the opportunity to achieve a great result on a track where the SF10-H, like its predecessor last year, has demonstrated that it is very comfortable. By achieving a one-two, in fact, Ferrari would extend and consolidate its leadership in both world championship rankings, then presenting itself at the next round in Shanghai in a strong position against Mercedes, especially from a psychological point of view. A detail that is certainly not insignificant in a long, very long season where details will, as usual, make the difference.

The start will be fundamental, where the Vettel-Raikkonen duo will have to maintain their respective positions, defending themselves from the attacks of Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo, with a Red Bull appearing a little too distant from the Ferrari-Mercedes duo on the flying lap, then trying to maintain and manage that technical advantage shown so far on the track.

A chance that, as mentioned, Maranello absolutely cannot and must not fail, also given the comeback race that Lewis Hamilton will be forced to support.

The Englishman closed the official tests with the fourth fastest time (which became ninth following the five-place penalty for replacing the gearbox, ed.) and will experience a pugnacious race, with a knife between his teeth, as in his style, having also adopted a different strategy compared to his rivals: he will in fact start with the soft tires used in Q2, as opposed to the "red" ones that his competitors will use in the first stint.

Without forgetting any unforeseen events and twists (Virtual Safety Car and/or Safety Car) which could, as happened in Melbourne, subvert the outcome of a race which to date appears clear and dressed in red.

Piero Ladisa