So the F1
circus arrives in the heat and sand of Bahrain for what was to be the hottest and at least dry race of this very wet season to date. The practice days came and went showing several front runners including Toyota, Red Bull and of course those 2 Brawn's. Lewis looked a little happier as his
Mclaren seemed a little more on the pace, Ferrari are still off it and one has to question the bullishness of BMW
pre season.
The diffuser row was still at the forefront of
every ones mind with
aggression coming from Renault and Ferrari in particular. When it comes down to it the row is a difference in interpretation of the new regs. I suppose one could suggest those that didn't get it right are
bleating because they aren't as quick but the playing field is the same for all.
There are those
suggesting Ross should stand down as technical director of
FOCA because of his interpretation of the regs but one has to ask what would have happened had the boot been on the other foot. There has to be a school of thought that if the regs didn't make it clear hence creating a grey area there were always going to be differing interpretations.
KERS is also causing a lot of problems but more cars adopted it for Bahrain and certainly Lewis had a benefit out of the box into turn 1. There does seem to be a split in the paddock about the
for's and
against's of the system and we will have to wait and see as the season goes on.
Mclaren appear to have a very stable system but I have no doubt it is the dearest!
So with all the talking over it was down to qualifying on Saturday with anticipation of a very tight
fought contest. The Toyota's, Red Bull's and Brawn's were fighting it out for pole but with 2 secs covering the grid it was always going to be tight.
Mark
Webber was baulked by
Sutil on his last flying lap and so didn't make
quali 2 but one has to question the regs allowing a penalty which didn't affect
Sutil but yet seriously compromised Mark's entire weekend. Is there not a fairer way than this?
Sutil did find Mark and offer his apology which was a kind thing to do but the affect stays the same. It went to the stewards and
Sutil was docked 3 points which put him back to 19
th which was no penalty at all. So apart from Mark we lost both Force India's and both
Toro Rosso's which sadly for them is the norm.
Into
quali 2 and the nerves were tingling as they all launched themselves around Bahrain. What a session we had in the next 15 minutes which seemed more like an hour. The times were spell binding and as the track
rubbered in after the rain the times came down and down with the lead constantly changing.
The result of this epic was we had to lose another 5 and those that fell on
stony ground were the troubled
Nelsinho Piquet who is fighting for his drive, both BMW's,
Nakajima and the
luckless Kovalinen. However, we at last had both Ferrari's in the top 10 at least looking more
competitive.
So the gladiators were assembled for the final 15
mins shoot out for pole and in the heat of Bahrain they were going to earn their coffers. The Toyota's, Brawn's, Red Bull (
Vettel) traded places lap after lap but with Lewis never far away.
In the end the Toyota's clinched it with a 1, 2 on the grid but whilst
Trulli is a brilliant 1 lap specialist could he retain it through the race? On row 2
Vettel pipped
Jenson for 3rd, on row 3 Lewis came in front of
Barrichello, on row 4 Alonso nipped in front of
Massa and
Rosberg did a sterling job to knock
Raikkonen down to 10
th on row 5.
So the spectacle of the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand
Prix in the heat and sand of the desert was set. The Crown Prince was on the grid to support all the teams and he has created a magnificent world stage which F1 is
privileged to be a part of. What were the tactics. fuel loads, tyre choices and the rest of the intricacies going to bring?
The start was awaited with anticipation and what a start. The Toyota's got the jump from the front row but with the help of his
KERS Lewis made a great start up to third only to make a slight error to allow
Jenson back through. The Toyota's seemed to be going into the distance but their strategy let them down again and after the first stop they fell back.
Up front it was
Jenson, Sebastian, Lewis, Rubens, Fernando and
Kimi fighting it out.
Jenson seemed to be in supreme control and with a brilliant Ross Brawn pit stop strategy he seemed to be going away. However, they all had to change to the medium tyres which did not perform as well as the slicks.
It was always the case that any of the top 5 could have won the race but in the end it was
Jenson again followed by Sebastian,
Jarno after a great recovery drive, Lewis with a great drive and Rubens who wouldn't go away.
There was only one
retirement as
Nakajima came out with mechanical problems, Felipe had a
KERS problem which dropped him down the grid and not able to recover but what about the BMW's in 18
th and 19
th places, oh dear.
The Toyota's came out with 3rd and 7
th so not bad, Fernando finished 8
th for a point and at last Ferrari got their first points with
Kimi and I am sure a welcome sight. The Ferrari president Luca
di Montezemolo is not impressed with his lot and of course blames the new regs which doesn't earn any points. Points make prizes and they are simply not in them at the minute, not enough anyway.
Leaving Bahrain
Jenson must think all his birthdays have come at once. He now leads the points with 31 and his nearest rival and some 12 points adrift is his team mate, Rubens.
Vettel,
Trulli,
Glock,
Webber and Hamilton follow but Hamilton is only on 9 points with work to do.
Brawn obviously lead the
constructors with 50 points and their nearest rival is Red Bull on 27.5 followed very closely by Toyota on 26.5 and then it is
Mclaren but only on 13.
So after all the talk about having not tested the Brawn's in a dry race the pundits have been proved wrong. They showed them in Aussie in the fading light, aquaplaned their way through
Malaysia and China and then finally showed them in a full dry race in Bahrain.
I think that suggests the car is a
championship winning car but once back in Europe the pressure will start to grow as the other teams start to bolt on extra goodies. It is always difficult with the fly away races as the opportunities to develop are limited. Renault even had to remove the seats out of
Flavio's jet to get parts to China which shows the seriousness of what is going on.
Mclaren still have their troubles and have to face a council meeting on the 29
th relating to
liegate in Aussie and we wait with baited breath for the outcome. Let us hope after the 29th the formalities and political infighting go away and we can return to what is an exciting season.
So the first 4 have gone and we are back into Europe and what we have seen so far this season is a testament to the new regs which have created closer and more competitive racing. Bring it on F1 for the rest of the season.
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