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F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: Scott on April 12, 2017, 08:51:14 PM

Title: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Scott on April 12, 2017, 08:51:14 PM
The race that seems to have weathered the Human Rights protests against it, the Bahrain GP began in 2004, and has run every year except 2011 when it was cancelled as a result of pressure from the media and protestors.

Fernando has won it 3 times, Massa, Vettel and Hammy have each two notches.  Last year Rosberg won it from pole after another disastrous elimination Qualifying session. 

Vettel will be anxious to make it to the grid this year, after last year blowing an engine on the warm up lap. 

I was surprised to see that Pirelli isn't bringing the Ultra's this year, but I guess they wouldn't last more than a few laps in the desert. 

The media are playing up a Vettel vs Hammy battle, but I think Bottas can take it up a notch this race, and I wouldn't count out the RBR's and of course Kimi, who finished second last year.

Wehrlein is back, hopefully won't break too many bits of the Sauber.  Horner is asking for clarifications after Vettel's unorthodox grid position in China...I am too. 

Dare tells me it is going to be raining cats and dogs on Sunday, so count on choosing a wet race, although with all those 20 acre runoff areas, there probably won't be much chance of a SC unless Verstappen is in front of someone not paying attention.

At least one Mclaren is sure to blow up, so I'm going to stick to my bet of 12 DNF's (again, Dare's suggestion) and probably Magnussen for FL. 

A few rumours going around...
-Monisha Kaltenborn not in Bahrain either due to her collapsing back in Hinwil or due to her having to deal with the dire financial state of the company and trying to sort it out (hope she's not planning on signing any more drivers).
-Christian Danner is making a stink about Ferrari bits flexing and has suggested that some competitors urge the FIA to do some extra tests...I suspect if nobody wants to talk to the FIA about it, then perhaps their bits might come under the microscope as well.
-Some guys over at Reddit are suggesting maybe Jenson will be back in the Mclaren for Monaco.  For his sake, I hope not.

I hope Easter Sunday lunches are all done by the time the race starts so I can be on the couch instead of following on twitter.  so far the weather looks a bit lousy here, so that could mean I will have time to be on chat.

Schedule and Data:

All times are local (Bahrain is GMT +3)

Thursday 13 March
15:00: FIA press conference

Friday 14 April
12:30 – 13:30: Paddock Club pit lane walk
14:00 – 15:30: First free practice
18:00 – 19:30: Second free practice
20:00: FIA press conference

Saturday 15 April
12:10 – 12:30: Team pit stop practice
12:30 – 13:30: Drivers’ autograph session
15:00 – 16:00: Third free practice
18:00 – 19:00: Qualifying
19:00: FIA post qualifying press conference

Sunday 16 April
16:30: Drivers’ track parade
16:45 – 17:15: Starting grid presentation
18:00 – 20:00: Bahrain GP
20:00: FIA post race press conference

Bahrain GP Info
No of Laps: 57
Race Distance: 308.238 km
Lap Record: 1:31.447 – P De la Rosa (2005)
2016 Winner: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: cosworth151 on April 12, 2017, 08:58:40 PM
I wonder if Ferrari might go to a biplane T-wing like McLaren, Mercedes & a few others had at Shanghai. That could stop the flexing problem.

Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Scott on April 13, 2017, 09:02:17 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl3Ua-PwlJ8
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: lkjohnson1950 on April 13, 2017, 09:24:12 PM
Even after he's gone, Bernie gets ya.  :DntKnw:
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Scott on April 13, 2017, 09:32:07 PM
Just click on the youtube link
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: lkjohnson1950 on April 13, 2017, 11:45:29 PM
I know, but isn't it stupid that you can watch it on YouTube but not on a dedicated fan site that links back to YouTube?
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Scott on April 14, 2017, 07:51:07 AM
I know, but isn't it stupid that you can watch it on YouTube but not on a dedicated fan site that links back to YouTube?
Especially when the ads are embedded...heaven forbid you stay on GPW instead of watching more YouTube  :fool:
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: cosworth151 on April 14, 2017, 12:45:06 PM
A rough start for Ferrari. Kimi's car went up in a cloud of smoke about 35 minutes into FP1. It stopped on track. Kimi hitched a ride back on a scooter.
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: cosworth151 on April 14, 2017, 01:16:46 PM
Vandoorne's McLaren died coming on course. No smoke, the engine just shut down.

The TV feed showed Bernie & Lauda sitting in the RBR box having a chat.
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: cosworth151 on April 14, 2017, 01:38:49 PM
FP1 results:

1. S. Vettel             1:32:697
2. D. Ricciardo        1:33:097
3. M. Verstappen     1:33:625
4. S. Perez              1:34:095
5. F. Massa             1:34:246
6. L. Stroll              1:34:322
7. E. Ocon              1:34:332
8. F. Alonso            1:34:372
9. R. Grosjean        1:34:564
10.L. Hamilton        1:34:636
11.D. Kvyat            1:34:838
12.N. Hulkenberg    1:34:927
13.S. Vandoorne     1:34:997
14.V. Bottas           1:35:002
15.J. Palmer           1:35:068
16.K. Magnussen    1:35:579
17.M. Ericsson        1:35:888
18.P. Wehrlein        1:36:037
19.C. Sainz Jr.        1:36:079
20.K. Raikkonen      1:42:333

Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Irisado on April 14, 2017, 08:29:52 PM
Free practice 2:

1. Vettel           1:31.310s
2. Bottas          1:31.351s
3. Ricciardo      1:31.376s
4. Raikkonen    1:31.478s
5. Hamilton      1:31.594s
6. Hulkenberg   1:31.883s
7. Massa           1:32.079s
8. Verstappen   1:32.245s
9. Grosjean      1:32.505s
10. Kvyat           1:32.707s
11. Magnussen  1:32.854s
12. Ocon            1:32.875s
13. Palmer    1:32.876s
14. Alonso            1:32.897s
15. Perez            1:33.319s
16. Stroll            1:33.361s
17. Ericsson    1:33.944s
18. Sainz            1:34.072s
19. Wehrlein    1:34.117s
20. Vandoorne    1:34.230s

More problems for Vandoorne with his McLaren-Honda, while Sainz stopped with an electrical failure.  Hamilton didn't show his true pace, owing to making a mistake on his first fast lap and being blocked by Hulkenberg on his second one.  Given that cooler temperatures are forecast as the weekend progresses, I think that Mercedes are more likely to have the pace to take pole and win the race than Ferrari.
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: cosworth151 on April 15, 2017, 05:07:53 PM
Free Practice 3:

1    33    Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing   1:32.194
2    44    Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes       1:32.304    +0.110s    
3    5    Sebastian Vettel   Ferrari               1:32.750    +0.556s
4    77    Valtteri Bottas      Mercedes       1:32.754    +0.560s
5    7    Kimi Räikkönen      Ferrari               1:32.785    +0.591s
6    19    Felipe Massa    Williams Mercedes    1:32.801    +0.607s
7    3    Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing           1:32.809    +0.615s
8    27    Nico Hulkenberg Renault            1:32.933    +0.739s
9    55    Carlos Sainz    Toro Rosso            1:33.604    +1.410s
10    26    Daniil Kvyat    Toro Rosso            1:33.744    +1.550s
11    11    Sergio Perez    Force India Mercedes    1:33.916    +1.722s
12    14    Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda            1:33.922    +1.728s
13    94    Pascal Wehrlein    Sauber Ferrari            1:33.947    +1.753s
14    18    Lance Stroll    Williams Mercedes    1:33.965    +1.771s
15    2    Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Honda    1:34.027    +1.833s
16    31    Esteban Ocon    Force India Mercedes    1:34.064    +1.870s
17    20    Kevin Magnussen    Haas Ferrari    1:34.198    +2.004s
18    8    Romain Grosjean    Haas Ferrari    1:34.205    +2.011s
19    9    Marcus Ericsson    Sauber Ferrari            1:34.268    +2.074s
20    30    Jolyon Palmer    Renault                    1:34.417    +2.223s
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Scott on April 15, 2017, 05:15:39 PM
And Bottas snatches pole.  Point lost for me, but I'm thrilled for him.   :good: :good: :good:
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: cosworth151 on April 15, 2017, 05:21:21 PM
Bottas takes his first pole in the closing seconds of quali. I lost a point on that, too. Alonso made it into Q2 but lost his power plant, so he wasn't able set a Q2 time. He'll probably get a penalty for replacing it. K-Mag would have advanced to Q2 but was hit with a yellow flag in the final corner caused by Sainz's Toro Rosso stopping on track.

1. Valtteri Bottas   FIN Mercedes - Mercedes   1m 28.769s
2. Lewis Hamilton   GBR Mercedes - Mercedes   1m 28.792s
3. Sebastian Vettel   GER Ferrari - Ferrari   1m 29.247s
4. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Red Bull - TAG   1m 29.545s
5. Kimi Raikkonen   FIN Ferrari - Ferrari   1m 29.567s

6. Max Verstappen NED Red Bull - TAG   1m 29.687s
7. Nico Hulkenberg   GER Renault - Renault   1m 29.842s
8. Felipe Massa   BRA Williams - Mercedes   1m 30.074s
9. Romain Grosjean FRA Haas-Ferrari   1m 30.763s
10. Jolyon Palmer   GBR Renault - Renault   1m 31.074s

11. Daniil Kvyat   RUS Toro Rosso-Renault   1m 30.923s
12. Lance Stroll   CAN Williams - Mercedes   1m 31.168s
13. Pascal Wehrlein   GER Sauber - Ferrari   1m 31.414s
14. Esteban Ocon   FRA Force India-Mercedes   1m 31.874s
15. Fernando Alonso   ESP McLaren-Honda   No Time

16. Carlos Sainz   ESP Toro Rosso-Renault   1m 32.118s
17. Stoffel Vandoorne   BEL McLaren-Honda   1m 32.313s
18. Sergio Perez   MEX Force India-Mercedes   1m 32.318s
19. Marcus Ericsson   SWE Sauber - Ferrari   1m 32.543s
20. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas-Ferrari   1m 32.900s
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Ian on April 15, 2017, 05:41:22 PM
Valtteri cost me a point too but I don't begrudge it, well done Valtteri.  :good:
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: lkjohnson1950 on April 15, 2017, 10:11:02 PM
Props to the Hulk and Renault, best of the rest. Vast improvement from last season.
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: J.Clark on April 15, 2017, 10:35:07 PM
Congrats are in order for Valtteri.  I would love to see him win it.

Max continues to whine.  This time he is saying that Massa ruined his (MV's) lap by passing him in the final corner.  Gee whiz Max, maybe if you were going faster, Massa wouldn't have passed you.

Maybe Williams and Massa should complain that Max was blocking.  Would that just toast his buns.   :DD
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Dare on April 15, 2017, 10:50:25 PM
Maybe they need to go back to the one lap one
car qualifying for crybaby.
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Andy B on April 16, 2017, 05:28:26 AM
Maybe they need to go back to the one lap one
car qualifying for crybaby.

Nooooooooooooooooo!
That format nearly stopped me watching F1 it was as boring as a really boring thing.
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: J.Clark on April 16, 2017, 11:06:38 AM
I agree!
That was the most boring format for qualifying . .  .  50 minutes of nothing with 10 minutes of scramble.
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: cosworth151 on April 16, 2017, 02:13:53 PM
I have to agree. The current Quali format is one of the few things F1 has gotten right in the past few years.
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Dare on April 16, 2017, 02:25:18 PM
Maybe they need to go back to the one lap one
car qualifying for crybaby.




Nooooooooooooooooo!
That format nearly stopped me watching F1 it was as boring as a really boring thing.
[/quote



Just kidding...sarcasm intended as Sheldon would say  ;)
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: F1fanaticBD on April 18, 2017, 11:06:46 AM
At first I would like to apologize to all the members in the live chat for my sudden disappearance from the chat room as my WiFi was gone and I could not establish another line to connect.

And for the grand prix, I believe it is one of the grand prix where the deserved driver and team stole the day. What I saw from Ferrari on Sunday was absolutely mesmerizing, they knew their strength and as soon as they saw there is a little weakness in the Mercedes Fortress, they pounce into it. They went for aggressive strategy and this time their bravery is rewarded through the timing of Safety car. That seal the deal for me for the whole race. I also believed that Mercedes took too long to respond to the changing strategy to release Hamilton. They should have it a lot earlier.

There was intense fighting all through the field, and I think they were a bit too many awkward points which Bahrain have to embrace like Mclaren with 1 DNS and 1 DNF, Max Verstappen had to suffer a rear break failure.

All in all a great weekend race for me, hopefully there are plenty in store  throughout the season.
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Scott on April 18, 2017, 11:52:26 AM
I'm pretty pleased Ferrari won a second time.  I would rather Kimi and Seb mix it up and take turns winning though...looks like Lady Luck is favouring Seb early season again.  Hope Kimi will shake her off soon and again pick up some podiums.

I wouldn't say it was a particularly exciting race, although the front pack stayed together for much of the first half of the race.  Sorry for Mclaren, it is hard enough having to endure another horrible season start, but to have one of their biggest cheerleaders lamenting openly on the radio about what a piece of crap it is, must hurt the team.  I hope they sort out what they are going to do about their engine program before they start bleeding technical talent from the factory.  I would abandon Honda right away.  If VW/Audi want to jump in, it would be another huge gamble for the first couple of years, but I think they would be better prepared and far more responsive than Honda has been.  Otherwise put their tail between their legs and snap up a supply of Merc's or Ferrari's (Mclaren-Ferrari has a nice ring to it, although it might come across as a finishing order that Ferrari wouldn't be too keen on).
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: F1fanaticBD on April 18, 2017, 04:14:19 PM
Sorry for Mclaren, it is hard enough having to endure another horrible season start, but to have one of their biggest cheerleaders lamenting openly on the radio about what a piece of crap it is, must hurt the team.  I hope they sort out what they are going to do about their engine program before they start bleeding technical talent from the factory.  I would abandon Honda right away.  If VW/Audi want to jump in, it would be another huge gamble for the first couple of years, but I think they would be better prepared and far more responsive than Honda has been.  Otherwise put their tail between their legs and snap up a supply of Merc's or Ferrari's (Mclaren-Ferrari has a nice ring to it, although it might come across as a finishing order that Ferrari wouldn't be too keen on).
The sorrows of McLaren are the faults of their own, they should not have jumped the boat when they had disagreement with Mercedes. I can understand why did they took the chance, the lure of 100 millions per year plus others was too good to pass, but in the long run they should have considered how Honda left the sports last time. Had they stick with Mercedes, they would have been in much better position than where they are now.
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Scott on April 18, 2017, 08:53:46 PM
I don't know BD, it's quite a relationship changer when your engine partner becomes your competitor, especially a company that basically had top secret access to every inch of the Mclaren factory.  It was a huge gamble, but I believe they had to part with Merc once their contract with them was done.

The only problem was that Honda clearly weren't up for the job.  It could have gone both ways, but unfortunately it didn't.  Not only that but the Whitmarsh-Dennis dramas going on in the background likely caused some lack of focus.
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: cosworth151 on April 18, 2017, 09:49:57 PM
The McLaren situation with Honda this year reminds me of what many of the people I ride with have always said about the bikes they build: Hondas are like hunting dogs - they like to ride in the back of pickup trucks.
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Alianora La Canta on April 19, 2017, 12:08:55 AM
I've got back from Silverstone (WEC, ELMS, Formula 3.5 and F3...) and watched F1 on playback with my parents.

Heroes:

Vettel - for taking the opportunity when it was presented to him. (Contrast Raikkonen, who didn't drive badly, but didn't provide anything to write home about either).

Alonso - for trying Indy.

Wehrlein - for making a good return to the sport.

Honourable mention:

Perez - Would have been "hero" for that 11-place rise through the order... ...had he not turfed off Stroll in the process.

Villains:

Mercedes strategists - There was something wrong with Bottas' car early on. That was obvious. He needed to be put on Plan B. That didn't happen. Instead, Mercedes waited about 10 laps to then put him on the wrong tyres. Just to make it worse, this meant Hamilton needed to pit on the same lap as Valterri's eventually-selected pit lap, requiring him to lose 6 seconds of time and to him forgetting that baulking people in the pits was banned 12 years ago (resulting in him losing another 20). It is arguable that this was what lost Mercedes this race.

McLaren - 16.667% reliability rate. Others - approaching 90% average reliability rate. McLaren, this isn't good enough...

David Coulthard - yes, the pitlane is part of the track. There are 10-year-old rules against excessive slowness covering the entire track, in addition to the 12-year-old rules banning it specifically in the pitlane area...
Title: Re: جائزة البحرين الكبرى‎‎ - The Bahrain Grand Prix
Post by: Irisado on April 29, 2017, 05:19:24 PM
I feel that Mercedes lost this race, rather than Ferrari winning it.  They reacted too slowly to Bottas's lack of pace.  They either needed to pit Hamilton early, as Ferrari did with Vettel, or they needed to ask Bottas to move over, given that they knew there was a problem with his tyres.  The early tension up at the front evaporated after the safety car period and became even less of a contest after Hamilton's penalty.

There was some action towards the back of the midfield involving Alonso, the Toro Rossos, Stroll, and Wehrlein, but it just lacked spark.  The Bahrain circuit really doesn't capture the imagination in my opinion, which is a significant part of the problem for me.

Finally, McLaren-Honda suffered a humiliating race.  Honda are clearly totally off the pace at the moment, both in terms of power and in terms of awareness about how to resolve the poor performance and lack of reliability.  I cannot see McLaren continuing this partnership in 2018.
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