Kimi Räikkönen was disappointed not to win the Bahrain Grand Prix but was pleased for the Lotus team
Source: F1ARAB
Showing posts with label Bahrain GP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bahrain GP. Show all posts
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Comment: What happened to Kimi?
Kimi Räikkönen starts from 11th position on Bahrain GP. Why?
Räikkönen falling from the last quali has already been judged as a huge blunder from Lotus-team, but what happened exactly?
Räikkönen went to Q2 from the first minutes to get a good laptime. He also thought he got one and believed it would be enough for Q1.
Going for an excellent laptime right in the beginning shows that Räikkönen and the team were prepared to improve the time at the end of Q2. The driver and the team didn't initially have any intention to use only one set of tyres during Q2. If they would have, then they should have absolutely made one fast stint right in the end of Q2 when the track would be clearly faster.
Räikkönen and Lotus failed in their calculations. Falling from Q1 came as a surprise. It wasn't a planned strategy or calculation. However they spared more new tyres for Sunday's hot race than many others, and that has a great value.
The significance of qualifications has already grown really much smaller after they started using Pirelli's tyres which wear out faster and the DRS-wings which help immensly in overtakings.
Back in the days 11th grid would have given small chances to get on the podium. Nowadays it's much more easier - especially if the car is a good friend with the tyres.
Janne Aittoniemi
Courtesy: Nicole
Qualifying Bahrain: Vettel takes first pole of 2012
After three races off the boil, Sebastian Vettel came good in Bahrain on Saturday as he claimed pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton
Although Mercedes were the favourite going into the Saturday afternoon session they were not able to make a mark with Nico Rosberg losing time in the final sector.
That left Vettel, Mark Webber, Hamilton and Jenson Button fighting for pole position.
Vettel took it with a 1:32.422, which put him 0.098s ahead of Hamilton with Webber third, 0.215s off the pace.
Button settled for fourth, aborting his final run with Rosberg fifth ahead of a very impressive Daniel Ricciardo.
The biggest casualty in qualifying was Michael Schumacher who was sitting in the pits for the final few minutes of Q1 and could only watch as his time came under pressure.
And as Heikki Kovalainen crossed the line, Schumacher could do nothing but climb out of his car down in 18th place.
Times
01 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:32.422
02 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:32.520
03 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:32.637
04 Jenson Button McLaren 1:32.711
05 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:32.821
06 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:32.912
07 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:33.008
08 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:33.394
09 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
10 Paul di Resta Force India
11 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 1:33.789
12 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:33.806
13 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:33.807
14 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:33.912
15 Bruno Senna Williams 1:34.017
16 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:36.132
17 Pastor Maldonado Williams
18 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:34.865
19 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:35.014
20 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:35.823
21 Charles Pic Marussia 1:37.683
22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:37.883
23 Timo Glock Marussia 1:37.905
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:38.314
Source: Planet-F1
Although Mercedes were the favourite going into the Saturday afternoon session they were not able to make a mark with Nico Rosberg losing time in the final sector.That left Vettel, Mark Webber, Hamilton and Jenson Button fighting for pole position.
Vettel took it with a 1:32.422, which put him 0.098s ahead of Hamilton with Webber third, 0.215s off the pace.
Button settled for fourth, aborting his final run with Rosberg fifth ahead of a very impressive Daniel Ricciardo.
The biggest casualty in qualifying was Michael Schumacher who was sitting in the pits for the final few minutes of Q1 and could only watch as his time came under pressure.
And as Heikki Kovalainen crossed the line, Schumacher could do nothing but climb out of his car down in 18th place.
Times
01 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:32.422
02 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:32.520
03 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:32.637
04 Jenson Button McLaren 1:32.711
05 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:32.821
06 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:32.912
07 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:33.008
08 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:33.394
09 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
10 Paul di Resta Force India
11 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 1:33.789
12 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:33.806
13 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:33.807
14 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:33.912
15 Bruno Senna Williams 1:34.017
16 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:36.132
17 Pastor Maldonado Williams
18 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:34.865
19 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:35.014
20 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:35.823
21 Charles Pic Marussia 1:37.683
22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:37.883
23 Timo Glock Marussia 1:37.905
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:38.314
Source: Planet-F1
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Bahrain GP cancellation decision imminent
Formula 1 looking increasingly unlikely to take place in Bahrain this year
The FIA seemed ready on Thursday to overturn its decision to take Formula 1 back to Bahrain in late October, in effect paving the way for Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to put an end to the saga which has already embarrassed the sport.
Following the withdrawal of Ecclestone’s support for the Bahrain Grand Prix rescheduling, F1′s governing body published correspondence between the FIA and the teams association FOTA which suggests that the opposition is such that a decision to cancel will probably be announced this weekend in Canada.
FOTA’s letter, addressed to Todt, Ecclestone and Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed Alzayani, stated that the new calendar was “unrealistic” for logistical and insurance reasons. The letter was signed by chairmen Martin Whitmarsh and Eric Boullier.
The letter also said F1 should only return to Bahrain “once the security conditions have been fully re-established”.
FIA president Jean Todt responded by writing that it is the responsibility of F1′s commercial rights holder, represented by Ecclestone, to “set the calendar and submit it to the FIA for approval”.
“The FIA always has at heart the smooth running of the championship and the interests of the teams, and is always prepared to address any issues, however difficult,” added the Frenchman.
“I have listened to your last-minute objections and have asked the commercial rights holder (Ecclestone) to re-examine his calendar proposal, and if necessary, to resubmit a revised proposal to the World Council,” wrote Todt.
Source: YallaF1
The FIA seemed ready on Thursday to overturn its decision to take Formula 1 back to Bahrain in late October, in effect paving the way for Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to put an end to the saga which has already embarrassed the sport.Following the withdrawal of Ecclestone’s support for the Bahrain Grand Prix rescheduling, F1′s governing body published correspondence between the FIA and the teams association FOTA which suggests that the opposition is such that a decision to cancel will probably be announced this weekend in Canada.
FOTA’s letter, addressed to Todt, Ecclestone and Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed Alzayani, stated that the new calendar was “unrealistic” for logistical and insurance reasons. The letter was signed by chairmen Martin Whitmarsh and Eric Boullier.
The letter also said F1 should only return to Bahrain “once the security conditions have been fully re-established”.
FIA president Jean Todt responded by writing that it is the responsibility of F1′s commercial rights holder, represented by Ecclestone, to “set the calendar and submit it to the FIA for approval”.
“The FIA always has at heart the smooth running of the championship and the interests of the teams, and is always prepared to address any issues, however difficult,” added the Frenchman.
“I have listened to your last-minute objections and have asked the commercial rights holder (Ecclestone) to re-examine his calendar proposal, and if necessary, to resubmit a revised proposal to the World Council,” wrote Todt.
Source: YallaF1
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Webber: F1 isn't above social responsibility
Despite the FIA reinstating the Bahrain GP, Mark Webber says he'll be "highly surprised" if the race actually goes ahead
On Friday, the FIA's World Motor Sport Council opted to put the Bahrain GP back on the calendar with the race now scheduled for October 30th.
But while the FIA were holding their meeting, a funeral was being held for a woman who was killed by tear gas in the island kingdom as protesters returned to the streets.
"My opinion is unchanged since I was first asked about this in late February. Even though a decision has been made, I'll be highly surprised if the Bahrain Grand Prix goes ahead this year," Webber told his website.
"In my personal opinion, the sport should have taken a much firmer stance earlier this year rather than constantly delaying its decision in hope of being able to re-schedule it in 2011.
"It would have sent a very clear message about F1's position on something as fundamental as human rights and how it deals with moral issues.
"It's obvious that the parties involved have struggled to reach a decision but sadly I feel that they still haven't made the right one.
"Like it or not, F1 and sport in general isn't above having a social responsibility and conscience. I hope F1 is able to return to Bahrain eventually but now isn't the right time.
"As a competitor I do not feel at all comfortable going there to compete in an event when, despite reassurances to the contrary, it seems inevitable that it will cause more tension for the people of that country. I don't understand why my sport wishes to place itself in a position to be a catalyst for that."
Source: Planet-F1
On Friday, the FIA's World Motor Sport Council opted to put the Bahrain GP back on the calendar with the race now scheduled for October 30th.But while the FIA were holding their meeting, a funeral was being held for a woman who was killed by tear gas in the island kingdom as protesters returned to the streets.
"My opinion is unchanged since I was first asked about this in late February. Even though a decision has been made, I'll be highly surprised if the Bahrain Grand Prix goes ahead this year," Webber told his website.
"In my personal opinion, the sport should have taken a much firmer stance earlier this year rather than constantly delaying its decision in hope of being able to re-schedule it in 2011.
"It would have sent a very clear message about F1's position on something as fundamental as human rights and how it deals with moral issues.
"It's obvious that the parties involved have struggled to reach a decision but sadly I feel that they still haven't made the right one.
"Like it or not, F1 and sport in general isn't above having a social responsibility and conscience. I hope F1 is able to return to Bahrain eventually but now isn't the right time.
"As a competitor I do not feel at all comfortable going there to compete in an event when, despite reassurances to the contrary, it seems inevitable that it will cause more tension for the people of that country. I don't understand why my sport wishes to place itself in a position to be a catalyst for that."
Source: Planet-F1
Friday, June 3, 2011
It's Official: Bahrain Is Back On Oct 30th
The FIA have officially confirmed that Bahrain is back on the calendar after Jean Todt visited the country to assess the situation
Bahrain was postponed earlier this season when political unrest dogged the island kingdom. However, after much debate and consideration, the FIA have opted to reinstate the grand prix.
"Following a fact-finding mission undertaken at the request of FIA President Jean Todt, FIA Vice President Carlos Gracia visited Bahrain on 31 May 2011 to assess the situation in the country," said a FIA statement.
"Meetings were conducted with the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Bahrain Motor Federation and Bahrain International Circuit, as well as other national and international organisations including Mr. Tariq Al Saffar at the National Institute of Human Rights.
"It should be noted that the recent announcement by the King of Bahrain has established a political dialogue and reconciliation process.
"After considering all the factors and taking into consideration all stakeholders' concerns, the WMSC unanimously agreed to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship."
The FIA added that they believe the decision will play a crucial role in helping to unite the people of Bahrain in the wake of the recent crisis.
"This decision reflects the spirit of reconciliation in Bahrain, which is evident from the strong support the race receives from the Government and all major parties in Bahrain, including the largest opposition group, all of whom endorse the Formula One Grand Prix and motor sport in the country.
"The WMSC feels that reinstating the grand prix is a means of helping to unite people as the country looks to move forward, and also recognises the commitment made by the Formula One teams, their employees and families, and personnel associated with the Championship including the local team of volunteers who are so vital to the event."
The race will take place on October 30th with the inaugural Indian GP moving back to the very end of the calendar.
"The Bahrain Grand Prix will take place on 30 October, replacing the Indian Grand Prix, which will now become the final round of the 2011 Championship, combined with the FIA Annual General Assembly and Prize-Giving Gala."
Source: Planet-F1
Bahrain was postponed earlier this season when political unrest dogged the island kingdom. However, after much debate and consideration, the FIA have opted to reinstate the grand prix."Following a fact-finding mission undertaken at the request of FIA President Jean Todt, FIA Vice President Carlos Gracia visited Bahrain on 31 May 2011 to assess the situation in the country," said a FIA statement.
"Meetings were conducted with the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Bahrain Motor Federation and Bahrain International Circuit, as well as other national and international organisations including Mr. Tariq Al Saffar at the National Institute of Human Rights.
"It should be noted that the recent announcement by the King of Bahrain has established a political dialogue and reconciliation process.
"After considering all the factors and taking into consideration all stakeholders' concerns, the WMSC unanimously agreed to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship."
The FIA added that they believe the decision will play a crucial role in helping to unite the people of Bahrain in the wake of the recent crisis.
"This decision reflects the spirit of reconciliation in Bahrain, which is evident from the strong support the race receives from the Government and all major parties in Bahrain, including the largest opposition group, all of whom endorse the Formula One Grand Prix and motor sport in the country.
"The WMSC feels that reinstating the grand prix is a means of helping to unite people as the country looks to move forward, and also recognises the commitment made by the Formula One teams, their employees and families, and personnel associated with the Championship including the local team of volunteers who are so vital to the event."
The race will take place on October 30th with the inaugural Indian GP moving back to the very end of the calendar.
"The Bahrain Grand Prix will take place on 30 October, replacing the Indian Grand Prix, which will now become the final round of the 2011 Championship, combined with the FIA Annual General Assembly and Prize-Giving Gala."
Source: Planet-F1
Monday, May 2, 2011
Bahrain uncertainty continues after deadline
Ongoing talks will result in a decision in the next hours
A decision about the possible rescheduling of the Bahrain grand prix this year has been postponed for yet another day.
After the May 1 deadline ran out on Sunday, it had been expected that the governing FIA would declare on Monday if a new date could be set for a 2011 race in the troubled island kingdom.
But as the Paris federation and Bernie Ecclestone apparently disagree about whether the organisers should be given even more time, the F1 chief executive was quoted as saying the sport "will go there this year if the authorities can guarantee a peaceful and quiet race".
The rubber-stamp however must be given by the FIA, and a spokesman told the BBC that ongoing talks will result in a decision "in the next hours".
"The Bahrain government will let us know within this deadline whether they see the conditions (for a rescheduled race) or they don’t," he said.
The situation was muddied as the May 1 deadline expired on Sunday, when the Sakhir circuit issued a vague statement.
Asked what it really meant, a spokesman for the track said: "We are not saying we are hosting it, we are not saying we are not hosting it. We are not saying it is cancelled."
Source: Nextgen-auto
A decision about the possible rescheduling of the Bahrain grand prix this year has been postponed for yet another day.
After the May 1 deadline ran out on Sunday, it had been expected that the governing FIA would declare on Monday if a new date could be set for a 2011 race in the troubled island kingdom.
But as the Paris federation and Bernie Ecclestone apparently disagree about whether the organisers should be given even more time, the F1 chief executive was quoted as saying the sport "will go there this year if the authorities can guarantee a peaceful and quiet race".
The rubber-stamp however must be given by the FIA, and a spokesman told the BBC that ongoing talks will result in a decision "in the next hours".
"The Bahrain government will let us know within this deadline whether they see the conditions (for a rescheduled race) or they don’t," he said.
The situation was muddied as the May 1 deadline expired on Sunday, when the Sakhir circuit issued a vague statement.
Asked what it really meant, a spokesman for the track said: "We are not saying we are hosting it, we are not saying we are not hosting it. We are not saying it is cancelled."
Source: Nextgen-auto
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Webber: Delay won't make a big difference
Mark Webber doesn't believe that the delay in the start of the F1 season will serve as a great benefit to the teams
With the Bahrain Gran Prix postponed due to unrest in the Arab nation, the start of the 2011 season will be delayed by two weeks, with the Australian GP on the 27th March will now be the season-opener.
It has been suggested that certain teams who may be struggling with the development of their 2011 challenger will benefit from the delay, but Webber thinks the difference will be negligible.
"I don't think the extra two or three weeks will make a huge difference to the championship," Webber told Reuters
"It might give someone or some teams a bit more time to get their house in order for the first race but also the guys that are in good shape are polishing and sharpening their knives pretty well.
"Everyone can benefit from a bit more time so I'm not going to read too much into that."
There has been intense speculation regarding the future of the Australian Grand Prix, with various members of the Victorian government suggesting that Melbourne should cut its losses and do away with the race.
But Webber is unfazed by the talk, instead focusing on the positives of hosting the opening race.
"That's normal stuff mate, isn't it?" the Australian said of the negative rumours.
"It always comes around each year.
"This [being the season opener] is a real great positive boost. As usual with someone's little bit of misfortune or bad luck, which is certainly the case with this one, someone receives a bit of a boost."
The 34-year-old admits that the upcoming season should be an exciting one although he's not 100% sure what to expect.
"I think every grand prix this year has a chance to be pretty interesting," he said.
"We don't know quite yet how the races are going to unfold with strategy and how the rear wing's going to work and KERS [Kinetic Energy Recovery System] and that sort of stuff.
"When you get down to the nitty gritty of actually what's going to happen on Sunday afternoon and how exciting it's going to be, we don't quite know yet," he added.
Source: Planet-F1
With the Bahrain Gran Prix postponed due to unrest in the Arab nation, the start of the 2011 season will be delayed by two weeks, with the Australian GP on the 27th March will now be the season-opener.It has been suggested that certain teams who may be struggling with the development of their 2011 challenger will benefit from the delay, but Webber thinks the difference will be negligible.
"I don't think the extra two or three weeks will make a huge difference to the championship," Webber told Reuters
"It might give someone or some teams a bit more time to get their house in order for the first race but also the guys that are in good shape are polishing and sharpening their knives pretty well.
"Everyone can benefit from a bit more time so I'm not going to read too much into that."
There has been intense speculation regarding the future of the Australian Grand Prix, with various members of the Victorian government suggesting that Melbourne should cut its losses and do away with the race.
But Webber is unfazed by the talk, instead focusing on the positives of hosting the opening race.
"That's normal stuff mate, isn't it?" the Australian said of the negative rumours.
"It always comes around each year.
"This [being the season opener] is a real great positive boost. As usual with someone's little bit of misfortune or bad luck, which is certainly the case with this one, someone receives a bit of a boost."
The 34-year-old admits that the upcoming season should be an exciting one although he's not 100% sure what to expect.
"I think every grand prix this year has a chance to be pretty interesting," he said.
"We don't know quite yet how the races are going to unfold with strategy and how the rear wing's going to work and KERS [Kinetic Energy Recovery System] and that sort of stuff.
"When you get down to the nitty gritty of actually what's going to happen on Sunday afternoon and how exciting it's going to be, we don't quite know yet," he added.
Source: Planet-F1
Monday, February 21, 2011
It's official: Bahrain GP is postponed
Formula One will not be heading to Bahrain for the season-opening race, which will be rescheduled in light of political unrest
The F1 teams were expected to race at the Sakhir circuit on March 13th as the season got underway at the island kingdom.
However, recent political unrest, which has resulted in the deaths of protesters and hundreds more being injured, has forced the powers-that-be to concede there are more pressing matters than hosting a F1 race.
"At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain," Bahrain's Crown Prince - HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa
"Although Bernie Ecclestone had graciously made clear that a decision on the race was entirely Bahrain's to make and was not yet required, we felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula 1 race to a later date.
"I would like to extend my personal gratitude to Bernie Ecclestone for his support and understanding.
"After the events of the past week, our nation's priority is on overcoming tragedy, healing divisions and rediscovering the fabric that draws this country together; reminding the world of the very best that Bahrain is capable of as a nation once again united."
Source: Planet-F1
The F1 teams were expected to race at the Sakhir circuit on March 13th as the season got underway at the island kingdom.However, recent political unrest, which has resulted in the deaths of protesters and hundreds more being injured, has forced the powers-that-be to concede there are more pressing matters than hosting a F1 race.
"At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain," Bahrain's Crown Prince - HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa
"Although Bernie Ecclestone had graciously made clear that a decision on the race was entirely Bahrain's to make and was not yet required, we felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula 1 race to a later date.
"I would like to extend my personal gratitude to Bernie Ecclestone for his support and understanding.
"After the events of the past week, our nation's priority is on overcoming tragedy, healing divisions and rediscovering the fabric that draws this country together; reminding the world of the very best that Bahrain is capable of as a nation once again united."
Source: Planet-F1
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Bahrain GP cancellation threat remains
A dark cloud is lingering above the 2011 season opener.
Anti-government protesters in Bahrain are clashing violently with police, with next month’s grand prix specifically targeted by one group and Bernie Ecclestone admitting "danger".
For formula one, the biggest danger is that the race - scheduled to take place a week after pre-race tests at the same Sakhir circuit - will have to be called off.
"There are realities on the ground that we need to accept," an FIA spokesman told the Associated Press.
"But the FIA is fully confident, with the Bahrain motor federation, that the situation will be resolved amicably."
With a round of GP2 Asia taking place this weekend, the spokesman insisted that the situation is being closely monitored.
The Bahrain circuit said its main focus is safety.
"We are monitoring the situation very closely indeed in association with the relevant authorities, and will respond appropriately to any further developments," said chief executive Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa in a statement.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner acknowledged the threat to next month’s events but said there is no alarming news about the situation emerging from the venue at present.
The Briton’s GP2 team Arden is competing in Bahrain this weekend.
"I spoke to the team yesterday and they didn’t mention any concerns and hopefully that race will go ahead as planned," he told Reuters.
A GP2 spokesperson told the Guardian: "The teams at the track have reported nothing shocking. There is no concern and GP2 will be running this weekend."
Ecclestone told the Times that a decision about the F1 event will have to be taken "very quickly".
"It’s a great shame because Bahrain have worked very hard to get their grand prix, but we have to be aware of what is going on there," he said.
"We will be watching every day so that we can inform the teams as soon as possible when we know whether it is safe to go ahead."
He admitted the very real possibility of cancellation.
"The Middle East is a big growth area and we want to be there but we also want to be safe and make sure that formula one is seen in the best light," said Ecclestone.
"I have never had any problems in Bahrain in the past and I’m happy to walk around town there. But we don’t know now. The world is changing."
An FIA spokesman told the Guardian: "The plan is for the grand prix to go ahead but our main concern will always be the safety of the teams and the spectators."
Source: Nextgen
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Vettel scoffs at Dennis' 'low fuel' theory
Sebastian Vettel on Thursday scoffed at Ron Dennis' suggestion that Red Bull did not tell the truth about its problem in the Bahrain season opener two weeks ago.
Having initially said a failed exhaust was the reason for the German's slowed pace, the team later clarified that it was in fact a spark plug problem.
But Dennis, the former McLaren team boss and ongoing chairman of the Woking based group, speculated last week that Vettel may actually have been running low on fuel.
"Maybe Ron Dennis wanted to attract attention with his theory, because otherwise no one asks for his opinion anymore," Vettel, 22, is quoted as saying from Melbourne by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
To reporters at Albert Park, the Bahrain pole sitter and early race leader reiterated that his problem was caused by a spark plug with a broken tip.
So why did he pull to the side of the track immediately after the chequered flag, if he had not run out of fuel?
"Because at the time I thought the exhaust was broken and I didn't want to do any more damage," he explained.
Source: F1 Complete
Having initially said a failed exhaust was the reason for the German's slowed pace, the team later clarified that it was in fact a spark plug problem.
But Dennis, the former McLaren team boss and ongoing chairman of the Woking based group, speculated last week that Vettel may actually have been running low on fuel.
"Maybe Ron Dennis wanted to attract attention with his theory, because otherwise no one asks for his opinion anymore," Vettel, 22, is quoted as saying from Melbourne by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
To reporters at Albert Park, the Bahrain pole sitter and early race leader reiterated that his problem was caused by a spark plug with a broken tip.
So why did he pull to the side of the track immediately after the chequered flag, if he had not run out of fuel?
"Because at the time I thought the exhaust was broken and I didn't want to do any more damage," he explained.
Source: F1 Complete
Monday, March 22, 2010
Massa does not believe Red Bull hype
Felipe Massa does not agree with Lewis Hamilton that Red Bull's car is "ridiculously" faster than the rest of the 2010 field.
Having finished third behind the Ferraris in Bahrain, after Sebastian Vettel's pole-setting RB6 dropped behind with a problem, McLaren driver Hamilton told British reporters at the weekend that the performance advantage enjoyed by Red Bull is "insane".
But Ferrari's Massa, who qualified just over a tenth behind Vettel in Bahrain, is not as downbeat as Hamilton about the pace of the Adrian Newey-penned Red Bull.
"In testing, the Red Bull might not have been the quickest car in terms of lap times, but I had noticed their pace over the longer runs had been very strong, so its speed in Bahrain qualifying was not a surprise.
"Overall, we were very similar and that reinforces the need to try and improve our car at every race through the season," said the Brazilian.
Massa believes Ferrari was even quicker in Bahrain than Red Bull on the harder of the two Bridgestone tyres.
Source: F1 Complete
Having finished third behind the Ferraris in Bahrain, after Sebastian Vettel's pole-setting RB6 dropped behind with a problem, McLaren driver Hamilton told British reporters at the weekend that the performance advantage enjoyed by Red Bull is "insane".
But Ferrari's Massa, who qualified just over a tenth behind Vettel in Bahrain, is not as downbeat as Hamilton about the pace of the Adrian Newey-penned Red Bull.
"In testing, the Red Bull might not have been the quickest car in terms of lap times, but I had noticed their pace over the longer runs had been very strong, so its speed in Bahrain qualifying was not a surprise.
"Overall, we were very similar and that reinforces the need to try and improve our car at every race through the season," said the Brazilian.
Massa believes Ferrari was even quicker in Bahrain than Red Bull on the harder of the two Bridgestone tyres.
Source: F1 Complete
Barrichello: "Hulkenberg tried too hard in Bahrain"
Nico Hulkenberg tried "too hard" during his grand prix debut in Bahrain last weekend, but Rubens Barrichello backs the young German to get up to speed.
22-year-old Hulkenberg, with A1, F3 and GP2 titles all under his belt, was outpaced in qualifying to the tune of a half-second by his Williams teammate Barrichello at the 2010 season opener.
After an early spin, Hulkenberg then finished a lap behind in the race, while the veteran Barrichello scooped the final point in the sister FW32.
Barrichello set the sixth fastest lap of the race, while Hulkenberg's was nearly 2 seconds slower, and the youngster also lost time on the way into the pits.
"Sometimes, Nico wants too much," his manager Willi Weber is quoted as saying by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
Barrichello, 37, agrees: "Nico is a very good driver, but he is also very young. In formula one you can try too hard.
"It was his first qualifying," added the holder of a record 289 grands prix. "In qualifying it is not just about driving, but also your head, and this is what he has to get used to.
"It would be unfair to expect more," Barrichello said.
Source: F1 Complete
22-year-old Hulkenberg, with A1, F3 and GP2 titles all under his belt, was outpaced in qualifying to the tune of a half-second by his Williams teammate Barrichello at the 2010 season opener.
After an early spin, Hulkenberg then finished a lap behind in the race, while the veteran Barrichello scooped the final point in the sister FW32.
Barrichello set the sixth fastest lap of the race, while Hulkenberg's was nearly 2 seconds slower, and the youngster also lost time on the way into the pits.
"Sometimes, Nico wants too much," his manager Willi Weber is quoted as saying by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
Barrichello, 37, agrees: "Nico is a very good driver, but he is also very young. In formula one you can try too hard.
"It was his first qualifying," added the holder of a record 289 grands prix. "In qualifying it is not just about driving, but also your head, and this is what he has to get used to.
"It would be unfair to expect more," Barrichello said.
Source: F1 Complete
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Domenicali urges caution after boring opener
Stefano Domenicali on Sunday has urged caution amid suggestions the sport needs to react immediately to a new crisis.
After a mainly processional beginning to F1's new no-refuelling era in Bahrain, FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh said the teams should consider mandating a second pitstop per driver.
It is also suggested that Bridgestone's selection of tyres could help contribute to making less processional races now that the strategy options are so limited.
Drivers including Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton warned after the Sakhir race that other events this year could follow a similar pattern to Sunday's processional opener.
And race winner Fernando Alonso added: "The qualifying and the starts are maybe the two key points this year.
"After the first corner more or less the positions will be settled," said the Spaniard.
But his Ferrari team boss Domenicali replied: "We should wait. I can understand his (Alonso's) opinion, but let's first wait and see how the races develop.
"There could be other situations so I would only want to give my opinion after a few races. We should wait to see a few more scenarios before we make a judgement about the way it really is," added the Italian.
Source: F1 Complete
After a mainly processional beginning to F1's new no-refuelling era in Bahrain, FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh said the teams should consider mandating a second pitstop per driver.
It is also suggested that Bridgestone's selection of tyres could help contribute to making less processional races now that the strategy options are so limited.
Drivers including Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton warned after the Sakhir race that other events this year could follow a similar pattern to Sunday's processional opener.
And race winner Fernando Alonso added: "The qualifying and the starts are maybe the two key points this year.
"After the first corner more or less the positions will be settled," said the Spaniard.
But his Ferrari team boss Domenicali replied: "We should wait. I can understand his (Alonso's) opinion, but let's first wait and see how the races develop.
"There could be other situations so I would only want to give my opinion after a few races. We should wait to see a few more scenarios before we make a judgement about the way it really is," added the Italian.
Source: F1 Complete
Drivers go missing on Bahrain grid
Many F1 drivers were missing from the grid in the minutes before Sunday's season opening Bahrain GP.
Global interest in the new 2010 season had been sky high, but reporters, television cameras and VIPs searched hard to locate F1's most famous faces in the tense moments of preparation prior to the formation lap.
It emerges that the situation was triggered by Bernie Ecclestone, who tightly controls the distribution of pre-race grid passes.
With an apparent shortage for the Sakhir grid, the F1 chief executive decided that the drivers' physiotherapists and trainers would be the ones to skip the pre-race routine.
The drivers were unhappy with the decision but Briton Ecclestone, 79, refused to budge, meaning many of them opted to get out of their cars after the pit-to-grid lap and return to the garages for physical attention.
Source: F1 Complete
Global interest in the new 2010 season had been sky high, but reporters, television cameras and VIPs searched hard to locate F1's most famous faces in the tense moments of preparation prior to the formation lap.
It emerges that the situation was triggered by Bernie Ecclestone, who tightly controls the distribution of pre-race grid passes.
With an apparent shortage for the Sakhir grid, the F1 chief executive decided that the drivers' physiotherapists and trainers would be the ones to skip the pre-race routine.
The drivers were unhappy with the decision but Briton Ecclestone, 79, refused to budge, meaning many of them opted to get out of their cars after the pit-to-grid lap and return to the garages for physical attention.
Source: F1 Complete
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Senna: To finish would be to win
Bruno Senna admits even finishing Sunday's Bahrain GP would feel like a victory to HRT after their massive struggles to even the grid.
Having failed to participate in pre-season testing and completing just 31 laps altogether in the three Bahrain practice session, Saturday's qualifying was a battle for Senna and his Hispania Racing team.
As to be expected the Brazilian qualified at the very back of the grid, beating only his team-mate Karun Chandhok, who only drove the HRT for the first time in qualifying.
Now Senna has set his sights on finish Sunday's race, which he reckons will be a victory in itself for the team.
"Obviously you can't expect much performance from us," Senna told the BBC. "We had a car that went through some big changes in terms of balance. The car was very hard to drive in qualifying.
"But at the end of the day we managed to do all practice sessions and that is a big victory for us. It will be like being on the podium if we can manage to finish the race tomorrow with both cars in one piece."
Source: Planet F1
Having failed to participate in pre-season testing and completing just 31 laps altogether in the three Bahrain practice session, Saturday's qualifying was a battle for Senna and his Hispania Racing team.
As to be expected the Brazilian qualified at the very back of the grid, beating only his team-mate Karun Chandhok, who only drove the HRT for the first time in qualifying.
Now Senna has set his sights on finish Sunday's race, which he reckons will be a victory in itself for the team.
"Obviously you can't expect much performance from us," Senna told the BBC. "We had a car that went through some big changes in terms of balance. The car was very hard to drive in qualifying.
"But at the end of the day we managed to do all practice sessions and that is a big victory for us. It will be like being on the podium if we can manage to finish the race tomorrow with both cars in one piece."
Source: Planet F1
Saturday Press Conference
The top three qualifiers in Bahrain, Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, attended Saturday's press conference.
Q: Sebastian, the testing did not tell us very much. You have picked up where you left off but how big a surprise is pole position to you?
Sebastian VETTEL: A big surprise. I mean in winter testing no-one really knew where we were. Of course it was clear that there were four teams pretty strong, but close to each other. To be honest yesterday it was a very tough day for us and we had not as much running as we were hoping for. Another long night especially for the mechanics, not a lot of sleep, some tired faces, but everyone was still keen this morning to push. I knew we had a great car but first of all you have to get it together. I have to say practice this morning and qualifying went pretty smoothly. Obviously I am very, very happy to be on pole, so thanks to the team. As I said the boys didn't get much sleep in the last month with a lot of testing in a short amount of time. To come here first time everyone really shows how strong they are and to be on top is definitely a very, very nice feeling.
Q: Felipe, what comeback for you from injury. Tell us about how you feel today about your journey back here and your performance today.
Felipe MASSA: Well, first of all congratulations to Sebastian he did a great job for the first race of the season. I think it is very nice to be back here racing competitively and in a good direction. I feel very happy to be back after such a difficult time. I was watching the races on television and was pretty excited but it is much better to be sat in the car. I prepared myself in a good direction, testing, driving go-karts, everything was great to be back in the car for racing and if you look at what happened last season with us I think it is a good start to the season for us. After a difficult season where we finished in the last race and where we are starting the season in the first race is always great for the team, great for the guys who did a very tough job inside the factory since a long time, so I feel really positive to start on the first race second. We are second and third and for the team that is really great and we will see how we doing in the race. Red Bull and also some other teams are really strong, so the race will be very difficult but I am very happy to be here fighting for the top.
Q: Fernando, the margins at the end of qualifying were quite a bit bigger than they were at the beginning. What do you put that down to and how do you feel about where you have ended up?
Fernando ALONSO: Well, I think the difference is difficult to read. With such a long lap like this one and with the conditions we were facing, with this very warm temperature, I think it is very difficult to complete that long lap with no mistakes and not any problems. I think the times are related to how the gap was as well and about the competitiveness of the car. I think in different parts of the weekend we saw times that were very tight and times that were split like they are now but I think it is okay. From our point of view we are obviously extremely happy with the result of this weekend so far. The race is tomorrow. We cannot forget this but so far everything has been great and we will keep going as we did all winter testing with a very strong car and I think competitive in all conditions, qualifying and race, and to be second and third as Felipe said is a great achievement for everybody in the factory at Maranello and the job they did from November last year until now was flat out every day and every night and the first result of the season is very, very positive, so this is a big boost for the team to carry on.
Q: Sebastian, you start the race on the same tyres you qualified on. Just give us a bit of inkling into your thinking on that?
SV: I think we all don't know really what will happen tomorrow. It could be exciting. It could be very boring. That is what I hope for. That is what all of us like to be more or less where we start. I think it is a very difficult situation to be in. The first part of the race will be crucial but on the other hand it is not a big secret that you need to take care of your tyres and the question mark is what you do with your strategy. A lot of things unknown I have to say, so all of us we don't know what to expect tomorrow.
Q: Felipe, how do you feel about the race performance of the Ferrari compared to what you can do over a single lap in qualifying? Are you stronger in the race, do you think?
FM: I think we did a good job yesterday to prepare the long distance in both tyres. We also swapped. I was on one tyre and Fernando was on the different tyres to do the long run. I think we are in the right direction, so let's see how the first race is going to be. It is the first race of the season and we need to understand so many things which will happen in the race, on the strategies, let's wait and see but I am really optimistic.
Q: Fernando, it's a long season but is this how you expect it to start?
FA: Well, you never know how a new championship will start with a big change in the regulations. For me, also changing teams, you never know, but obviously at the moment everything has been perfect and this is a very good start and I think now in equal conditions, let's say as quali with low fuel these days show the potential of the cars, so for both Ferraris to be in the top three means we have a nice car. But it is a very long championship, 10 months of developing the car, but it is very important to start scoring points from the first race. If not you are always behind and you need to close the gap and this is not ideal if you want to fight for the world championship and we are here to fight for the World Championship and this is the first step, so let's see what happens tomorrow.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Sebastian, how exciting was that for you?
SV: Very exciting. Yesterday I have to admit we were not very happy, especially myself. We knew there was potential in the car but we were just not putting it together. On top of that we had some problems, so we did not do a lot of running. But this morning straight away it has been quite a lot better. In qualifying a very smooth session as per plan but it is never easy especially as I saw in the last lap where I saw myself going around one-and-a-half or two-tenths slower around the lap. I was already thinking I have to push push push and it was really close. At the end of qualifying the circuit got a bit more difficult with the conditions changing all the time. The heat here is different to what we had in testing, so you could see people having quite big jumps in lap time either up or down. But concerning ourselves I think it was a good result and a good position to start from, but tomorrow is going to be a long, long race. It is the first race out of 19. It is not going to be a sprint, it is going to be an endurance event, so you have to take care of your car, tyres and so on. But for sure there is no better position to start from than pole position and finally, and I think I am speaking more or less on behalf of all the drivers, give some great respect to Felipe.
FM: Oh, no.
SV: It is very, very difficult, well, I don't know, you can ask him, but from the outside big respect for what he has achieved. First race he is back and he is bang, bang bang. It is good to have him back.
Q: Did you do a lot of changes to the car overnight or did the track to some extent come to you?
SV: Well, I think the track was not very good to start with yesterday morning but then rubbered in quickly. There was a lot of rubber. I think it was more transforming your car and making it work in the conditions. We did change a lot overnight. Yesterday we could not show our full performance, we would have wished to do more runs, but I had a braking failure and Mark had a problem with the drive-shaft, so overall we did not do a lot of laps, but nevertheless we could feel the potential. We changed some things, I won't tell you what, but nothing special, small things, but they had a big effect in the end. We were trying to read the conditions and what will happen throughout qualifying and it seemed to work quite well. I think we were one of the most consistent.
Q: Felipe, it is a great comeback to be second. How satisfying is it for you and how emotional?
FM: It is just fantastic to hear that definitely. First of all congratulations for the pole. I want to be in your place but I am glad for you. It is just fantastic to hear that. We are here to compete and race each other but there is relationship and respect which go over everything. All drivers have great respect and it is nice to hear that after such difficult times and such difficult accident. Now I am here 100 per cent ready to fight again and most of the people are happy, so that is fantastic to hear. We always want to do the best possible. I think it was very positive the first qualifying of the season and looking how difficult it was last year and how tough it was to improve the car race by race and to understand the regulations. I think we did a good job at home to prepare the car, to make the car in a good direction, and that is a very important point to start the season. Fernando and I are second and third and that is great for the team to have a good direction for this very long championship which won't be easy. It will be very difficult.
Q: What were you expecting for qualifying? Did you have any ideas as the Mercedes seemed to be very competitive but they are not on the first three.
FM: I expected to be, looking at what happened yesterday and this morning, fighting with Mercedes and Red Bull. I think Sebastian made a little step forward if you look this morning and yesterday and did a great lap which you would expect him. I think he did a good job.
Q: Fernando, how satisfying is it for you to be in the top three in the first drive with a new team especially in such a competitive season?
FA: I am very happy. It is the first race and there are many things to answer after a long winter with so big differences in fuel loads in all the tests and yesterday in practice as you never know what the competitors are running. We were really excited about the first qualifying of the season to really know how competitive we were, so now to have both drivers in the top three means we have a very competitive car. We thought so but you never know, you need to confirm it. It has been great. A great day and I think some kind of nice feeling to realise that we are in the fight as you never know until qualifying.
Q: You talked about the rear tyres degrading yesterday - probably everybody did - but how bad is that and is it a worry for the race itself?
FA: I think that is a worry for everybody, and not only here. I think it will be one of the characteristics of this year's racing. With heavy cars, I think the tyres are stressed a lot more and you just need to take care and also different cars will treat their tyres differently. So hopefully, fingers crossed, we can have a consistent race tomorrow and this thing will come to us.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Flavio Vanetti - Corriere della Sera) Felipe, was what you achieved today exactly what you had imagined for several months or much more?
FM: For sure, when I did all the first tests, I expected a good car to drive. For sure for the car the most important thing to think about was how the championship was going to be, and I was quite comfortable driving the car in the first test and the second test and also in Barcelona, so for sure I expected to be competitive. I expected to come here and fight for a good position: first, second, fifth, whatever. I expected to be competitive and I think it's pretty much been in that direction.
Q: (Frederic Ferret - L'Equipe) To all of you: what will be the main difficulty in the race tomorrow: saving the tyres, saving fuel in the engine?
SV: Well, in Formula One I think people like to talk about packages; I think it will be the package. As I said, in the past it was probably more a sprint event. You started the race on whatever fuel load - 50, 60, 70, 40 kilos. Of course you had to take care at the beginning and then you could push, more or less which I think everyone of us enjoyed a lot. This year, the challenge is not attacking every lap and pushing and trying to go as fast as you can. It has changed. The challenge is now obviously controlling the package, as I said, trying to listen to your car, listen to your tyres, listen to your brakes, everything. Try to read and understand the race inside the car. There will be a lot of things to learn and also for the pit wall. No one really knows what to expect, I think that's exciting so far. Hopefully we will have a good race tomorrow. As Felipe and Fernando said already, it will be a long season, so the most important thing is to finish, for sure, but I think everyone is looking forward to tomorrow's race, so we will see. I think it is a good mix of everything; you have to keep in control to be the best.
FM: I don't think there's much more to say, actually. Sebastian said everything. The race is very long, at the beginning we need to understand how the tyres behave, like the package as he said. Then we need to also understand what will be the right moment to stop which no one knows 100 percent at the moment, so we wait and see.
FA: Yes, I think we are in a learning process with the new regulations. Today we learned some things about qualifying and qualifying performance etc but tomorrow can be completely different. Maybe one car which has qualified seventh or eighth or ninth has a very strong pace in the race and he's taking care of the tyres or he makes a completely different strategy and can make up a lot of positions. We are in completely unknown territory, so we need to discover many things in the first three or four races of the championship.
Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo) Considering the degradation of the tyres, especially the super soft which you are using, do you expect the first stint to be very short tomorrow and Alonso, did you have a problem in sector two on your last lap?
FA: I don't know what the strategy will be tomorrow. I think it will be very flexible. I think we will need to be clever enough to understand the race situation and to make the pit stops whenever is necessary. I don't think this will be determined or strictly planned before the race any more. I think it will be very flexible. Second sector, yes, it was not perfect but it was the maximum I could do. I probably lost a couple of tenths but some others did better. This is Formula One.
Q: (Juha Paatalo - Financial Times Deutschland) For everybody: I think nine out of ten cars in Q3 had the soft tyres on. Was it a clear solution to take them or was there any thinking that you should take the hard ones and have a longer first stint?
SV: Well, I think we saw yesterday - I can't speak on my behalf really, I did one longish run - but especially these two, they did quite a few laps yesterday and if we are speaking about tyre degradation on the super soft it's not given that the medium tyre or the harder compound around here has zero degradation. It's also dropping. I think reading the lap times yesterday and assuming what people ran in terms of fuel load we could see that and I think in the end what made the difference is the fact that - I think you saw that throughout qualifying that the soft tyre was quite a bit stronger for initial performance which you need in qualifying. You need only one lap. Whatever happens after usually doesn't matter; in this case it does. We will see tomorrow. As Fernando said, there are so many things to learn. It's quite funny, I think last year the top three drivers sat here on Saturday afternoon and they didn't want to say when they were going to stop. Now they can't tell you because we don't know, so nobody knows. You can work out an optimum for the race, but an optimum is when you're racing on your own which, as it looks now, is very unlikely to happen. Of course there's a chance that 23 cars will not reach the grid but I think this chance is quite small.
FM: I think the difference between the super soft and the soft was that the super soft was quite a bit quicker over one lap, so I think nine out of ten cars chose to go for the best strategy in qualifying and I think tomorrow is new for everybody, so it's slightly difficult to say 'we definitely need to go on the hard.' I think in this first race everybody went for the best in qualifying and we're going to know what happens tomorrow.
FA: I didn't know that, who was on the hard? (Sutil) Which position is he in? (Tenth) OK.
FM: Maybe it's a good choice; nobody can say that he's wrong.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, you mentioned the taste of champagne earlier. How are you now that you've finally come back after two difficult struggling seasons?
FA: Yeah, the taste of champagne or the taste of the podium is important to a racing driver. I had no possibilities for two years. I had a strong final part of 2008 and only one podium in 2009 in Singapore, so obviously I missed the podium and I missed the competition and the stress of fighting for a World Championship, so after a long winter, with some good signs of a very competitive car that we were in the fight, it was clear that we needed the confirmation in the first Grand Prix that we were quick enough to be in the fight. After winning or losing a World Championship it's about the small details but at least we are in a strong position it seems. I think it's a very positive sign, a very nice feeling to be back in the fight, at least at this first race and I will enjoy tomorrow's race as much as I can because you are fighting for important positions and not in the middle of the grid.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Felipe, everybody knows that the first challenge is the team-mate and so how important has it been to come back and beat the team-mate, even if it is just on Saturday?
FM: As I said, it's just fantastic to be back in the race. I never had any doubt that I was different than before. Everything I was doing since the accident was really normal. I remember the first time I went to drive the go-karts I even had the doctor there and everybody was watching and waiting to see if I was OK, and on the first lap I was already sideways, pushing hard on the first lap. I don't really feel any difference to how I was before the accident. It's always positive when you come back and you are competitive. It's definitely what I expected. I think we have a good team, me and Fernando working very well with the team and we always want to beat everybody, it doesn't matter who the driver is, whether he's a team-mate or Sebastian or whatever. We all want to be first, that's what we're aiming for. I think this is just the first qualifying, I'm happy, but we need to prepare ourselves for the race and for the next races as well, which is always very tough. I really feel that we're going in a good direction.
Q: (Carlos Miquel - Diario AS) Fernando, are you thinking about the possibility to attack Felipe Massa in the first corner, because normally the strategy of the team could be the same in the race?
FM: No, it's better not to.
FA: It's the first race, maybe not. We don't know, we need to see how we start. Maybe I do a very bad start and maybe I need to defend my position from the fourth and the fifth guy. You never know what's going to happen at the start.
SV: I think you should attack him.
FA: We both overtake Sebastian and we have a relaxed race after that, I hope. (To Sebastian) Third is OK.
Q: (Michael Schmidt - Auto, Moto und Sport) In the past few years the picture was that on certain circuits a certain car was better than another and on other types of circuit it was the other way around. Do you think, from your experience in testing and now here in Bahrain, it will be the same this year, that it's track specific who is in front and who not?
FA: Yes, I really think so. I think it will be track to track performance. Obviously at this track we know that it was maybe one of the good ones for us. I think Red Bull at the moment maybe has some little steps ahead of us in some tracks. We expect Mercedes and McLaren to be very strong also in the coming races, so we need to keep pushing. This is only the start, we have repeated many times but this is a ten months championship. The development in one month of testing from the first of February to the end of February was huge, so imagine (what it can be) in ten months. We are sitting here now, we are very happy with this top three position but in three or four races you don't know because the teams are progressing so quickly and developing the car so quickly that you can find yourself seventh or eighth very quickly. We need to keep pushing, we need to keep working. I'm very relaxed, I'm in one of the best teams, so we should be competitive.
Source: Formula1.com
Q: Sebastian, the testing did not tell us very much. You have picked up where you left off but how big a surprise is pole position to you?
Sebastian VETTEL: A big surprise. I mean in winter testing no-one really knew where we were. Of course it was clear that there were four teams pretty strong, but close to each other. To be honest yesterday it was a very tough day for us and we had not as much running as we were hoping for. Another long night especially for the mechanics, not a lot of sleep, some tired faces, but everyone was still keen this morning to push. I knew we had a great car but first of all you have to get it together. I have to say practice this morning and qualifying went pretty smoothly. Obviously I am very, very happy to be on pole, so thanks to the team. As I said the boys didn't get much sleep in the last month with a lot of testing in a short amount of time. To come here first time everyone really shows how strong they are and to be on top is definitely a very, very nice feeling.
Q: Felipe, what comeback for you from injury. Tell us about how you feel today about your journey back here and your performance today.
Felipe MASSA: Well, first of all congratulations to Sebastian he did a great job for the first race of the season. I think it is very nice to be back here racing competitively and in a good direction. I feel very happy to be back after such a difficult time. I was watching the races on television and was pretty excited but it is much better to be sat in the car. I prepared myself in a good direction, testing, driving go-karts, everything was great to be back in the car for racing and if you look at what happened last season with us I think it is a good start to the season for us. After a difficult season where we finished in the last race and where we are starting the season in the first race is always great for the team, great for the guys who did a very tough job inside the factory since a long time, so I feel really positive to start on the first race second. We are second and third and for the team that is really great and we will see how we doing in the race. Red Bull and also some other teams are really strong, so the race will be very difficult but I am very happy to be here fighting for the top.
Q: Fernando, the margins at the end of qualifying were quite a bit bigger than they were at the beginning. What do you put that down to and how do you feel about where you have ended up?
Fernando ALONSO: Well, I think the difference is difficult to read. With such a long lap like this one and with the conditions we were facing, with this very warm temperature, I think it is very difficult to complete that long lap with no mistakes and not any problems. I think the times are related to how the gap was as well and about the competitiveness of the car. I think in different parts of the weekend we saw times that were very tight and times that were split like they are now but I think it is okay. From our point of view we are obviously extremely happy with the result of this weekend so far. The race is tomorrow. We cannot forget this but so far everything has been great and we will keep going as we did all winter testing with a very strong car and I think competitive in all conditions, qualifying and race, and to be second and third as Felipe said is a great achievement for everybody in the factory at Maranello and the job they did from November last year until now was flat out every day and every night and the first result of the season is very, very positive, so this is a big boost for the team to carry on.
Q: Sebastian, you start the race on the same tyres you qualified on. Just give us a bit of inkling into your thinking on that?
SV: I think we all don't know really what will happen tomorrow. It could be exciting. It could be very boring. That is what I hope for. That is what all of us like to be more or less where we start. I think it is a very difficult situation to be in. The first part of the race will be crucial but on the other hand it is not a big secret that you need to take care of your tyres and the question mark is what you do with your strategy. A lot of things unknown I have to say, so all of us we don't know what to expect tomorrow.
Q: Felipe, how do you feel about the race performance of the Ferrari compared to what you can do over a single lap in qualifying? Are you stronger in the race, do you think?
FM: I think we did a good job yesterday to prepare the long distance in both tyres. We also swapped. I was on one tyre and Fernando was on the different tyres to do the long run. I think we are in the right direction, so let's see how the first race is going to be. It is the first race of the season and we need to understand so many things which will happen in the race, on the strategies, let's wait and see but I am really optimistic.
Q: Fernando, it's a long season but is this how you expect it to start?
FA: Well, you never know how a new championship will start with a big change in the regulations. For me, also changing teams, you never know, but obviously at the moment everything has been perfect and this is a very good start and I think now in equal conditions, let's say as quali with low fuel these days show the potential of the cars, so for both Ferraris to be in the top three means we have a nice car. But it is a very long championship, 10 months of developing the car, but it is very important to start scoring points from the first race. If not you are always behind and you need to close the gap and this is not ideal if you want to fight for the world championship and we are here to fight for the World Championship and this is the first step, so let's see what happens tomorrow.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Sebastian, how exciting was that for you?
SV: Very exciting. Yesterday I have to admit we were not very happy, especially myself. We knew there was potential in the car but we were just not putting it together. On top of that we had some problems, so we did not do a lot of running. But this morning straight away it has been quite a lot better. In qualifying a very smooth session as per plan but it is never easy especially as I saw in the last lap where I saw myself going around one-and-a-half or two-tenths slower around the lap. I was already thinking I have to push push push and it was really close. At the end of qualifying the circuit got a bit more difficult with the conditions changing all the time. The heat here is different to what we had in testing, so you could see people having quite big jumps in lap time either up or down. But concerning ourselves I think it was a good result and a good position to start from, but tomorrow is going to be a long, long race. It is the first race out of 19. It is not going to be a sprint, it is going to be an endurance event, so you have to take care of your car, tyres and so on. But for sure there is no better position to start from than pole position and finally, and I think I am speaking more or less on behalf of all the drivers, give some great respect to Felipe.
FM: Oh, no.
SV: It is very, very difficult, well, I don't know, you can ask him, but from the outside big respect for what he has achieved. First race he is back and he is bang, bang bang. It is good to have him back.
Q: Did you do a lot of changes to the car overnight or did the track to some extent come to you?
SV: Well, I think the track was not very good to start with yesterday morning but then rubbered in quickly. There was a lot of rubber. I think it was more transforming your car and making it work in the conditions. We did change a lot overnight. Yesterday we could not show our full performance, we would have wished to do more runs, but I had a braking failure and Mark had a problem with the drive-shaft, so overall we did not do a lot of laps, but nevertheless we could feel the potential. We changed some things, I won't tell you what, but nothing special, small things, but they had a big effect in the end. We were trying to read the conditions and what will happen throughout qualifying and it seemed to work quite well. I think we were one of the most consistent.
Q: Felipe, it is a great comeback to be second. How satisfying is it for you and how emotional?
FM: It is just fantastic to hear that definitely. First of all congratulations for the pole. I want to be in your place but I am glad for you. It is just fantastic to hear that. We are here to compete and race each other but there is relationship and respect which go over everything. All drivers have great respect and it is nice to hear that after such difficult times and such difficult accident. Now I am here 100 per cent ready to fight again and most of the people are happy, so that is fantastic to hear. We always want to do the best possible. I think it was very positive the first qualifying of the season and looking how difficult it was last year and how tough it was to improve the car race by race and to understand the regulations. I think we did a good job at home to prepare the car, to make the car in a good direction, and that is a very important point to start the season. Fernando and I are second and third and that is great for the team to have a good direction for this very long championship which won't be easy. It will be very difficult.
Q: What were you expecting for qualifying? Did you have any ideas as the Mercedes seemed to be very competitive but they are not on the first three.
FM: I expected to be, looking at what happened yesterday and this morning, fighting with Mercedes and Red Bull. I think Sebastian made a little step forward if you look this morning and yesterday and did a great lap which you would expect him. I think he did a good job.
Q: Fernando, how satisfying is it for you to be in the top three in the first drive with a new team especially in such a competitive season?
FA: I am very happy. It is the first race and there are many things to answer after a long winter with so big differences in fuel loads in all the tests and yesterday in practice as you never know what the competitors are running. We were really excited about the first qualifying of the season to really know how competitive we were, so now to have both drivers in the top three means we have a very competitive car. We thought so but you never know, you need to confirm it. It has been great. A great day and I think some kind of nice feeling to realise that we are in the fight as you never know until qualifying.
Q: You talked about the rear tyres degrading yesterday - probably everybody did - but how bad is that and is it a worry for the race itself?
FA: I think that is a worry for everybody, and not only here. I think it will be one of the characteristics of this year's racing. With heavy cars, I think the tyres are stressed a lot more and you just need to take care and also different cars will treat their tyres differently. So hopefully, fingers crossed, we can have a consistent race tomorrow and this thing will come to us.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Flavio Vanetti - Corriere della Sera) Felipe, was what you achieved today exactly what you had imagined for several months or much more?
FM: For sure, when I did all the first tests, I expected a good car to drive. For sure for the car the most important thing to think about was how the championship was going to be, and I was quite comfortable driving the car in the first test and the second test and also in Barcelona, so for sure I expected to be competitive. I expected to come here and fight for a good position: first, second, fifth, whatever. I expected to be competitive and I think it's pretty much been in that direction.
Q: (Frederic Ferret - L'Equipe) To all of you: what will be the main difficulty in the race tomorrow: saving the tyres, saving fuel in the engine?
SV: Well, in Formula One I think people like to talk about packages; I think it will be the package. As I said, in the past it was probably more a sprint event. You started the race on whatever fuel load - 50, 60, 70, 40 kilos. Of course you had to take care at the beginning and then you could push, more or less which I think everyone of us enjoyed a lot. This year, the challenge is not attacking every lap and pushing and trying to go as fast as you can. It has changed. The challenge is now obviously controlling the package, as I said, trying to listen to your car, listen to your tyres, listen to your brakes, everything. Try to read and understand the race inside the car. There will be a lot of things to learn and also for the pit wall. No one really knows what to expect, I think that's exciting so far. Hopefully we will have a good race tomorrow. As Felipe and Fernando said already, it will be a long season, so the most important thing is to finish, for sure, but I think everyone is looking forward to tomorrow's race, so we will see. I think it is a good mix of everything; you have to keep in control to be the best.
FM: I don't think there's much more to say, actually. Sebastian said everything. The race is very long, at the beginning we need to understand how the tyres behave, like the package as he said. Then we need to also understand what will be the right moment to stop which no one knows 100 percent at the moment, so we wait and see.
FA: Yes, I think we are in a learning process with the new regulations. Today we learned some things about qualifying and qualifying performance etc but tomorrow can be completely different. Maybe one car which has qualified seventh or eighth or ninth has a very strong pace in the race and he's taking care of the tyres or he makes a completely different strategy and can make up a lot of positions. We are in completely unknown territory, so we need to discover many things in the first three or four races of the championship.
Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo) Considering the degradation of the tyres, especially the super soft which you are using, do you expect the first stint to be very short tomorrow and Alonso, did you have a problem in sector two on your last lap?
FA: I don't know what the strategy will be tomorrow. I think it will be very flexible. I think we will need to be clever enough to understand the race situation and to make the pit stops whenever is necessary. I don't think this will be determined or strictly planned before the race any more. I think it will be very flexible. Second sector, yes, it was not perfect but it was the maximum I could do. I probably lost a couple of tenths but some others did better. This is Formula One.
Q: (Juha Paatalo - Financial Times Deutschland) For everybody: I think nine out of ten cars in Q3 had the soft tyres on. Was it a clear solution to take them or was there any thinking that you should take the hard ones and have a longer first stint?
SV: Well, I think we saw yesterday - I can't speak on my behalf really, I did one longish run - but especially these two, they did quite a few laps yesterday and if we are speaking about tyre degradation on the super soft it's not given that the medium tyre or the harder compound around here has zero degradation. It's also dropping. I think reading the lap times yesterday and assuming what people ran in terms of fuel load we could see that and I think in the end what made the difference is the fact that - I think you saw that throughout qualifying that the soft tyre was quite a bit stronger for initial performance which you need in qualifying. You need only one lap. Whatever happens after usually doesn't matter; in this case it does. We will see tomorrow. As Fernando said, there are so many things to learn. It's quite funny, I think last year the top three drivers sat here on Saturday afternoon and they didn't want to say when they were going to stop. Now they can't tell you because we don't know, so nobody knows. You can work out an optimum for the race, but an optimum is when you're racing on your own which, as it looks now, is very unlikely to happen. Of course there's a chance that 23 cars will not reach the grid but I think this chance is quite small.
FM: I think the difference between the super soft and the soft was that the super soft was quite a bit quicker over one lap, so I think nine out of ten cars chose to go for the best strategy in qualifying and I think tomorrow is new for everybody, so it's slightly difficult to say 'we definitely need to go on the hard.' I think in this first race everybody went for the best in qualifying and we're going to know what happens tomorrow.
FA: I didn't know that, who was on the hard? (Sutil) Which position is he in? (Tenth) OK.
FM: Maybe it's a good choice; nobody can say that he's wrong.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, you mentioned the taste of champagne earlier. How are you now that you've finally come back after two difficult struggling seasons?
FA: Yeah, the taste of champagne or the taste of the podium is important to a racing driver. I had no possibilities for two years. I had a strong final part of 2008 and only one podium in 2009 in Singapore, so obviously I missed the podium and I missed the competition and the stress of fighting for a World Championship, so after a long winter, with some good signs of a very competitive car that we were in the fight, it was clear that we needed the confirmation in the first Grand Prix that we were quick enough to be in the fight. After winning or losing a World Championship it's about the small details but at least we are in a strong position it seems. I think it's a very positive sign, a very nice feeling to be back in the fight, at least at this first race and I will enjoy tomorrow's race as much as I can because you are fighting for important positions and not in the middle of the grid.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Felipe, everybody knows that the first challenge is the team-mate and so how important has it been to come back and beat the team-mate, even if it is just on Saturday?
FM: As I said, it's just fantastic to be back in the race. I never had any doubt that I was different than before. Everything I was doing since the accident was really normal. I remember the first time I went to drive the go-karts I even had the doctor there and everybody was watching and waiting to see if I was OK, and on the first lap I was already sideways, pushing hard on the first lap. I don't really feel any difference to how I was before the accident. It's always positive when you come back and you are competitive. It's definitely what I expected. I think we have a good team, me and Fernando working very well with the team and we always want to beat everybody, it doesn't matter who the driver is, whether he's a team-mate or Sebastian or whatever. We all want to be first, that's what we're aiming for. I think this is just the first qualifying, I'm happy, but we need to prepare ourselves for the race and for the next races as well, which is always very tough. I really feel that we're going in a good direction.
Q: (Carlos Miquel - Diario AS) Fernando, are you thinking about the possibility to attack Felipe Massa in the first corner, because normally the strategy of the team could be the same in the race?
FM: No, it's better not to.
FA: It's the first race, maybe not. We don't know, we need to see how we start. Maybe I do a very bad start and maybe I need to defend my position from the fourth and the fifth guy. You never know what's going to happen at the start.
SV: I think you should attack him.
FA: We both overtake Sebastian and we have a relaxed race after that, I hope. (To Sebastian) Third is OK.
Q: (Michael Schmidt - Auto, Moto und Sport) In the past few years the picture was that on certain circuits a certain car was better than another and on other types of circuit it was the other way around. Do you think, from your experience in testing and now here in Bahrain, it will be the same this year, that it's track specific who is in front and who not?
FA: Yes, I really think so. I think it will be track to track performance. Obviously at this track we know that it was maybe one of the good ones for us. I think Red Bull at the moment maybe has some little steps ahead of us in some tracks. We expect Mercedes and McLaren to be very strong also in the coming races, so we need to keep pushing. This is only the start, we have repeated many times but this is a ten months championship. The development in one month of testing from the first of February to the end of February was huge, so imagine (what it can be) in ten months. We are sitting here now, we are very happy with this top three position but in three or four races you don't know because the teams are progressing so quickly and developing the car so quickly that you can find yourself seventh or eighth very quickly. We need to keep pushing, we need to keep working. I'm very relaxed, I'm in one of the best teams, so we should be competitive.
Source: Formula1.com
Vettel delighted with first pole of year
Sebastian Vettel was all smiles in Bahrain after becoming the first pole position winner of the 2010 Formula 1 season on Saturday. Having suffered a number of technical problems and lost crucial track time as a result in practice on Friday, the German admitted that the best place on the grid had not been expected.
With both he and team-mate Mark Webber having suffered a variety of problems in practice, with the Australian in particular as he was rooted to the garage for most of Friday's second session, Vettel was pleasantly surprised with the qualifying outcome.
"I'm very surprised," the German said. "In testing nobody really knew pace and then yesterday wasn't a great day. Qualifying went pretty smoothly, though, and I'm very, very happy to be on pole!
"Many thanks to the team; the boys haven't had much sleep over the last month but everyone has showed how strong they are and to be on pole is a nice feeling."
Source: GP Update
With both he and team-mate Mark Webber having suffered a variety of problems in practice, with the Australian in particular as he was rooted to the garage for most of Friday's second session, Vettel was pleasantly surprised with the qualifying outcome.
"I'm very surprised," the German said. "In testing nobody really knew pace and then yesterday wasn't a great day. Qualifying went pretty smoothly, though, and I'm very, very happy to be on pole!
"Many thanks to the team; the boys haven't had much sleep over the last month but everyone has showed how strong they are and to be on pole is a nice feeling."
Source: GP Update
Glock thrilled to lead new teams
Timo Glock was delighted to be the first representative on the Bahrain grid from one of Formula 1's three new teams. Although the Hispania outfit, which didn't test pre-season, was always expected to fill the back row, Virgin continued its private battle with Lotus.
With 19th placed Glock and rookie Brazilian team-mate Lucas di Grassi sandwiching the two Lotus cars of Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, the ex Jordan and Toyota driver was was happy with his Row 9 starting position.
"It's great to be the best of the new teams here today and I'm very happy with what we have achieved," German Glock commented. "This is a team result and a credit to everyone who has worked so hard, in really difficult circumstances, to get the best out of our first race package.
"To also be just 2.7 seconds away from teams with many more years of experience is even better. We have a big mountain to climb but we go into our debut race having achieved our first target and I think this will give us the momentum we need to keep on pushing.
"It just goes to show we are going in the right direction and all we have to do is focus on overcoming the hurdles we were bound to come across along the way. Thanks to everyone at Virgin Racing."
Source: GP Update
With 19th placed Glock and rookie Brazilian team-mate Lucas di Grassi sandwiching the two Lotus cars of Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, the ex Jordan and Toyota driver was was happy with his Row 9 starting position.
"It's great to be the best of the new teams here today and I'm very happy with what we have achieved," German Glock commented. "This is a team result and a credit to everyone who has worked so hard, in really difficult circumstances, to get the best out of our first race package.
"To also be just 2.7 seconds away from teams with many more years of experience is even better. We have a big mountain to climb but we go into our debut race having achieved our first target and I think this will give us the momentum we need to keep on pushing.
"It just goes to show we are going in the right direction and all we have to do is focus on overcoming the hurdles we were bound to come across along the way. Thanks to everyone at Virgin Racing."
Source: GP Update
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