Bahrain GP Wrap-Up
Some left Bahrain having made an emphatic statement. Others left frustrated but ultimately encouraged. And yet, there were others who left still scratching their heads in confusion. Where Australia proved to be a lesson in dominance and Malaysia one in reemergence, Bahrain offered up a wide variety of drama that could never be scripted; at least most of it. And while the rookie Lewis Hamilton deservedly occupied much of the headlines, Nick Heidfeld should have gotten out of his car and said loud and clear, “Can I get an offer please!”
Leading up to the race all the attention and hype surrounded the rookie Lewis Hamilton, and rightfully so. Hamilton stood on the brink of history before the Bahrain GP. He had facing him the opportunity to get off to the best start for any rookie in F1 history. Lewis, in fact, would drive his way into the history books using his unique rookie coolness to track with Massa all day long until eventually finishing second. Hamilton showed himself to be more the seasoned aggressor than the reckless rookie and it has everybody sitting up and paying attention. In contrast, little attention was given to Heidfeld until he made an impressive pass for fourth on two-time world champion Fernando Alonso. On a whole, the Bahrain GP proved to be a drama filled and exciting race.
The drama of knock-out qualifying continued at Bahrain. David Coulthard was relegated to the back of the grid from the start when his gearbox gave him fits in the first round. And despite their normal running position during a race, Bahrain proved to be the first time all season so far a Spyker started from dead last in the field.
For the first time all season both of the Honda factory cars made it to the second round of qualifying…barely. Nevertheless, the trend of customer cars out-qualifying factory cars continued. Anthony Davidson, in his Super Aguri, out-did the factory Honda cars. Both Williams-Toyotas were able to split the performances of their factory Toyota competitors. And Mark Webber and his Renault powered Red Bull chassis at least beat out Heikki Kovalainen and his Renault.
In the end the real surprise amongst the top ten qualifiers was Alonso’s poor showing in his McLaren-Mercedes. All Fernando could muster was a fourth spot on the grid right in front of the two BMW Saubers. After throwing the car off the track in a desperate bid to take second at the Malaysian GP one week prior, Felipe Massa was under fire from the Italian press. Despite the pressure Massa stormed to the front of the grid at Bahrain taking over the pole. However, the Tifosi would only be happy if that front grid spot translated into a win.
As with qualifying, the race too proved to be exciting and drama filled. Much anticipation hung over turn one prior to the race with the hard-charging Massa and rookie Hamilton occupying the front row. The tension even got to the usually stoic Ron Dennis of McLaren-Mercedes. As the lights went out both of the buys on the front row behaved themselves and passed cleanly through the first couple of corners. Alonso was even able to come forward into third, pushing Raikkonen back one spot. Every one was looking at the front for trouble but it actually emerged at the back.
Cars were two wide into many of the corners. Drivers were cutting each other off making it virtually inevitable there would be some cars that would come together. Sure enough, as with the Malaysian grand prix the week before, turn four led to the undoing of some of the drivers and their cars. As each driver accelerated down the short straight going into turn four, all the jockeying for position caused an accordion effect amongst the cars at the back of the grid. Jenson Button got squeezed off and started into a spin that caused others to brake hard to avoid him. This rapid drop in speed caught Adrian Sutil off guard in his Spyker and led him to plow into the back of Scott Speed’s Toro Rosso. Sutil tore the front of his car off so bad it looked like the car was bent in two. Adrian would continue on in the race after having his nose replaced. The Spykers had proven to be so slow throughout the weekend that it was even doubtful that the damage actually hurt Sutil’s straight-line performance. While Sutil was able to carry on both Speed and Button had to retire. The bottleneck crash at turn four further grouped the cars together as it was determined the safety-car should be dispatched.
Coulthard started in the very back but used the inexperience of the drivers ahead of him at the start of the race. While the majority of the drivers followed each other nose-to-tail causing a serious accordion effect, Coulthard went wide into the first turn avoiding the line and jumping up quite a few spots. In fact, David jumped up to 15th within the first couple of laps and continued to come up through the field. Other fast starters included Kovalainen, Sato, and Christijan Albers. Both Ralf Schumacher and Nico Rosberg had bad starts and dropped several places.
After a couple of laps under the safety-car the race resumed. Massa was able to take advantage of the rolling start and led the McLaren-Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Alonso. Soon, Massa and Hamilton would begin to pull away from Alonso and Raikkonen. Heidfeld, in his BMW-Sauber was able to keep in touch with Fernando and Kimi. Behind those three, pockets of close competitive racing developed.
Battles quickly developed between many of the factory teams and their customers. Prior to the first round of pit stops a train of mid-pack runners developed. Once again, the Williams-Toyota team was able to split their factory counterparts Toyota. While Webber, in his Red Bull-Renault, was able to hold at bay behind the factory Renault of Fisichella, Coulthard proved to be even faster in his RBR3. Coulthard’s fuel strategy allowed him to quickly come up through the field and he made easy work of the factory Renault drivers.
The competition remained tight after the first round of pit stops. Coulthard continued his charge forward reaching as high as 7th. Raikkonen’s Ferrari team was able to get him out ahead of Alonso into 3rd and Alonso slipped back into the clutches of Nick Heidfeld after his BMW-Sauber team got him out of the pits closely behind Alonso and his McLaren-Mercedes. Rosberg continued to slip on and off the course while pushing to pass other cars in front of him. Mark Webber’s problems continued. After his pit stop his fuel door failed to close and eventually led to the t-wing on the engine cowling breaking off. Anthony Davidson in his Super Aguri stretched his fuel to gain higher places. However, Anthony’s stop and dropped him all the way to 14th. Massa, however, stretched his lead with Hamilton following.
While tight nose-to-tail running continued after the first round of pit stops nothing was more noteworthy than Nick Heidfeld’s pass on Fernando Alonso for fourth place. Nick raced Fernando clean and took over the spot giving BMW-Sauber’s Director Mario Theissen reason to smile and Ron Dennis of McLaren-Mercedes a cause to recant his rather harsh words toward the BMW team.
At Australia Ron thought BMW-Sauber ran light fuel loads just to make some noise and get attention. He didn’t believe their pace was reflective of hard work but only opportunistic tactics. However, after two solid fourth place finishes in the first two races, plus long stints between stops, Dennis and the rest of F1 have had to come and realize BMW is for real.
David Coulthard was one of the first to stop for the second time. However, Coulthard’s day ended soon afterward with a broken driveshaft. The second round of pit stops went smoothly enough for Massa, Hamilton, and Raikkonen. Heidfeld stopped prior to Alonso, and so the McLaren team was bent on getting Fernando back out on track ahead of the German. Despite a quick stop the Spaniard found himself right behind Nick again; still in fifth place.
The battle between Alonso and Heidfeld continued all the way to the end. Up front, however, there was no battle. After being blasted and ridiculed in the Italian press Massa put an exclamation on the weekend and silenced the detractors. Hamilton, for the second race in a row, had to hold off a more experienced driver to earn a well deserved second and the accolade of having the best start of any driver in Formula One history. Kimi Raikkonen would finish on the podium in third place. And after being out-paced by his younger teammate last year, Heidfeld made and emphatic statement in his contract year with his fourth place finish ahead of reigning champion Alonso. After Alonso the finishing order for the rest of the points was Robert Kubica in the second BMW, Jarno Trulli in his Toyota, and Giancarlo Fisichella in the Renault. With the finish of this race, both Raikkonen and Hamilton would lead the championship with a one point advantage over Alonso.
FERRARI After a dismal Malaysian GP for Massa which included a poor start from pole and then him throwing the car off and ruining his chances for a higher finish, Felipe put a seal of domination over the Bahrain GP weekend. Massa was one of the fastest throughout but his pole and dominant drive for the win really reignited his championship hopes and relationship with the Ferrari fans and Italian press.
Raikkonen led a quiet role throughout the weekend. Despite all of the pressure upon Massa, Kimi was unable to really put forward a serious challenge throughout the weekend and the race. Kimi appeared to struggle with the car all weekend long and was never able to get the balance just right. Despite this issue Kimi still seemed to hold back. Raikkonen’s reputation for being too laid back may come to haunt him after this result.
MCLAREN-MERCEDES Bahrain proved to be filled with excitement and confusion for McLaren-Mercedes. Hamilton, the boy wonder, continued to impress throughout the race weekend. Lewis would put his name in the record books with the best start ever for a formula one career. Lewis seemed to be just a step above Alonso all throughout the weekend. Starting and finishing 2nd Hamilton drove a consistent and controlled race; not at all looking like a man having only started two grand prix before Bahrain.
Alonso’s weekend, for McLaren standards, was just a bit off. Despite being more experienced, both in F1 and at Bahrain, Fernando never could match the pace of his rookie teammate. Another great start allowed Alonso to leap up to 3rd where he held off Raikkonen throughout the first stint. However, it was Fernando who seemed to go “off” the pace during the second stint. During this time Heidfeld was able to get by. And despite a valiant effort on the part of both team and driver the Spaniard would have to settle for a 5th place finish.
BMW-SAUBER What a way to start off a contract year! Although outshone by his teammate last year, Nick Heidfeld has turned it on this year and has put in some inspiring drives. With his pass on Alonso after the first round of pit stops Nick proved BMW capable not only of picking up positions with pit stops, but also, with sheer pace. Nick looked balanced throughout the weekend and showed the BMW capable of running with the top teams. Nick continued his string of 4th place finishes, and perhaps this year, more than ever, Nick believes in his chances to score well and be competitive. This confidence has peaked his motivation and ability and it shows.
Robert Kubica’s weekend proved a blessing after a failed gearbox in Australia and just being off the pace in Malaysia. Robert put in a solid, fast performance throughout the race maintaining contact with his teammate and the McLaren of Alonso. It would not have been at all surprising if Robert’s pace and drive were a little reserved in hopes of achieving a good result. Kubica’s solid 6th place should have revived his competitive spirit.
TOYOTA Once again it was proven that sheer finances alone will not guarantee higher finishes. Jarno Trulli battled all day for the final points paying positions. In the middle of the race he complained of not having the speed to chase down the Renault of Fisichella. Yet somehow, Trulli would find his way past and would finish a respectable 7th. This of course is respectable for a team with a budget about a quarter of that Toyota has.
Ralf Schumacher languished at the back of the mid-pack runners all weekend long, especially during the race. Even the upstart Super Aguri of Anthony Davidson out-qualified the German. All through the race Ralf struggled to have the same pace as that of smaller budgeted teams. Ralf finished a dismal 12th, one lap down.
RENAULT Things are not going quite right if Flavio Briatore actually gets on the radio and urges the obvious. Such is life and such is the frustration at Renault right now. Giancarlo qualified well, starting in the top ten. However, the race proved that the reigning constructors champions have a way to go to catch the top teams. Fisichella’s day was spent near the front of a long train of mid-pack runners. Unfortunately, Giancarlo either never got the chance or never had the pace to shake free and try to run down Kubica’s BMW. Instead, Fisichella battled all race long with Mark Webber and Jarno Trulli, and yet, despite Flavio’s urgings Giancarlo had to settle for the final points paying position of 8th.
Heikki Kovalainen’s day seemed even less noteworthy. Heikki failed to make it into the final round of qualifying, and instead started the race 12th. Heikki had a great start up into 9th aligning himself behind his teammate Fisichella and the Red Bull of Mark Webber. Kovalainen would lose his place to Jarno Trulli in the Toyota before the first round of stops. After the first stop Heikki fell far down in the field. While his climb up to his eventual 9th place finish was impressive, he didn’t do so with sheer pace. Needless to say, Kovalainen’s day did not look like a drive people are used to out of Renault.
WILLIAMS-TOYOTA What started out looking promising ended up status-quo. Nico Rosberg qualified his Williams in 10th, which was impressive considering the factory Toyota team’s best qualifier was Trulli but only for 9th. Last year’s Bahrain GP was Nico’s first race in F1. He dazzled by coming right out and setting one of the fast laps. Nico’s race started out fast paced but only because of a poor start that dropped him to 13th. All the rest of the race was spent playing catch up. And when playing catch up it’s easy to push too hard. This was true for Rosberg who would go off course some two or three times; depending on how you look at it. Despite all the on-track battling, most often with his teammate, Nico settled for a rather lackluster 10th.
All those years spent testing led many to believe Alex Wurz’s return to full-time racing would be something to watch. Unfortunately, it hasn’t proven to be worth watching. While its true Wurz himself has been responsible for several developments that help make the Williams better, so far, it hasn’t proven to make him better. Alex qualified rather well in 11th. The beginning of the race looked as one where Wurz would show his prowess. He held his 11th spot firm until the first round of stops. After Wurz’s first stop, however, things seemed to change. After falling well down in the field after his first stop, the rest of the race appeared more like a testing session. Wurz ran steady and with decent pace. Key retirements, especially of every Red Bull sponsored car, allowed Wurz to finish well, but his 11th place result was a bit misleading.
HONDA Bahrain proved there were still some dark clouds hanging over the Honda factory team. Rubens Barrichello again struggled in qualifying and was unable to better than a 15th starting spot. While Rubens would go on to finish, the race itself proved to be frustrating and confusing. While Honda’s B-team driver Anthony Davidson would run as high as 6th in a version of last years Honda team car, Rubens languished at the back all race long. And despite making it through the wreck at turn four, Barrichello still fell back at the start to seventeenth. Pit stops didn’t help move him up either, and were it not for others retiring, it would have been highly doubtful Rubens would have finished in his 13th spot.
Jenson Button’s day was a picture of how most people felt about Honda—“Why prolong the agony?” Like his teammate, Jenson’s qualifying was nothing to talk about. In fact, Button barely made it into the second round (starting 16th). Button’s misery ended quickly however. Going into turn four David Coulthard was on the outside of the corner and squeezed down a little bit. This caused Button to react and spin, thus ending his day.
SPYKER-FERRARI For all their cars lack in straight line speed the Spyker cars make up for it in durability. And don’t forget the team’s fortitude. Christijan Albers’ day started at the back and uncompetitive. However, Albers kept his car on track, avoided a collision, and with retirements from other teams ended up giving Spyker a good result. Despite being painfully slow, the attrition of others allowed Christijan to finish 14th.
Adrian Sutil’s race started out with a bang and proved to be the only highlight all weekend long for the Spyker driver. Adrian started the race in 20th. Going into turn four he collided heavily into Scott Speed’s Toro Rosso. This sent debris flying everywhere and looked to break the Spyker in half given the damage to the nose of the car. Sutil was able to make it back to the pits where the team fitted the car with another nose and sent him on his way. Further showing proof of Spyker’s slow pace was the fact that Sutil was able to keep up with his teammate’s pace despite the heavy damage. Sutil would end the race in 15th. In and of itself, to have both cars finish is a good result for the team.
RED BULL Mark Webber’s weekend proved to be another frustrating one. Although he qualified 8th, hydraulic problems again plagued his grand prix. A failed gearbox, however, forced him to retire early. Until retiring he mixed it up in the long train of mid-pack runners and looked set for a good result. Like in Australia the fuel door failed to close. This large door acted like a huge airbrake and even broke off the T-wing on the cowling from the force of the air at speeds. All-in-all Bahrain proved to be another frustrating weekend for the Aussie.
David Coulthard’s weekend went from bad to good and back to bad. Problems in qualifying meant David started the race at the back of the field. The team decided to go light on fuel and Coulthard took advantage of it. A veteran move at the start allowed him to jump up right at the start. David simply went around the slow single-file line of cars and picked up quite a few places. From then on Coulthard set sail. David would climb all the way up to 7th until his driveshaft failed. It was an impressive drive and showed David’s ability as a racer.
TORO ROSSO Bahrain proved it was better if Toro Rosso had just skipped the weekend all together. Vitantonio Liuzzi’s weekend started out poorly only being able to qualify in the 18th spot. Vitantonio tried to focus then on the race and possibly moving up but even the race was short lived as hydraulic problems plagued him and forced him to retire after only 26 laps.
If Liuzzi’s weekend was bad then Scott Speeds’ isn’t even worth mentioning. The American struggled to find the pace of the other runners and settled for a 19th starting spot on the grid. Scott was put out of his misery quickly though when Sutil punted him in the back and out of the race on the first lap.
SUPER AGURI Super Aguri’s weekend seemed to be looking up until both cars went up…in smoke. Anthony Davidson put his Super Aguri Honda in the race with a very good 13th grid position. Anthony jumped up one spot at the start but then fell back a couple places. Things would remain unchanged until the first round of stops. After things cycled through Davidson found himself running all the way up in 6th. After the stop he fell way back but started to come up. After the second stop he was running good until his Honda engine failed him.
Takuma Sato’s weekend was long and frustrating. Unable to really find the pace, Sato started the race from 17th. Sato had a good start, jumping up some three spots. Takuma’s day ended, however, after the first round of pit stops when his Honda let go on the front straight in a big and impressive cloud of smoke.