And Away We Go!
New cars, new rules, new tyres, new era and a new… well old… but new team at the top. Bahrain delivered the thrills and kicked off F1 2.0 in perfect fashion. However, before we dive into this race and how our pool participants faired, I have to ask…..Is McLaren the new Haas?
As Saturday qualifying approached and the picks started rolling in, one things became clear: the excitement generated from last year held strong. The Driver Pickem Pool went from a mere 8 competitors in 2021 to 18! Yes incredible, it will be no easy task to take home the title and, just like our favorite F1 teams and drivers, everyone knew this first weekend was crucial! So it was no surprise to see Red Bull and Ferrari drivers dominate the selections. Might as well make safe picks, and all the experts had Ferrari and Red Bull pegged as the top 2 teams. I assume that’s why Pierre Gasley was picked by 5 different competitors, his Alpha Tauri equipped with that Red Bull engine. Yes, you've got to play it smart off the start.
As soon as the lights went out, this new era gave us exactly what we were hoping for: closer racing, exciting passes and a mixed up field….a Haas was up to 5th! We even had a Mercedes strategy that had the feel of Toto just saying…fuck it, let’s try this 🤷♂️. Too bad more people in the pool didn’t do the same. Now, even with all the new changes, we still got some old hits. Mad Max Verstappen was whining on the radio like a child being told to eat his vegetables and Bottas tumbled down the order after a horrendous start. The more things change the more they stay the same I guess.
With the race started to wind down, Ferrari were 1 and 3, Red Bull 2 and 4. It seemed like a solid start for everyone on track and in the pool. That was until Pierre Gasley's engine exploded! I'm curious if this was when that smug smile that Horner must have a copyright on started to disappear from his face. In F1 when it rains it poor's and as Mad Max started berating his team for a power failure, it became clear that not only was Horner's smile now a frown, but also the smiles of all 14 participants who choose a Red Bull driver.
What was I saying earlier about the importance of a "smart start." Red Bull’s nightmare was Mercedes gain, a 3rd and 4th place finish for the evil empire must have just twisted the knife into Horner's stomach. Not to mention that it provided that "smart start" to the mere 7 participants that chose a Mercedes driver. What a way to kick off the 2022 season…..A HAAS DRIVER FINISHED 5th!!! DID I MENTION THAT ENOUGHT!!!!!! So, who were the handful of participants who got the "smart start" and who put in a McLaren and Williams like performance.
On track Mattia Binotto was the big winner while, in our pool, Matty G took home top honors. Interesting that both Matty G and Mattia have similar names and both wear glasses…..food for thought. Meg (our defending champion)and Leah played the role of Toto and Mercedes. Focused on damage limitation, they kept pace thanks to George Russell, the only 2 competitors to take the Briton this weekend. Now as for who ended up with the Haas…..sorry I mean McLaren award for poor performance of the weekend. Although there were lots of competitors who could take home this prize, including Rob Stewart, who escaped with just 6 points, it has to go to BreeBree. Not only did she pick 2 drivers from the same team, which is a no-no, but neither of them scored points and her third pick was Riccardo 🤕That’s a tough weekend.
So as we conduct our debriefs, we also look to next weekend where the traveling circus that is F1 moves to Jeddah and its death defying street circuit. High speeds, blind corners and another race under the lights is what awaits us. Who will recover and stay in the fight? Who will tumble from the top? And can McLaren prevent itself from becoming the new Haas?
