Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix Prediction: Is it time for McLaren's first win at the Bahrain GP?

Formula 1 travels to the Middle East where two races will be held in a week, and according to what we have seen so far, Max Verstappen and McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will be leading the fight for victory - can anyone else join them this weekend, on a completely different track and in very hot conditions? It's not even half of April, and the Formula 1 World Championship has reached its fourth stop. The season started in Australia. after that, we had two races in the Far East - in China and Japan, and during the next two weekends, two more Grand Prix will be held a little closer to the east: first in Bahrain and then in Saudi Arabia. After the first three races, the situation in the championship is very interesting. Lando Norris leads the drivers' standings but is only one point ahead of Max Verstappen. Norris' teammate, Oscar Piastri, is third, and George Russell is fourth. Only 17 points separate those four.

McLaren is the fastest, but not dominant on the track?

There is no doubt that McLaren entered the season with the best-prepared car, but we saw on two occasions that there are drivers who are ready to take advantage of every small mistake by Norris or Piastri. They were not right in the Chinese sprint, so Lewis Hamilton won with Ferrari, and in the Japanese qualifiers, Verstappen took advantage of McLaren's imperfections and took the pole position right in front of their noses. The pole position was worth winning because, during the race, there was a stalemate in which no one could go up or down. So, McLaren is the fastest, but not perfect. At least not until now. That's why after three racing weekends, we can say that we had four starts (three GP races and one sprint) and four different winners. And each of those winners started from the first position. This supports the statement of Frederic Vasseur, head of the team at Ferrari, who stated that we are following the 'qualifying' championship. We'll see if that trend continues. The track in Bahrain offers plenty of room for fighting and overtaking, so we should see different kind of racing.

Piastri's first starting position in Bahrain!

Given the pace of free practice, without many surprises on the track in Sakhir for the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first grid position was won by one of the McLaren drivers – Oscar Piastri. It was a pretty close race with the excellent George Russell and Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris and Max Verstappen fell slightly short and will start Sunday's race in sixth and seventh. Mercedes drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli have been given a one-place grid penalty for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix for infringements during qualifying. Russell thus loses his front-row position to Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, while Alpine driver Pierre Gasly moves up to fourth on the grid in place of Antonelli. After Q2 was red-flagged due to the Esteban Ocon incident, both Mercedes drivers exited the garages towards the pit exit before race control announced the restart time, which is against the sporting regulations.

Expert Betting Tips

Everyone believes that McLaren is currently too fast for everyone else after they posted the fastest lap times in both single-lap and race simulations on Friday. Norris was fastest in the first and Piastri in the second free practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix, and they looked particularly impressive in the second practice session when longer sections were tested in preparation for the race. It was confirmed in the qualifications, and they will have to repeat it in the race. Ferrari has shown some improvements since Japan, and both Leclerc and Hamilton will be under pressure to deliver in Sunday’s race. We believe that Leclerc can fight for a podium finish, considering his great starting position and the pace he showed this weekend.

OUR PREDICTION: Charles Leclerc in the top 3