Dog accident and visit to Bahrain – Hamilton convinced

Even as a new record world champion, Lewis Hamilton doesn’t stop for a while. Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, returned to the ground in an eventful race in Bahrain.

Who can actually stop Lewis Hamilton’s race for success? Even a long period of red at the wrong time and the flying visit of a dog on the track could not stop the new Formula 1 world champion in free practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver relegated Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull / + 0.347 seconds) and his Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas (+0.365) to the seats in 1: 28.971 minutes and set his sights on the next incredible record.

Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, found themselves in midfield after the mention of Istanbul. Bahrain record winner Vettel, third in Turkey this year on the podium for the first time, finished 13th in the daily standings, 1,139 seconds behind the leader.

Crash causes termination

A violent crash of the Thai Alexander Albon, who is about to be replaced at Red Bull, caused the second session to be interrupted in the spotlight for several minutes. As soon as the course was cleared, a dog ran across the field from Sakhir and caused the next break, which at least Vettel appreciated.

The German hit the Baha Men ‘Who let the dogs out’ good-humored hit in 2000 on the box radio, much to the delight of his track engineer. “If I had known dogs were allowed, I would have brought mine,” added Vettel jokingly.

On the other hand, the sporting reality at Ferrari and Heppenheimer is sad. He wanted to “bring everything to a clean end,” said Vettel in red ahead of his third race weekend.

The messed up season cannot be saved for the most successful racing team in Formula 1 history. Sixth place went to the Scuderia in the team standings, the Italians were the last worst in 1980 when they finished tenth in World Cup. Racing Point in third place is 24 points clear, team boss Mattia Binotto, who was virtually connected by Maranello, held a declaration of war at the press conference. “Bahrain does not fit our car well. Fifth place is more realistic than third,” said the Italian.

Another Schumacher record at hand

First place, however, should again be reserved for Mercedes and Hamilton, who are aiming for victory number 95. “It’s in my DNA. That’s how I’m polarized. I love this challenge,” Hamilton said upfront.

In the past, he usually let the season end a bit after winning the title. But this time another record is at stake: Hamilton can still reach the milestone of 13 victories this season, which only Michael Schumacher (2004 / in 18 races) and Vettel (2013 / in 19) have achieved.

Hamilton has only 17 possibilities available in the shorter season due to the crown: he is expected to do the last three races on Sunday (15.10, in the live ticker on t-online), the following week in the same place and the season finale in Abu on 13 December Win Dhabi.

The 35-year-old says his ambition comes from the future: “We can use the last few weekends as a test race so that we can apply what we have learned in the next car.” In order for Hamilton to benefit himself, however, he would have to extend his expiring contract.