Bahrain 2014

[J.Clark]

I am not sure what is going on:
Top four are the only ones close on the time sheets after FFP-1;
Red Bull, Williams, McLaren all more than a second off of the pace;
Most cars only getting a few laps in . . .
Merc and Ferrari look good with the Hulk putting in a good run as well, but none of the top 4 had more than 17 laps.

FFP-2 in half an hour.

[F1fanaticBD]

Yeah I have agree with you on this, both the FP session felt very strange to me. Specially the reluctance of Williams & Red Bull is simply astonishing. Williams went to say, they have enough data from the testing that they don't need to run as much as the others. I can't remember a team, who is predicted as one of the dark horses of the season, making such audacious statement.

Vettel seemed a tad a bit slower than Riccardo, and more reluctant to make those long runs. Kimi seemed at a loss, it felt he has no idea what he is doing. Lotus & Sauber are really making lives difficult for themselves, and McLaren is somehow playing Mr, Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.

I am most impressed by the driving of Alonso, he is still doing the same for Ferrari, punching way beyond the ground. Kimi is better than Massa, the gap exist between Kimi & Alonso at the moment makes you appreciate this guy once again.

If Lewis can continue this sort of form, any chance Nico getting a chance at the title is by luck, because Lewis seems to match Nico, and then say I can do better. Obviously championships are won by the accumulation of points in Sundays, and nothing from Fridays, and obviously Nico has proved time after time that he has more temperament than Lewis when it comes scrapping off points in difficult races, but in terms of raw pace, Lewis outshines his childhood buddy in quite a long way.

[Irisado]

The track is still boring, even the dark.  That's my immediate reaction to this year's race.  All that locking up and just driving over a car park at turn one is particularly ridiculous.  There should be a huge gravel trap there.  None of this 'get of jail free card' tarmac.  I'm glad that this is one of the races that the BBC doesn't show live.

I can't see anyone other than a Mercedes winning this one.  Both cars look very well dialled in to the circuit, so providing they both stay reliable, it's a race for third.  That's really up for grabs based on the practice times.  Alonso could get Ferrari up there, but Red Bull are always a threat.

Lotus at least managed some practice laps this time, but they weren't much quicker than Bianchi's Marussia, so their pace is still very poor.

[J.Clark]

Williams look strong.  I get that they have most of the data they need from the testing, which was barely over a month ago.

For Massa to come out cold at the end of FFP-2 and put the car in 5th at the beginning of a long run speaks volumes for the chances of Williams in tomorrow's race.

Both Williams looked very good compared to the rest of the field behind Mercedes in SFP this morning.

I agree that the works Mercs are probably unstoppable at this point and that Lewis is very likely to pull away from Nico.

Perez and the Hulk appear to have switched roles from the previous race.

Alonso and Kimi will have their work cut out for them in this one.

[J.Clark]

Here is the field:
1. Rosberg       Mercedes   1m 33.185
2. Hamilton   Mercedes   1m 33.464
3. Ricciardo       Red Bull   1m 34.051 
4. Bottas        Williams   1m 34.247
5. Perez        Force India   1m 34.346
6. Raikkonen    Ferrari  1m 34.368
7. Button        McLaren   1m 34.387
8. Massa     Williams   1m 34.511
9. Magnussen    McLaren   1m 34.712
10. Alonso        Ferrari    1m 34.992

11. Vettel       Red Bull   1m 34.985
12. Hulkenberg    Force India   1m 35.116
13. Kvyat        Toro Rosso   1m 35.145
14. Vergne        Toro Rosso   1m 35.286
15. Gutierrez    Sauber    1m 35.981
16. Grosjean    Lotus    1m 35.908
17. Maldonado    Lotus    1m 36.663
18. Sutil       Sauber    1m 36.840
19. Kobayashi    Caterham   1m 37.085
20. Bianchi        Marussiai   1m 37.310
21. Ericsson   Caterham   1m 37.875
22. Chilton        Marussiai   1m 37.913

  Since he did not serve his penalty in the previous race, a 10 grid spot penalty now puts him P-13 and moves everyone in 4-12 up one.

Which side of the track is the good line on - odd numbered spots?  This puts Kimi, both Williams and Alonso on the good side for the start.

I have to hope the best for Rosberg - that Lewis doesn't get by him at turn 1.  I like Perez, but my first lap order - I would like anyway - would be Rosberg, Hamilton, Massa, Bottas, Kimi, Perez, Alonso . . .  Of course, if Lewis was at the rear of that train, I would not be the least bit upset

[F1fanaticBD]

You did summed it up pretty well here 

[J.Clark]

Darned near got the first three at the end of lap 1.

Massa had a real shot at a podium had not the safety car come out.

That was one of the best races I can remember in a very long time.

[Ian]

Broke my word and watched the highlights, am I ever glad I did, what a race, boring Bahrain, not today it wasn't, superb racing, great respect between drivers, if only all races were like this, best wheel to wheel racing for a long time.       

[Jericoke]

Darned near got the first three at the end of lap 1.

Massa had a real shot at a podium had not the safety car come out.

That was one of the best races I can remember in a very long time.

Definitely exciting!

Hopefully Rosberg and Hamilton can keep it close

[Vince]

Amazing, innit - just how close most of the team-mates were to each other? Chuffed for Perez, I don't mind admitting that he's proved me wrong... I thought that 'The Hulk' would blow him away this season.

And what about Vettel being asked to move over for his faster team mate? God, that made me chuckle...

As for the Mercs - apparently still up to 3 seconds a lap faster than the next best car - and that was when they were battling each other towards the end of the race!!

Roll on China...

[Irisado]

I still hate the track, but......

That was the best race of the year, and possibly the best race that I've ever seen in terms of team mates genuinely battling for the lead for a very long time.  Okay, so the safety car helped Rosberg to close up to Hamilton, and he had the better tyre choice, but it made no difference, what a spectacle.  Great to see no team orders, and none of this 'no racing after the final pit stop' malarkey.

It was risky by Mercedes, but they had so much pace, they could afford to battle, as the only danger of not winning was through a collision.  It was probably Hamilton's best race of his career too, because I thought that he was going to be overtaken sooner rather than later.  I think that Rosberg knows that he has let that race slip away.  It was a great chance for him to win, and he couldn't pull it off.

A great drive by Perez, and Hulkenberg too from eleventh on the grid.  Had his engine not suffered problems, I'm sure that Hulkenberg would have held off Ricciardo.

There were great battles through the field, particularly between Force India, Williams, and Red Bull, but my highlights were Ricciardo's radio message (how to make a point in a mature manner - were you paying attention Vettel?), and his pass on Vettel in the closing stages.  Vettel's sour expression after the race said it all.  That's twice in three races Ricciardo has been faster than him now.

Williams lost out a bit because of the safety car, but they're still doing better than last year by a long way, but I thought Ferrari's performance was really poor.  Raikkonen went backwards all day, and the fact that Alonso couldn't improve on ninth was really surprising to me.  That car was clearly not working on this track.

A poor day for Button and McLaren too, but not as poor for them as for Sauber.  What a mess.  Gutierrez could have checked his mirrors, the team could have told him Maldonado was coming, but likewise Maldonado didn't seem very interested in using the brake pedal.  That was really a bizarre crash.

Marussia took back tenth from Caterham as well, so that battle looks like being even closer than last year.

If we get more like this, roll on China, and there was even some unreliability still too.

[lkjohnson1950]

NBC had a great shot of Montezemolo turning away from the track in sheer disgust. Could not have been plainer. Shortly after that he left. I think heads will roll as Ferrari appears to be going backwards.