THE OFFICIAL BAHRAIN GP THREAD WITH SPOILERS
Discussion
24 hours to go till the cars roll out of the pitlane for first practice, lets start with your predictions for Bahrain…
Ferrari: Will Kimi be faster now he has a fresh engine or are there still reliability worries? Or did the revised floor have a bigger effect in the Malaysia result? Is Massa going to put his mistakes behind him and look forward?
McLaren: Is Fernando starting to assert his authority or will he be kept honest this time? Can Hamilton go one better or is it far too early even for him? Will his inexperience affect him at all this year?
BMW: Will they continue to improve and can Kubica post some good results and put his shaky start behind him? Or will Heidfeld confound his critics and prove that Ron really shouldn’t have ignored him?
Who will be leading the midfield – Williams, Renault or can Red Bull get a handle on things? Surely the Japanese manufacturers will be unable to make strides until we get to Europe, so will they be humiliated by their customers again?
Lots of questions, personally I think that Ferrari will be back on the pace, Kimi was held back by his engine but they won’t have the advantage they had at Melbourne. Perhaps a tenth or two ahead of the McLarens, but expect Alonso to push him very hard.
Ferrari: Will Kimi be faster now he has a fresh engine or are there still reliability worries? Or did the revised floor have a bigger effect in the Malaysia result? Is Massa going to put his mistakes behind him and look forward?
McLaren: Is Fernando starting to assert his authority or will he be kept honest this time? Can Hamilton go one better or is it far too early even for him? Will his inexperience affect him at all this year?
BMW: Will they continue to improve and can Kubica post some good results and put his shaky start behind him? Or will Heidfeld confound his critics and prove that Ron really shouldn’t have ignored him?
Who will be leading the midfield – Williams, Renault or can Red Bull get a handle on things? Surely the Japanese manufacturers will be unable to make strides until we get to Europe, so will they be humiliated by their customers again?
Lots of questions, personally I think that Ferrari will be back on the pace, Kimi was held back by his engine but they won’t have the advantage they had at Melbourne. Perhaps a tenth or two ahead of the McLarens, but expect Alonso to push him very hard.
I'd expect Ferrari to be top runners, but perhaps with the spectre of reliability beign a question mark. Massa and Raikonnen had issues in Australia and Raikonnen continued those into Malaysia, which leaves only a 25% fault free rate from the races so far.
I'd expect Ferrari front row, McLaren second row, BMW third, much as the past 2 GPs. The race outcome will depend on how Alonso and Hamilton do from the start.
I'd expect Ferrari front row, McLaren second row, BMW third, much as the past 2 GPs. The race outcome will depend on how Alonso and Hamilton do from the start.
Kimi will have a fresh engine, so he will be pushing it harder than in Malaysia. Fonso will continue his good run. It will be a Fonso-Kimi battle.
The run for 3rd place will be a three-way between Hamilton, Massa, and Heidfield, with Fisi being the wild-card.
I'm very impressed with BMW this year. I dare say they will match one of Ferrari or McLaren by the end of the season.
The run for 3rd place will be a three-way between Hamilton, Massa, and Heidfield, with Fisi being the wild-card.
I'm very impressed with BMW this year. I dare say they will match one of Ferrari or McLaren by the end of the season.
Was it not in Bahrain where Hamilton stormed through the field in a GP2 race last year? Finished 2nd after spinning down to something like 20th on the first lap.
This year, albeit only 2 races in, is certainly looking like a Ferrari vs McLaren year. I personally think all 4 drivers are capable of winning. If Massa can get out in front from pole, he's got as good a chance as Kimi, F'alonso and Lewis to win. BMW are the only team who look anywhere near the pace at the moment with Heidfeld quietly getting on with picking up the points.
Having said all that, I reckon it'll be an Alonso - Kimi - Hamilton top 3...
This year, albeit only 2 races in, is certainly looking like a Ferrari vs McLaren year. I personally think all 4 drivers are capable of winning. If Massa can get out in front from pole, he's got as good a chance as Kimi, F'alonso and Lewis to win. BMW are the only team who look anywhere near the pace at the moment with Heidfeld quietly getting on with picking up the points.
Having said all that, I reckon it'll be an Alonso - Kimi - Hamilton top 3...
10 Pence Short said:
The Ferraris look ominously quick in the first practice session. 1.5 seconds faster than the nearest two Mclarens.
Only 1sec. Plenty of time to close the gap
1. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 01:33.162
2. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 01:33.679
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 01:34.110
4. Fernando Alonso Spain McLaren-Mercedes 01:34.161
5. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 01:34.896
6. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 01:35.076
7. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 01:35.248
8. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 01:35.292
9. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 01:35.375
10. Alexander Wurz Austria Williams-Toyota 01:35.398
11. Jenson Button Britain Honda-Honda 01:35.445
12. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Renault-Renault 01:35.474
13. Ralf Schumacher Germany Toyota Racing-Toyota 01:35.573
14. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Renault-Renault 01:35.697
15. Scott Speed USA Toro Rosso-Ferrari 01:35.726
16. Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 01:35.856
17. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Honda-Honda 01:35.911
18. Anthony Davidson Britain Super Aguri-Honda 01:36.243
19. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 01:36.483
20. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Renault 01:36.513
21. Adrian Sutil Germany Spyker-Ferrari 01:37.084
22. Christijan Albers Holland Spyker-Ferrari 01:38.258
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