George Russell (P4, 12 pts): 8/10
Finally, after what seemed an interminable wait, George Russell made his bow as a fully fledged, full-time Mercedes driver. Was he up to the job? Of course he was. The unexpected porpoising problems facing the new W13 meant there would be no prospect of a fairy tale win for him this time (unlike his near miss at Sakhir in 2020 when he subbed for an ill Lewis Hamilton) but it was a solid, reliable start to his new role - just as you would expect from the unflappable 24-year-old Brit. He was quicker than Hamilton in all three practice sessions, although when it came to qualifying the seven-time world champion found something extra (as always) and hauled himself to fifth while Russell had to settle for ninth. But Russell was soon on the move, gaining two places at the start and then passing Kevin Magnussen on lap 5. The start of the first round of pit stops briefly promoted him up to third, but once everything shook out it was clear he would be crossing the line in sixth right behind Hamilton. Except that both men were promoted two places by the Red Bull cars hitting self-destruct in the final moments, leaving Mercedes actually celebrating third and fourth against all the odds.
Lewis Hamilton (P3, 15 pts): 8/10
It's been a painful few weeks for Lewis Hamilton as the realisation settled in that the new Mercedes W13 has some serious issues that wont be resolved overnight. Hamilton himself confirmed as much in comments at pre-season testing and again heading into free practice at Bahrain, but few believed him. Most felt it was a case of the team sandbagging, and that there would be a "with one bound he was free" twist. But there wasn't, and the frustration and effort was audible in Hamilton's voice throughout the weekend as everything the squad tried fell short of what was required. Just ninth at the end of Friday practice, Hamilton still looked assured of making it through to the final round of qualifying but fifth on the grid (alongside former team mate Valtteri Bottas) was very much the best he could have been hoping for. He made an early overtake on Sergio Perez but was unable to prevent the Mexican getting past again a few laps later, confirming the superiority of the Red Bull over the Mercedes. An early switch to the hard compound accomplished little, and by the time the safety car came out on lap 46 Hamilton was still stuck in fifth and looking likely to finish there. Instead, a few minutes later he was on the podium after the two Red Bulls' synchronised failure. Maybe the cosmos was repaying some of that Abu Dhabi karma after all?
