Conclusions | Problems again at Red Bull, Key no successor to Newey

After long speculation, we finally know how the teams really stand at the start of a new generation of Formula One cars. Ferrari gave a clear image with a 1-2 in Bahrain, but Red Bull Racing is not far off. Here are the five main conclusions after the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Ferrari not only champion in the pre-season test

Ferrari has been winter test champion more often than not in recent years, but then once it came to the start of the season, it often backfired. In 2017 and 2018, Sebastian Vettel did win the first race twice, but it was never because the team had the fastest car.

In Bahrain, Ferrari showed muscle with the fastest car on the grid. Red Bull was close, but on Saturday and Sunday Max Verstappen could never really push through an attack on Charles Leclerc. After the retirements Sergio Perez and Verstappen, the first blow is a big one from Ferrari, although Mercedes will try to develop quickly to join the battle.

Magnussen proves to be a great move by Haas

Imagine if Haas had still had Nikita Mazepin at its disposal. The Russian was much slower than Mick Schumacher every race in 2021. In that scenario, Schumacher might have finished tenth and Mazepin would have finished outside the points. The German would have been applauded for scoring his first point in a Haas.

Magnussen, however, after a year's absence, shows what a blunder the American team made in racing with two rookies in the sport. Without Magnussen, the team probably wouldn't have known this was possible with the VF-22. If the Dane can do this in his first race on his return, Schumacher should start worrying about his future in F1 if he doesn't manage to hook up soon.

Red Bull remains prone to mistakes

It's not the first time and probably not the last that Red Bull has failed with reliability issues. It's embarrassing that it's failing because of a part that's the same for all teams, but why McLaren replaced the part and Red Bull didn't is a mystery. They will regret it, but will they learn from it?

Where people point to the luck of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, it's an old F1 rule that the most important thing is to finish. Red Bull sometimes fails to do that, and in a title fight like this, it can have big consequences. Verstappen's season started in a similar way in 2020, hopefully the rest of the season won't go the same way.

Aston Martin doesn't have the best possible drivers

When Nico Hulkenberg manages to drive a faster qualifying lap with the AMR22 than Lance Stroll after a year and a half of not racing and not testing, you know you don't really have to take Aston Martin seriously. I'm sure the Canadian will have plenty of excuses, but this just can't happen to you as a regular driver.

It shows once again that at Aston Martin it is not about the speed of the driver, but about the name. Stroll is the son of the owner and with Sebastian Vettel a four-time world champion was brought in for the perhaps faster Sergio Perez. What such an institution does to a team can now be seen in the car developed for 2022.

James Key is not yet Adrian Newey

For years, James Key was seen as the successor to Adrian Newey at Red Bull Racing. The former Toro Rosso technical director impressed with his designs and no one was surprised when he made the switch to McLaren. Despite many restrictions because the tokens to customize the car for 2021 were used to integrate the new Mercedes engine, much praise (unfairly) went to Key for last year's car.

In 2022, however, it appears that Key is not yet the wizard that his former mentor is. Newey's car may not be completely reliable, but it is a lot faster than the car from Woking. Newey also had to do this with less time because there was also a focus on the title fight in 2021. Key didn't have that pressure, but didn't deliver a great car. The question is how fast can this be fixed?