The first Grand Prix weekend of 2021 is over and what a one. From a publicity point of view Formula 1 could not have had a better opening of the season, but from a sporting point of view there are still some shortcomings. These are the conclusions we can draw after the race in Bahrain.

Never trust a word out of Toto Wolff's mouth

Yes, Max Verstappen was the fastest driver this weekend, but as a team Mercedes was on top again. That looked a bit different during the winter test. Whether this is a real comeback or they just made a fool of themselves doesn't matter, you should always take it with a pinch of salt.

When Toto Wolff (or anyone else at Mercedes) says they are struggling, you can assume they will be on the podium with at least two cars. Mercedes is a bit like the student at school who nervously announces that he didn't study for a test and then gets a 9,8.

Gap with midfield still too large

After the winter test there was not only the hope that Mercedes' dominance has disappeared, but also that there would be more teams up front. Especially from McLaren, a lot was expected. That was rather disappointing. Although the gap to the two top teams is not shameful anymore, Lando Norris was again more than 45 seconds behind. No chance for a podium finish.

Vettel has really lost it

His bad form at Ferrari last year was often dismissed as a problem with the car and a consequence of the fact that he was so ingloriously sidelined by his team. But judging by his first weekend with Aston Martin, we have to conclude that there's more to it than that.

Lance Stroll is by no means a high-flyer and you'd expect a four-time world champion to roll up on the Canadian straight away. The opposite was true in Bahrain. Not to mention Vettel's incident with Ocon. Painful.

An ounce less for Mazepin

Nikita Mazepin gave the impression this weekend that he was a bit too eager to prove himself after all the negative attention. He's been acting very cool, but the load of crap he's been given (rightly or wrongly) will have a psychological effect on almost everyone. Mazepin is not a world star in the making, but he's normally not as bad as this weekend. With the urge to prove himself a few positions lower, he should be fine.

Michael Masi needs to take a look in the mirror

Much has been said about this, but the FIA really needs to do something about the grey areas in the regulations. Masi can say that he has explained everything clearly, but if you read the regulations they are simply not that clear on certain points and that doesn't just apply to the 'track limits'.

When team owners with different interests bring this up, you better take their criticism seriously. This way it sometimes seems as if the FIA is deliberately leaving room for interpretation, which makes them vulnerable to other suspicions.