Full moon brings luck to McLaren in Bahrain: Piastri's fourth win

Gasly confirmed the good indications that emerged in qualifying, maintaining a solid pace and defending itself effectively in the most agitated phases of the race. An important result also on a symbolic level for Alpine, which had not yet collected any points so far this season. The presence in the paddock of Flavio Briatore, back as a consultant and just yesterday 75 years old, adds a remarkable note in a delicate moment for the team. He will finish seventh under the chequered flag.

Hamilton appeared more aggressive: he no longer likes to see him looking downcast, as he was in yesterday's qualifying. He realised he had not done a good job, especially after realising he was losing ground in the fast corners. But he didn't feel the courage to push to the right speed, due to a lack of feeling with the car. With the closed park, though, you can't make big changes, so inevitably he adapted. Also because, with the increased fuel weight in the race, the single-seater reacts differently. Experience rewarded him: fifth before Russell's penalty.

On lap 18 both Ferraris were ahead, but after Leclerc and Hamilton pitted they found themselves in fifth and eleventh position respectively.

After the first tyre change, the balance of power in the race was not much changed: Piastri, Russell and Norris on the virtual podium; Leclerc behind, still on medium. Verstappen, with the hard ones fitted, doesn't seem to have much pace. In fact, he's perhaps waiting too long for a decay of the others. But as he runs behind Gasly and Ocon, his Red Bull does not look at all the same as on the previous Sunday.

In the second half of the race, the reigning champion had a frustrating experience: his car did not respond as desired, and he found himself fourteenth, while Tsunoda was even seventh at the same time. He finished behind Hamilton.

By mid-race the Ferraris seemed firmly positioned between third and fifth place, with Norris interspersing, maintaining a lead of almost ten seconds over his first pursuer, the little-expected Sainz, at that moment sixth despite the clear superiority of the Red Bull. But the Spaniard has no consistency and his Williams will not make the top ten.

The biggest twist came with a late safety car, called to remove debris left on the track by a slight contact between Tsunoda and Sainz at the end of lap 32. The intervention reset the gap and reshuffled the cards, reopening the fight for several positions. Not surprisingly, the strategies were revolutionised: many teams called the single-seaters back to the pits well in advance of what would have been the natural start of the third stint in this hot Middle Eastern race, where three sets of tyres were expected in most cases.

The beautiful, standard green Aston Martin, leading the pack for this unforeseen circumstance, could not have imagined how much of a tussle it would unleash afterwards: Hamilton, with a dart, even managed to overtake Norris for a few moments. Then he was caught, passed, and again overtaken: an intense battle, when there were still twenty laps to go to the chequered flag.

A lot of verve in the rear too, with several youngsters capable of holding their own - and at times giving lessons - to more experienced and veteran drivers.

With fifteen laps to go the tussle is almost non-stop, but needless to say, the two Ferraristi who were counting on a fresher tyres in the finale than their rivals suffered the most from this situation. So while the first two (Piastri, Russell) pulled the oars rather early on, Norris fought desperately against Leclerc to get onto the podium at great risk of contact and irregularities. This gave the spectators a lot of suspense for the benefit of the show. Missing from this no-holds-barred fight was Verstappen, who had to be content to stay behind a surprising Gasly, who eventually finished in sixth place.

Unfortunately, with five laps to go Norris had secured his place on the podium, guaranteed by the McLaren's undisputed superiority over both Ferraris.

To judge the values in the field, however, one must not forget the retreat of the three-pointed star for 'marauding' by both drivers. Yesterday, during Q2, while the red flag was in effect, the two Mercedes drivers left the pit lane and re-entered the fast lane too eagerly, without waiting for the official go-ahead. They therefore both served a penalty position in the race.

Also yesterday, for a moment Alonso was without steering, in practice, at low speed. To some, the memory brought back Senna. Instead it was perhaps 'only' a 'fast solution' gesture by a veteran like Alonso, who has no hair on his tongue but a lot on his stomach. A lesson for the young but also a potentially dangerous fact that inevitably went under investigation.

Basically, two versions of the incident circulated, claiming that the AMR25's steering wheel computer had not interfaced properly, causing Alonso to perceive a problem. Fernando Alonso either attempted an impromptu reconnection, or disengaged the steering wheel for a moment to restore the connection. Aston Martin had to submit a detailed report to the FIA technical commissioners, as a dangerous situation had arisen. Is it a reasoned 'power cycle' or a dirty reset a la Windows 95, who knows: the final conclusion may not be disclosed as it may not be sanctioned.