F1 Bahrain GP Driver Ratings - Leclerc is a title contender

What a race that was!

This year's Bahrain Grand Prix did not disappoint yet again as Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton took home his first win of the season thanks to Charles Leclerc's Ferrari engine.

It was a weekend that looked to be Scuderia Ferrari's weekend after Leclerc secured pole and teammate Sebastian Vettel started the race in 2nd.

But after a couple of disastrous events for the Italian team, Mercedes came out on top thanks to Vettel's no contact spin and Leclerc's car losing power.

The silver arrows couldn't have asked for a better result, a 1-2 finish from Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

Leclerc should thank the two Renaults for breaking down near the end of the race as a safety car denied Max Verstappen the overtake for 3rd.

A first-ever F1 podium for the Monegasque but it could have been so much more for the 21-year-old.

But was he really our driver of the day?

Here are Sportskeeda's driver ratings for the Bahrain Grand Prix...

#10 Williams

Robert Kubica - 16th

Another last place for the legendary Robert Kubica - how many more of these are we going to see this year?

We have a feeling we will be reporting on Williams at the back of the grid for more than the majority of the season.

The Pole did start the race in 20th position, which was the last place but four driver retirements later and he finishes the race in 16th.

The only plus point of the race.

Driver rating - 1/10

George Russell - 15th

Again for rookie George Russell, the young Briton finished ahead of his teammate like he did at the Australian Grand Prix.

But Russell struggled to produce any overtakes to challenge the natural position of his car.

Driver rating - 1/10

#9 Racing Point

Sergio Perez - 10th

Sergio Perez's opening race in Australia was a no points finish in 13th while his new racing partner, Lance Stroll scored points on his Racing Point debut.

But the Mexican changed it around and bagged his first point of the new season by finishing in 10th place.

Bahrain in the past has been a memorable circuit for Perez after he finished in third place at the 2014 race, finishing behind Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Perez began the race in 14th before finishing the night four places higher.

Driver rating - 5/10

Lance Stroll - 14th

Lance Stroll had a bad start to the weekend when he failed to reach Q2 in Saturday's qualifying which made Sunday's race quite a challenge.

All the Canadian could do was climb up four places up to 14th but no points for Stroll after the weekend.

Driver rating - 3/10

#8 Toro Rosso

Alexander Albon - 9th

What a weekend for rookie Alexander Albon after finishing in the top 10 for the very first time in his young Formula One career.

The man from Thailand also finished higher than his teammate, Daniil Kvyat.

Toro Rosso would have dreamt a repeat of last year's Bahrain Grand Prix where Pierre Gasly finished in 4th but 9th place was the best that they could provide.

A good start to the season for Alexander!

Driver rating - 5/10

Daniil Kvyat - 12th

No points for Daniil Kvyat in Bahrain after scoring a point at the Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Kvyat reached Q2 on Saturday but was the slowest in that session as 15th fastest - but in Melbourne, the Russian started the season opener in 15th position and was still able to finish in the points.

But this time the former Red Bull man couldn't repeat the same performance.

Driver rating - 3/10

#7 Renault

Daniel Ricciardo - DNF

Well, Daniel Ricciardo's start at Renault couldn't be any worst after the Australian suffered from another retirement at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The opening two races have been DNFs for Ricciardo while his previous team, Red Bull, have had no problems consistently scoring points.

Ricciardo looked to be scoring his first points of the season just laps before the chequered flag, but then his teammate Nico Hulkenberg was the first to go after an engine glitch.

Then moments later, Ricciardo suffered from a similar engine problem. Both cars out of the race in a matter of 20-30 seconds.

You couldn't make this up!

Driver rating - 1/10

Nico Hulkenberg - DNF

A disappointing weekend for Nico Hulkenberg too, a strong top ten finish looked to be on the cards for the German.

But instead, it was a DNF to his name for the first time this season.

The highlight before the retirement was Hulkenberg and Ricciardo making contact at turn 1.

Driver rating - 1/10

#6 Haas

Romain Grosjean - DNF

A second race retirement in a row for Haas' Romain Grosjean.

The Frenchman bowed out of the race on lap 16 after a collision damage with Lance Stroll in the opening lap.

The collision would eventually come back and bite him.

Grosjean could be under a lot of pressure this year if he fails to score points for the team while teammate, Kevin Magnussen, does all the good work.

Things need to get better for Grosjean sooner rather than later.

Driver rating - 1/10

Kevin Magnussen - 13th

One good day and one bad day for Haas' Kevin Magnussen who was 6th fastest in Saturday's qualifying before finishing Sunday's race in 13th place.

Not what the Dane had wished for before lights out.

And with Grosjean out of the picture after 16 laps, it was a must to grab some points for the constructors' championship.

Driver rating - 2/10

#5 McLaren

Lando Norris - 6th

In only his 2nd race of his Formula One career, Lando Norris finished high up on the leaderboard in 6th place.

A magnificent drive from the young Briton after he was very hard on himself for missing out on the points in Melbourne two weeks ago.

Norris started the race in 9th position before some fine overtaking on one of the Renaults later on in the race.

The 19-year-old did not mess around and showed some fine manoeuvres with his McLaren - something we haven't seen from their cars in a long time.

Driver rating - 7/10

Carlos Sainz Jr - DNF

The Spaniard is having a similar start to Romain Grosjean and Daniel Ricciardo in the new season.

Carlos Sainz Jr suffered a second retirement in a row - he lasted for most of the race until lap 53 until a gearbox problem occurred.

Not the best of starts for Sainz.

Driver rating - 1/10

#4 Alfa Romeo

Kimi Raikkonen - 7th

Kimi Raikkonen is already settling well at Alfa Romeo by securing another top 10 finish in his second race with the team since leaving Scuderia Ferrari at the back of last season.

And because of his early consistency to the new season, Alfa Romeo is 4th in the constructors' championship.

No one really expects Alfa Romeo to be the 'best of the rest' come the last race in Abu Dhabi but if Antonio Giovinazzi can score points here and there along with Raikkonen - then who knows.

Anything is possible when consistency is on the cards.

Driver rating - 6/10

Antonio Giovinazzi - 11th

Yet to score points in his rookie season, Antonio Giovinazzi just missed out on the top 10 to Racing Point's Sergio Perez in Sunday's race.

But in all fairness to the Italian, he started the race in 16th after failing to get out of Q1 on Saturday.

Not a bad drive.

Driver rating - 4/10

#3 Red Bull

Max Verstappen - 4th

It could have been a 7th podium finish in a row for Red Bull's Max Verstappen when he was catching a damaged Charles Leclerc Ferrari.

But instead the two Renaults retired out of the race at the wrong time as the safety car was put in place and we all know what that means - no overtaking.

Verstappen is now third in the driver's championship by picking up 3rd and 4th so far this season and could be a dark horse for the driver's championship.

Maybe a 5th member of the title race...

Driver rating - 6/10

Pierre Gasly - 8th

Oh, how Pierre Gasly would have wanted a repeat of the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix where he finished 4th for Toro Rosso.

Instead, he finished four places back in a Red Bull this time around.

Gasly struggled in qualifying again by not reaching Q3 while his teammate had no problems.

Not the best of starts from the young Frenchman but he is getting there.

Driver rating - 5/10

#2 Ferrari

Charles Leclerc - 3rd

What a bizarre and eventful weekend for Ferrari's Charles Leclerc who deservedly should have won the Bahrain Grand Prix in his second ever race with the infamous Italian team.

Leclerc achieved his first pole position in Formula One and was on course to bag his first race win in F1 until his engine started to pack-up.

This resulted in Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas overtaking the Monegasque in what was a heartbreaking race for the 21-year-old.

But overall he did secure an additional point for fastest lap and was voted Driver of the Day because he really was.

Driver rating - 9/10

Sebastian Vettel - 5th

Now if Sebastian Vettel had not spun when trying to overtake Hamilton then we may be writing this as the German winning the Grand Prix for Ferrari.

But instead, Vettel messed up his race and ended up in 5th where the silver arrows achieved maximum points at one and two.

The pressure must start to be building on Vettel's shoulders.

Driver rating - 5/10

#1 Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton - 1st

Lewis Hamilton knows Sunday's race was a lucky win thanks to Charles Leclerc's Ferrari giving up on him in the closing stages.

But luck is part of the winning formula when fighting for championships.

Bahrain was no doubt a Ferrari circuit as the pace was clearly on their side throughout the whole weekend.

Qualifying and race pace was spot on but their reliability on Leclerc's car ruined it all for them.

Hamilton showed very good sportsmanship towards Leclerc at the end of the race and warned his colleagues that they need to do better.

Driver rating - 7/10

Valtteri Bottas - 2nd

Valtteri Bottas still leads the driver's championship after the opening two races by just a single point that separates the Finn from Lewis Hamilton.

It was a quiet race from Bottas which reminds you of some of his performances from last year where he didn't win any races in 2018.

Bottas will be hoping for more action-packed races and repeats of Melbourne throughout the new season.

Driver rating - 5/10

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Edited by Debjyoti Samanta