Bahrain 2010
ON PAPER, THE NEW SEASON COULD BE THE MOST EXCITING FOR YEARS - 4 WORLD CHAMPIONS IN THE FIELD, INCLUDING A RETURNING MICHAEL SCHUMACHER, WITH 2 IN THE SAME TEAM. 4 NEW TEAMS - LOTUS, BMW SAUBER (BMW WITHDREW AT THE END OF 2009 BUT HAVE HANDED THE TEAM BACK TO PETER SAUBER), HISPANIC RACING AND VIRGIN RACING, 6 NEW DRIVERS PLUS 2 RETURNEES (SCHUMACHER AND PEDRO DE LA ROSA), TOGETHER WITH A BIG REGULATION CHANGE - NO REFUELLING - WHICH AFFECTS VIRTUALLY EVERY ASPECT OF DESIGN, PERFORMANCE AND HANDLING AND THE TOP 10 QUALIFIERS HAVING TO START THE RACE ON THE SAME SET OF TYRES ON WHICH THEY SET THEIR FASTEST TIMES!
THE NEW DRIVERS ARE - MICHAEL SCHUMACHER (MERCEDES: FORMERLY BRAWN), NICO HULKENBERG (WILLIAMS), PEDRO DE LA ROSA (BMW SAUBER), KAMUI KOBAYASHI (BMW SAUBER), VITALY PETROV (RENAULT), LUCAS DI GRASSI (VIRGIN RACING), BRUNO SENNA AND KARUN CHANDHOK (BOTH HISPANIC RACING).
SO THE PROMISE IS THERE BUT WHAT OF THE REALITY. IF THIS FIRST RACE HAS SET THE PATTERN THEN IT WILL BE PRETTY BORING - QUITE THE REVERSE OF ALL THE EXPECTATION AND HYPE. HOWEVER, WE MUST NOT WRITE THE SEASON OFF JUST YET BECAUSE THE TEAMS AND DRIVERS STILL HAVE TO FATHOM OUT HOW TO DEAL WITH THE NO REFUELLING RULE TO THE BEST ADVANTAGE. BAHRAIN WAS EXCEPTIONALLY HOT AND THE TEAMS HAD HAD APPALLING INCLEMENT WEATHER AND LOW TEMPERATURES FOR THEIR THREE TEST SESSIONS IN JEREZ, VALENCIA AND BARCELONA.
DESPITE A HANDFUL OF TEAMS ASKING FOR A MANDATORY 2-STOP STRATEGY BEFORE THE SEASON STARTED, THEY ALL CHOSE TO STOP ONLY ONCE. THE TYRE DEGRADATION FROM THE VERY HEAVY CARS TURNED OUT TO BE LESS THAN ANTICIPATED, PRESUMABLY BECAUSE THE DRIVERS WERE ERRING ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION TO AVOID HAVING AN ENFORCED TYRE CHANGE AND POSSIBLY BECAUSE BRIDGESTONE HAVE ALSO TAKEN A CAUTIOUS APPROACH.
WHATEVER THE REASON, INCLUDING AN EXTENDED TRACK WITH 8 ADDITIONAL LOW SPEED CORNERS, WE CERTAINLY DID NOT SEE ANY CARS BEING HAULED IN AND OVERTAKEN BECAUSE THEY HAD COOKED THEIR TYRES. NEITHER DID WE SEE MUCH OVERTAKING IN GENERAL BECAUSE THE FOLLOWING CAR CANNOT GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE ONE IN FRONT DUE TO THE TURBULENT AIR COMING FROM THE LEADING CAR. ONLY THE NEW TEAMS GOT OVERTAKEN AND THAT WAS AS A RESULT OF THEIR LOWER POWER AND PERFORMANCE.
THE ONLY CHANGES OF POSITION OCCURRED IN THE PIT STOPS. FOR SAFETY REASONS, A CAR CANNOT NOW BE RELEASED INTO THE PATH OF ANOTHER CAR IF THE OTHER CAR IS CLOSER THAN 55 METRES. AT LEAST ONE DRIVER APPEARED TO BE 'HELD UP' IN THIS WAY AND LOST A POSITION BUT WAS IT DOWN TO A SLOWER PIT-STOP THAT ALLOWED THE OTHER CAR TO GET INSIDE THAT 55 METRE MARK?
THE ONLY REAL DRAMA OCCURRED NEAR THE END WHEN SEBASTIEN VETTEL, WHO SEEMED TO HAVE THE RACE VICTORY SEWN UP, STARTED TO DROP BACK INTO THE CLUTCHES OF THE FOLLOWING CARS, NAMELY FERNANDO ALONSO, FELIPE MASSA (WHO HAD LOST OUT TO FERNANDO AT TURN 1, LAP 1) AND LEWIS HAMILTON. IT SUBSEQUENTLY TRANSPIRED THAT THIS WAS DOWN TO A BROKEN EXHAUST THAT WAS ROBBING THE ENGINE OF FULL POWER. INDEED, THE HOT EXHAUST GASES ACTUALLY BURNT A HOLE THROUGH THE BODYWORK AS IT SOUGHT TO ESCAPE FROM THE ENGINE.
BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT A HARD LUCK STORY THEN YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE OTHER END OF THE FIELD. THE HRT TEAM HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO TEST THEIR CAR IN ANY WAY BEFORE THE RACE AND WERE FORCED TO CONDUCT THEIR SHAKEDOWN TESTS DURING FREE PRACTICE, QUALIFYING AND IN THE RACE ITSELF AND ALL THIS IN FRONT OF A WORLD-WIDE AUDIENCE. BRUNO SENNA DID MANAGE A VERY FEW LAPS ON FRIDAY BUT KARUN CHANDHOK MISSED ALL THREE FREE PRACTICE SESSIONS.
CONSEQUENTLY, A DRIVER WHO HAD NEVER DRIVEN AN F1 CAR HAD TO ATTEMPT TO QUALIFY IN A CAR THAT HAD NEVER TURNED A WHEEL! HE DIDN'T LAST LONG IN QUALIFYING OR IN THE RACE BUT HE IS TO BE ADMIRED FOR HIS COMPLETE EQUANIMITY IN THE FACE OF THE CONSTANT UPS AND DOWNS WHEN THE CAR CONSTANTLY SEEMED TO BE ON THE VERGE OF BEING FIRED UP ONLY FOR SOME OTHER PROBLEM TO EMERGE. AS HE SAID, HE CAN PROBABLY BEAT ANY OTHER DRIVER IN THE PADDOCK WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO GETTING INTO HIS RACE OVERALLS!
WHAT A JOY IT WAS TO SEE FELIPE MASSA LOOKING SO FIT AND WELL AFTER HIS APPALLING ACCIDENT IN HUNGARY LAST YEAR AND AN EVEN GREATER JOY WHEN HE FINISHED ON THE PODIUM AT THE END OF HIS FIRST RACE.
SO THE PROMISE OF THE 2010 SEASON STILL HAS TO EMERGE. WE CAN ONLY HOPE THAT THE NEXT RACE IN AUSTRALIA DELIVERS A MORE EXCITING EVENT.
STARTING GRID
| | | |
| 1.
|
Sebastian Vettel
|
| 2.
|
Felipe Massa
|
| 3.
|
Fernando Alonso
|
| 4.
|
Lewis Hamilton
|
| 5.
|
Nico Rosberg
|
| 6.
|
Mark Webber
|
| 7.
|
Michael Schumacher
|
| 8.
|
Jenson Button
|
| 9.
|
Robert Kubica
|
| 10.
|
Aidrian Sutil
|
| 11.
|
Rubens Barrichello
|
| 12.
|
Vitantonio Liuzzi
|
| 13.
|
Nico Hulkenberg
|
| 14.
|
Pedro de la Rosa
|
| 15.
|
Sebastien Buemi
|
| 16.
|
Kamui Kobayashi
|
| 17.
|
Vitaly Petrov
|
| 18.
|
Jaime Alguersari
|
| 19.
|
Timo Glock
|
| 20.
|
Jarno Trulli
|
| 21.
|
Heikki Kovalainen
|
| 22.
|
Lucas di Grassi
|
| 23.
|
Bruno Senna
|
| 24.
|
Karun Chandhok
|
RESULT
| |
| 1.
|
Fernando Alonso
|
| 2.
|
Felipe Massa
|
| 3.
|
Lewis Hamilton
|
| 4.
|
Sebastian Vettel
|
| 5.
|
Nico Rosberg
|
| 6.
|
Michael Schumacher
|
| 7.
|
Jenson Button
|
| 8.
|
Mark Webber
|
| 9.
|
Vitantonio Liuzzi
|
| 10.
|
Rubens Barrichello
|
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers :
| |
| Fernando Alonso
|
25
|
| Felipe Massa
|
18
|
| Lewis Hamilton
|
15
|
| Sebastian Vettel
|
12
|
| Nico Rosberg
|
10
|
| Michael Schumacher
|
8
|
| Jenson Button
|
6
|
| Mark Webber
|
4
|
| Vitantonio Liuzzi
|
2
|
| Rubens Barrichello
|
1
|
Constructors :
|
| Ferrari
|
43
|
| McLaren
|
21
|
| Mercedes
|
18
|
| Red Bull Racing
|
16
|
| Force India
|
2
|
| Williams
|
1
|
| Renault
|
0
|
| Scuderia Toro Rosso
|
0
|
| Lotus
|
0
|
| BMW Sauber
|
-
|
| Hispania Racing
|
-
|
| Toyota
|
-
|
Race Results posted by
David Little
15th March 2010
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