Sergio Perez has joined the exclusive winners club in F1, as he drove his Racing Point to a stunning victory at the Sakhir Grand Prix. This really has been the most wild year of Formula 1. Wow.
Everyone got their breath back after that chaotic Grand Prix?
Holy moly. What a race. It had everything. Overtakes galore. Dramatic pit stops. First lap crashes. But, in the end it was Sergio Perez who was involved in a first lap incident and went to the back of the field, battled his way to the front of the grid AND took his first-ever win in F1. Yet, he doesn’t have a seat for next year.
Of course, the main story from Sakhir was how the race totally fell apart for Mercedes and George Russell was robbed of his first win due to a compromised pitstop.
After pitting under a safety car for debris for Jack Aitken’s Williams, Mercedes made a rare error and after double-staking Russell and Bottas and handed out the incorrect tyres to the wrong drivers.
He may not have got the result he deserved. But George Russell had one race to prove he is the next Mercedes star. He did it. #WTF1 #SakhirGP pic.twitter.com/inwzopy2BK
— WTF1 (@wtf1official) December 6, 2020
Russell was pitted again to rectify the error, but a left-rear slow puncture in the final laps meant he was forced to pit once again and totally ruined any chance of a podium. In the end Russell finished 9th, so managed to score his first championship points, but it was certainly a heartbreaking end to what should have been his first F1 victory.
On the podium alongside Checo, who is the first Mexican winner in F1 since 1970, he was joined by Esteban Ocon in his best-ever race result in second and Lance Stroll in third.
A first lap crash between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen caused some early drama, with Checo narrowly avoiding being taken out of the race.
What an extraordinary race #SakhirGP 🇧🇭 #F1 pic.twitter.com/ktGauOprIe
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 6, 2020
It was one of the most extraordinary and heartbreaking races we have seen in a long while.
