Robert Shwartzman put in a dominating performance to win a chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix sprint race. Louis Deletraz came home in a stunning P3 after starting the race at P16, following a gamble with strategy.

Meanwhile, Championship leader, Mick Schumacher extended his lead to Callum Ilott in the championship table. The latter collided with Jehan Daruvala, as he limped home in 18th while the Carlin Racing driver had to retire from the race.

Best of the Sprint race

A brilliant start from pole-sitter, Shwartzman saw him pull off from the others going into Turn 1. Meanwhile, Daruvala and Mick had decent starts as they gained a couple of places.

Daruvala’s teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, had a blistering start as he almost stole the lead from Shwartzman. However, a puncture following a collision with Armstrong compromised his race.

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On Lap 7, the battle for P5 kicked off between championship rivals, Mick and Ilott. Mick defended extremely hard against Ilott, as the Briton was right in Mick’s split stream. Unfortunately, Ilott found no respite and was stuck behind the Prema Racing driver.

It all went haywire on Lap 10 when Ilott attempted to dive down the inside going into Turn 10. His attempt at late-braking failed miserably as Ilott slammed into the rear of Daruvala, forcing the Indian out of the race.

Amid the chaos, Mick somehow escaped the collision and held his position too, which he eventually lost to Piquet and Zhou. A few laps down the line, unsurprisingly, the stewards handed Ilott a drive-through penalty for his collision, shackling him to P18.

From there, it looked like the race was not going to produce any more excitement. However, Deletraz proved it wrong, as his aggressive strategy helped him chase down drivers ahead of him.

On Lap 22, Piquet, who had an incredible race until that point, retired from the race, handing his podium position to Deletraz.

Eventually, Shwartzman saw the chequered flag in P1, while Nikita Mazepin managed to come home in P2, owing to proper tire management.

Meanwhile, it was not an easy race for Mick Schumacher. He had to fight hard throughout the race, as he could still manage only a P7.

What this means for Mick Schumacher and his pursuit of the championship title

Mick Schumacher had an average sprint race at the Bahrain Grand Prix. At one point, he was under immense pressure from Ilott, who was looking strong and set for a podium finish.

However, the German had a sigh of relief when he watched Ilott potentially destroy his championship hopes right in front of his eyes. Luckily for Ilott, Mick too, struggled for pace as he gained just 2 points over the Briton in the championship table.

Following the weekend in Bahrain, Mick now stands 14 points clear of Ilott on the drivers’ table. Although Ilott failed to finish the sprint race in the Top-10, the battle for the title is still holding its steam. One bad race from Mick can definitely cost him the win.

With 2 more races to go, who is going to take that championship trophy?