In The Driver's Seat

In The Driver's Seat: Red alert as Mercedes must ponder strategy

New: Gift this subscriber-only story to your friends and family

How much did Sebastian Vettel's second victory of 2018 owe to improvements Ferrari made to the set-up, and how much to the fact that Mercedes weren't quite at the same level as they were in Australia?

Neither team had an accurate answer to that little conundrum after a nail-biting Bahrain Grand Prix in which Ferrari's gamble on getting to the finish with a single pit stop on soft-compound Pirelli tyres that were well past their sell-by date paid off handsomely, even though the medium-shod Mercedes were thirsting after the red car at the end of the 57-lap race.

Already a subscriber? 

Read the full story and more at $9.90/month

Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month

Unlock these benefits

  • All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com

  • Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device

  • E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 10, 2018, with the headline In The Driver's Seat: Red alert as Mercedes must ponder strategy. Subscribe