Bahrain GP – What a Ferrari! Vettel on the flying carpet, Mercedes is really scared now [VIDEO]

Incredible, exhilarating, intoxicating. The Eastern Night gives us a Ferrari that is surprising for the authority with which it won the Bahrain GP and for its ability to turn a weekend that seemed difficult inside out. Much of the credit also and above all goes to the creativity and class of a Sebastian Vettel in a state of grace. The German driver mortgaged Sakhir's extraordinary result at the start, with a cat-like leap and a quick braking useful to overtake his rival Lewis Hamilton. Joining the other Mercedes, that of Valtteri Bottas, then seemed like child's play.

Overcuts in Australia, undercut in Bahrain, two different strategies for one great truth: in the end the car that proves to have the best pace always wins, and the SF70H is currently more effective than the Mercedes in terms of race pace. After all, they say that three clues make a proof; the victory on the atypical semi-city of Melbourne, the great speed demonstrated between the guided curves and straights of Shanghai, and the peremptory victory in a traction and mator circuit like Sakhir. The Ferrari of the Italian group coordinated by primus inter pares Mattia Binotto has come up with a small masterpiece. The Rossa is drivable, versatile, has traction and above all is kind to the tyres, a quality that is currently making the difference.

“It's a pleasure to drive this car” Seb shouts over the radio at the finish line, intoxicated with joy at his second triumph in three events. The German probably hasn't had this much fun since the days when he dominated with Red Bull. This car allows him to drive as he wants, enhances his braking skills, gives him confidence in wheel-to-wheel duels. The little German with his clean and surgical driving turns into a hungry beast when he finds himself hand-to-hand with an opponent. Him ask Ricciardo in China, Hamilton at the start in Bahrain and above all Bottas at the restart after the safety car.

In Ferrari, things are going less well on the other side of the pits, with Kimi Raikkonen going in fits and starts, discontinuous in the same race. The 2007 world champion seems to take too long to get into gear, managing to bring out the car's potential only in the final stages of the GP. Starting fifth, his race was the usual ordeal of traffic, different strategy, overtaking attempts made with difficulty. The redemption at the end, with Kimi capable of closing the entire gap that separated him from Bottas with fast laps, finishing just a whisker away from the podium and demonstrating that he has the potential to go fast. It's all about understanding how to do it in every condition.

In any case, it is a Rossa that can laugh and sing the Mameli loudly, while the one that comes out smaller is a Mercedes that is now much less scary. The Silver Arrows continue to impress in qualifying, but all that flying lap speed doesn't translate into race pace. The W08 seems nervous, extreme, somehow still immature. Certainly not the steamroller we expected. The team itself demonstrates, after three years of absolute dominance, that it is afraid for the first time.

Ordering Bottas to move to give way to Hamilton is in contrast with the philosophy of those who had always set themselves up as the champion of absolute equality between drivers. Valtteri Bottas was a poleman delegitimized, sacrificed already in the third race on the altar of "captain" Hamilton. Nothing worth getting scandalized about; the (dual) team order, from a real politik perspective, seemed logical, sensible, legitimate. And yet it would never have happened with a Rosberg, with Mercedes effectively making Bottas's role as second driver official. And he made it official that he greatly fears a Ferrari capable of saying goodbye to the company and flying off towards sweet dreams.

Antonino Rendina

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