It is the sort of thing that would give any elite sports star nightmares. Max Verstappen would have spent much of Sunday night lost in thought and wondering what might have been.
After all, both he and Sergio Perez were on track for a decent haul of points at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Finishing second and fourth would not have been an ideal scenario when the other two spots in the top four were filled by Ferrari drivers – expected to be their main rivals in the opening weeks of this season.
But anyone in the Red Bull garage would have rested a lot easier on Sunday night if that had been the outcome. Instead, a rogue mechanical problem took both cars out of the race in what was a cruel blow in the dying stages. All of a sudden, 30 points evaporated and the team had nothing to show for its work over the course of the weekend.
While Christian Horner gave no hint over what exactly the issue was that left Red Bull empty-handed, he did tell Sky Sports that both drivers had fallen victim to the same problem. "It looks a similar issue on both cars – we don't know exactly what it is yet... but we've got to get into it and figure out exactly what has caused it," he said.
Losing so many points is far from ideal, but is certainly nothing to get too concerned about after only one Grand Prix of what is expected to be a 23-race season. More concerning for Verstappen and Perez is that it is clearly an issue with the design of the car – and that admission from their boss that they aren't quite sure what it is.
Horner also spoke of the importance of fixing the problem quickly. While that is obviously the case, right now there is no telling what impact the correction of a design flaw on the car might have on its performance going forward. When one issue is solved, others have a tendency to make an irritating appearance.
Reliability issues at the start of a season are far from unheard of, particularly after such sweeping changes made to cars ahead of this season thanks to new technical rules. But when your main rivals like Ferrari are hitting the ground running, it is a huge concern if, like Red Bull and Verstappen, you harbour ambitions of a title challenge. The Dutchman will want to see immediate improvements, or his championship defence might be in real trouble already.
As for Mercedes, while they themselves have admitted they are not on the same level of Ferrari and Red Bull in terms of pace right now, it feels like only a matter of time until the gap is closed. The Silver Arrows have too much experience of engineering the best car year after year to not be in the conversation sooner or later, even if it does take them a few races to get up to speed.
With that in mind, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will not have been able to believe their luck to finish third and fourth respectively. They were on track for two places below each – about the best they could have hoped for this weekend – until everything went wrong for Red Bull.
So they gained five points between them for doing nothing at all. That may not seem all that significant so early in the season, but it may become so if they are able to compete at the front later on in the year. The points gap to close will be that bit smaller than it might have been and, if last season taught us anything, it's that every single point really does count.
With that in mind, Toto Wolff will have slept much more soundly than his Red Bull counterpart Horner did last night.
Ferrari's big day made every F1 fan smile
"Ferrari are back," declared the delighted Carlos Sainz as Sky Sports thrust a microphone under his nose in Parc Fermé moments after he jumped out of his car. While some might suggest the Spaniard jumped the gun a little bit with that statement, the team could not have done any more to signal their intent in 2022.
After all, the Prancing Horse will gallop away from Bahrain with the maximum amount of points possible, thanks to Charles Leclerc setting the fastest lap time while leading the race pretty much from start to finish. Sainz most likely would not have been the runner-up had it not been for Red Bull's late horror show, but no-one wearing red and black will care one bit about that.
At the very least, this result was the first piece of irrefutable evidence that the positive noises coming out of Maranello all winter were not just hot air. Ferrari are serious competitors this season. For the first time in a very long time, there is real belief that this once great team can summit the F1 world again.
No matter what teams or drivers any long-time fan of the sport supports, most would struggle to avoid taking at least a tiny bit of pleasure out of seeing this team enjoy some glory again. After all, the Ferrari name is synonymous both with the sport and so many of the great names who have graced it over the decades – Lauda, Scheckter, Prost, Mansell, Schumacher... the list is a long one.
There is a long way to go in this season and a lot more that Ferrari need to prove if they are to bring those glory days back. But this was the perfect start, and as the leaders in the standings they are now the team to beat over the next few weeks at least.
Haas in dreamland after Mazepin nightmare
Is there any better sight in the F1 world than a big, beaming smile from Guenther Steiner? Sadly, they have been few and far between over the past couple of years with Haas firmly focussed upon survival rather than any form of competitiveness on the race track.
As the American team geared up for this season, there were plenty of signs that it might be another rough one for them. The decision to cut ties with Russian sponsor Uralkali was the correct one in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but leaves a big hole in the budget. Sacking Nikita Mazepin over the same issue was also the right way to go, but suddenly the team was a driver short with two weeks to go until lights out in Bahrain. That's without even mentioning their cars getting stuck at Doncaster Airport ahead of testing after a cargo plane broke down...
But suddenly all feels right. Kevin Magnussen was a popular replacement as he returned for his second spell with the team, and there is a feeling that the lineup now has the right balance. Haas have an experienced hand in the Dane, while Mick Schumacher finally has a partner who can also act as something of a mentor as he finds his footing in the sport.
And then came the race in Bahrain. An end to the long wait for points was in sight after Magnussen qualified on the fourth row, but then things got even better. As the Red Bulls dropped out he was suddenly crossing the line in fifth. Poor young Schumacher was so close to making it a double, finishing 11th – his best result in the sport to date, but one which would have left him wondering what might have been.
Steiner's smile is back, and Haas are no longer simply there to make up the numbers. What lies ahead for the team over the course of the rest of the year remains a mystery, but whatever it brings this will forever remain a fond memory for everyone involved with the team.
