The Official 2019 Bahrain GP Thread **SPOILERS**
Discussion
Here we go again….
Will Ferrari pick up pace? Can Bottas beat Hamilton again? Lots for us to look forward to in Bahrain.
Date(s): Friday 29 March 2019 - Sunday 31 March 2019
UK Broadcast Timings (and local time)
All sessions are live on Sky F1; only highlights are shown on Channel 4:
Live timing for all sessions available here:
https://www.formula1.com/en/f1-live.html
Lap times, PU component use, technical reports and Stewards' decisions for the weekend will appear here:
https://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula-one-world-c...
Weather forecast:
https://weather.com/weather/today/l/ASXX0075:1:AS
Tyre Choices:
2018 Qualifying Result:
2018 Race Result:
2018 race highlights:
https://youtu.be/DIm2cqy7-AI
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel drove a great race to fend off Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas to win a nail-biting Bahrain Grand Prix.
Vettel hung on ahead of the charging Mercedes on the final lap to take his second win in two races this season and one of the best of his illustrious career.
In a dramatic, strategic and unpredictable race, a Ferrari mechanic was injured when he was run over by Vettel's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen at a pit stop.
Lewis Hamilton recovered to third place after starting ninth, including one stunning moment when he passed three cars in effectively one move early in the race.
Will Ferrari pick up pace? Can Bottas beat Hamilton again? Lots for us to look forward to in Bahrain.
Date(s): Friday 29 March 2019 - Sunday 31 March 2019
UK Broadcast Timings (and local time)
All sessions are live on Sky F1; only highlights are shown on Channel 4:
Live timing for all sessions available here:
https://www.formula1.com/en/f1-live.html
Lap times, PU component use, technical reports and Stewards' decisions for the weekend will appear here:
https://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula-one-world-c...
Weather forecast:
https://weather.com/weather/today/l/ASXX0075:1:AS
Tyre Choices:
2018 Qualifying Result:
2018 Race Result:
2018 race highlights:
https://youtu.be/DIm2cqy7-AI
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel drove a great race to fend off Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas to win a nail-biting Bahrain Grand Prix.
Vettel hung on ahead of the charging Mercedes on the final lap to take his second win in two races this season and one of the best of his illustrious career.
In a dramatic, strategic and unpredictable race, a Ferrari mechanic was injured when he was run over by Vettel's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen at a pit stop.
Lewis Hamilton recovered to third place after starting ninth, including one stunning moment when he passed three cars in effectively one move early in the race.
If Ferrari have a fix for the cooling issues they seem to have then I think they'll be right on the tail if not ahead of Mercedes with Red Bull very close behind. If they haven't then I reckon a Bottas win with Verstappen second and Hamilton third after banging wheels in the first corner with his team mate.
Ferrari's cooling issues are likely a result of how their engine is packaged, which they can't really change quickly, or down to how airflow is managed - which effects aero. So if they do make a big step forwards in cooling I'd expect it to have a knock on effect on aero to an extent. I doubt that overall, for the next few races, they'll display quite the level of speed they did in testing. I get the impression their car can only be that fast in such low temperatures.
I've no doubt they will fix it in the end and be super strong though. Just trying to be realistic about development timespan.
Moving to red bull.. they apparently have more speed than they need and wish to swap some of it for more downforce. That's probably something they could achieve without major disruption to the whole car, so I wouldn't be amazed to see them at least as strong in Bahrain as they were in Melbourne - which is very exciting!
So long as someone is hassling Mercedes, I'm happy. And failing that, if red bull and Ferrari are hassling each other, that's also fine. Whichever way it goes one of those two scenarios seems certain which is great.
The one team I'm already semi bored with is Renault. They have a massive budget and decades of engineering expertise to lean upon, yet the results are as flat as they could be, relative to what other teams achieve with far less. They can and probably will be top of midfield, but that's not all that ambitious given how hard they're pushing and frequently they remind us they're here to win podiums, then championships. Looks like their F1 engine is currently the weakest in production..
I've no doubt they will fix it in the end and be super strong though. Just trying to be realistic about development timespan.
Moving to red bull.. they apparently have more speed than they need and wish to swap some of it for more downforce. That's probably something they could achieve without major disruption to the whole car, so I wouldn't be amazed to see them at least as strong in Bahrain as they were in Melbourne - which is very exciting!
So long as someone is hassling Mercedes, I'm happy. And failing that, if red bull and Ferrari are hassling each other, that's also fine. Whichever way it goes one of those two scenarios seems certain which is great.
The one team I'm already semi bored with is Renault. They have a massive budget and decades of engineering expertise to lean upon, yet the results are as flat as they could be, relative to what other teams achieve with far less. They can and probably will be top of midfield, but that's not all that ambitious given how hard they're pushing and frequently they remind us they're here to win podiums, then championships. Looks like their F1 engine is currently the weakest in production..
F1.com relative pace all teams vs mercedes. Data from Albert Park.
Full article.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.why-fer...
Merc 1/2 Quali, I expect something around the mid 1.26.
3x DRS zones (with of course the much larger rear wing), lots of overtaking and position changing.
The McLaren could well be a rocket ship here with a top 5 finish I’d say.
Full article.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.why-fer...
Merc 1/2 Quali, I expect something around the mid 1.26.
3x DRS zones (with of course the much larger rear wing), lots of overtaking and position changing.
The McLaren could well be a rocket ship here with a top 5 finish I’d say.
Deesee said:
F1.com relative pace all teams vs mercedes. Data from Albert Park.
Full article.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.why-fer...
Merc 1/2 Quali, I expect something around the mid 1.26.
3x DRS zones (with of course the much larger rear wing), lots of overtaking and position changing.
The McLaren could well be a rocket ship here with a top 5 finish I’d say.
Just look at the difference between Williams straight line speed and their cornering speed. They truly have a gripless car. Shocking really.Full article.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.why-fer...
Merc 1/2 Quali, I expect something around the mid 1.26.
3x DRS zones (with of course the much larger rear wing), lots of overtaking and position changing.
The McLaren could well be a rocket ship here with a top 5 finish I’d say.
I only noticed that as it was the same in the same stats last year. But this year they have evolved to make it worse.
TheDeuce said:
Deesee said:
F1.com relative pace all teams vs mercedes. Data from Albert Park.
Full article.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.why-fer...
Merc 1/2 Quali, I expect something around the mid 1.26.
3x DRS zones (with of course the much larger rear wing), lots of overtaking and position changing.
The McLaren could well be a rocket ship here with a top 5 finish I’d say.
Just look at the difference between Williams straight line speed and their cornering speed. They truly have a gripless car. Shocking really.Full article.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.why-fer...
Merc 1/2 Quali, I expect something around the mid 1.26.
3x DRS zones (with of course the much larger rear wing), lots of overtaking and position changing.
The McLaren could well be a rocket ship here with a top 5 finish I’d say.
I only noticed that as it was the same in the same stats last year. But this year they have evolved to make it worse.
Midfield looks tight should be a close race, and perhaps even a few shocks lined up for Q2, when the engines get turned up.
Fuel has been an issue here in the past, as well as brakes!
Deesee said:
Williams are somewhat irrelevant (again), (unfortunately).
Midfield looks tight should be a close race, and perhaps even a few shocks lined up for Q2, when the engines get turned up.
Fuel has been an issue here in the past, as well as brakes!
Apart from the as yet un quantified (it's probably Mercedes again..) battle at the top...Midfield looks tight should be a close race, and perhaps even a few shocks lined up for Q2, when the engines get turned up.
Fuel has been an issue here in the past, as well as brakes!
... Yes the real sport is midfield this year. And it's tighter than a ducks ars....
TheDeuce said:
Just look at the difference between Williams straight line speed and their cornering speed. They truly have a gripless car. Shocking really.
I only noticed that as it was the same in the same stats last year. But this year they have evolved to make it worse.
I may have dreamt this but I'm sure I've seen somewhere they were 2/10ths slower this year than the 2017 car was for qualifying in Melbourne. If that's the case I can see it being an even bigger gap in Bahrain. I only noticed that as it was the same in the same stats last year. But this year they have evolved to make it worse.
DanielSan said:
TheDeuce said:
Just look at the difference between Williams straight line speed and their cornering speed. They truly have a gripless car. Shocking really.
I only noticed that as it was the same in the same stats last year. But this year they have evolved to make it worse.
I may have dreamt this but I'm sure I've seen somewhere they were 2/10ths slower this year than the 2017 car was for qualifying in Melbourne. If that's the case I can see it being an even bigger gap in Bahrain. I only noticed that as it was the same in the same stats last year. But this year they have evolved to make it worse.
TheDeuce said:
Deesee said:
Williams are somewhat irrelevant (again), (unfortunately).
Midfield looks tight should be a close race, and perhaps even a few shocks lined up for Q2, when the engines get turned up.
Fuel has been an issue here in the past, as well as brakes!
Apart from the as yet un quantified (it's probably Mercedes again..) battle at the top...Midfield looks tight should be a close race, and perhaps even a few shocks lined up for Q2, when the engines get turned up.
Fuel has been an issue here in the past, as well as brakes!
... Yes the real sport is midfield this year. And it's tighter than a ducks ars....
Regardless of cooling, FER need to get on top of the balance issue that hindered them in AUS.
If they can get the front and rear of the car performing together I expect a much stronger performance from them which could really mix things up.
MERC performance will now be the barometer. If they’re ahead by anything like as much margin again I think we’ll need to write off the first part of the season (until Europe say) as a HAM vs BOT battle.
Nothing wrong with that of course, if they keep battling and taking points from each other it gives the others a chance to catch up later in the season if their developments can catch up.
If they can get the front and rear of the car performing together I expect a much stronger performance from them which could really mix things up.
MERC performance will now be the barometer. If they’re ahead by anything like as much margin again I think we’ll need to write off the first part of the season (until Europe say) as a HAM vs BOT battle.
Nothing wrong with that of course, if they keep battling and taking points from each other it gives the others a chance to catch up later in the season if their developments can catch up.
Deesee said:
DanielSan said:
TheDeuce said:
Just look at the difference between Williams straight line speed and their cornering speed. They truly have a gripless car. Shocking really.
I only noticed that as it was the same in the same stats last year. But this year they have evolved to make it worse.
I may have dreamt this but I'm sure I've seen somewhere they were 2/10ths slower this year than the 2017 car was for qualifying in Melbourne. If that's the case I can see it being an even bigger gap in Bahrain. I only noticed that as it was the same in the same stats last year. But this year they have evolved to make it worse.
Don't worry Williams, you can compete.. with cars from the past...
DanielSan said:
Deesee said:
They are about the same speed as a 2016/ 2017 Merc, look at it that way, that was a good car/s.
I do like to find a positive in some things but even for me that's pushing it 
TheDeuce said:
The one team I'm already semi bored with is Renault. They have a massive budget and decades of engineering expertise to lean upon, yet the results are as flat as they could be, relative to what other teams achieve with far less. They can and probably will be top of midfield, but that's not all that ambitious given how hard they're pushing and frequently they remind us they're here to win podiums, then championships. Looks like their F1 engine is currently the weakest in production..
Mercedes were in their 4th year and red bull their 5th before they took race wins, so with the current renault team in their 4th you could say they are due; the problem is Mercedes had Brawn build them a dream team, and red bull poached themselves a Newey, with both committing massive $ to the teams. Wheras renault kind of half heartedly picked up the remnants of a team that'd been run into the ground and there's always been rumours about their commitment, so I wonder if its not suprising they're a couple of years behind. They seem energised with DR, there's an acknowledgement they need to step it up.Piginapoke said:
DanielSan said:
Deesee said:
They are about the same speed as a 2016/ 2017 Merc, look at it that way, that was a good car/s.
I do like to find a positive in some things but even for me that's pushing it Well it’s all to play for this week for them, they are behind red bull in the standings, and having brought George and Robert in for extra practice last weekend, perhaps they can push on under the lights..and be the fastest on the
Deesee said:
Well all their boxes arrived trackside, and at least they have ordered the tyres.
Well it’s all to play for this week for them, they are behind red bull in the standings, and having brought George and Robert in for extra practice last weekend, perhaps they can push on under the lights..and be the fastest on thetrack pitlane..
Hold on though...Well it’s all to play for this week for them, they are behind red bull in the standings, and having brought George and Robert in for extra practice last weekend, perhaps they can push on under the lights..and be the fastest on the
If they win fastest pit stops this season, that means their car was even slower on track than we thought
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