Bahrain GP 2014: Well, At Least We Saw Some Racing...

One year on, and I'm still blogging! After my review of last year's controversial Bahrain Grand Prix kicked off my blogging bug, I have covered the majority of the major sporting events in the last 12 months, and I am massively looking forward to more posts in the future: the Premier League race and the World Cup to name just a couple. This F1 season has begun ominously for the rest of the pack, with Mercedes dominating the open races of the season. Major changes to the regulations have beset the majority of teams with considerable issues, putting world champion Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull on the back foot.

The decision was made at the beginning of the season to make Bahrain another dusk race, to follow the successes of the Abu Dhabi and the Singapore Grand Prix. Whilst I am not necessarily a fan of the night races, as I do not believe that we need to challenge the drivers with unnecessary weather conditions and add danger (though they do make it easier at times for European audiences), it does add another intrigue for Bernie Ecclestone and perhaps levels the playing field a touch. I would be wary of adding new 'unpredictable' weather conditions (such as the frankly ridiculous idea to create fake rain) to any more races, as I am a fan of seeing what the weather throws at you and how you adapt, and that means starting races in the day.

However, news this week overshadowed the importance of the race. With seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher still in his medically-induced coma in Switzerland after his tragic accident on the ski slopes, the news that he is having moments of consciousness comes as a massive relief to Formula 1 fans worldwide. We can only hope that the German continues to see recovery, and we get to see the great man on the track very soon. A controversial but brilliant driver, competitive to the last, we all know Schumacher is a fighter, and it great news that he is showing signs of recovery.

With every car having the #keepfightingMichael emblazoned across it, qualifying began with Mercedes once again the dominant force. With the German manufacturer and the Red Bulls seemingly happy to get through Q1 on the harder tyre, it offered an unusual name the chance to top the initial leaderboard. The honour fell to Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg, who had been unfortunate not to receive a move to a bigger team in the winter break. With the Indian team seeing positive steps, it was almost the opposite for Lotus. The team that won two of the Grand Prix last season has been struggling with the rule change, and have failed to get out of Q1 in each of the two previous races. In Bahrain, their two drivers, Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, found themselves fighting between them for a place in Q2. This time it was Grosjean who came out on top, beating Maldonado's time by 0.009 of a second. This was despite the interference of Sauber's Adrian Sutil, who clearly blocked the Frenchman off during a lap. This costed the Sauber driver 2 penalty points on his license, with the Sauber man warned about his future conduct.

Q2 saw a complete turnaround of fortunes. Sadly, whilst Mercedes continued their dominance, finishing a second ahead of the pack, Hulkenberg's Force India, who had topped the board in Q1, could not manage to get himself into the final session. Even more shockingly, neither did Sebastian Vettel. The world champion, having not missed out since Spa in 2011 before this season, has now failed to qualify in two of the three races this year, demonstrating the enormous swing away from Red Bull.

The final session of qualifying saw a frenetic opening period, as the battle for pole once again surrounded the two Mercedes teammates. Despite Lewis Hamilton being the one that was largely considered to be the faster of the pair throughout the weekend, it was Nico Rosberg that managed to get himself in front of the Briton in the first run, bettering his team mate's trial by 0.3 seconds. The second runs for both were considerably slower, with Lewis making a huge error at turn one, ruining his chance of pole. However, with the rest of the pack so far behind, no-one could take advantage of this slip. The only surprise of the session was the brilliant effort of Daniel Ricciardo to get himself into third. Though the Aussie would suffer a 10 place grid penalty for a misdemenour in the previous race, it was nevertheless a statement of intent to his more illustrious team mate.

With the race all about the two Mercedes, it came as little surprise to see the pair turning their cars towards one another off the line, indicating that the pair would ready for the fight, and that Mercedes were more than willing to let their drivers race. Off the line, there seemed no difference between the pair, but it was Hamilton that had the better second phase of the start, getting down the inside of Rosberg at turn 1. However, the German did not give up, fighting Lewis all the way up to turns 3 and 4, but just could not make it past. Further back, contact between Raikkonen and Magnusson for the second race running left the Ferrari driver fuming, and his mood would not have been helped by the fact that his car had no performance. Neither Ferrari could live with the pace of the Force India or Williams cars, with Fernando Alonso being passed by Perez on lap 6.

As the pair of Mercedes flew away from the pack, it was not the same story as Malaysia. Hamilton could not break the attentions of Rosberg, though he had managed to escape the DRS zone. This would continue to play a key theme throughout. After his horrendous qualifying session, Sebastian Vettel had not made up the places that many would have expected, though it is important to note that he, unlike the rest of the field, started on the harder tyre. As a result, Vettel was actually doing well to stay on the back of the group in front. The race for third was quickly becoming the most interesting, with the Force Indias and the Williams both seemingly having the opportunity to grab it. Ferrari and McLaren could also harbour outside aspirations of the podium, but they would need to perform better. In that race, it was Force India who grabbed the initiative, with Sergio Perez overtaking Felipe Massa for 3rd on lap 12.

Ferrari's struggles were demonstrated just one lap later, when Alonso became the first of the front runners to pit. However, this strangely aided the Spaniard, giving them the undercut that we have already seen be effective in the last two races. Kimi Raikkonen, after his first stop, began setting fastest laps, however, that new found speed was short lived. Once all of the first stops had been completed, the Ferraris found themselves on older and slower tyres than the rest of the pack. They quickly became mobile chicanes for the other top teams, with the Williams and the Force Indias passing them.

However, this was not the only battle, as the race for the lead began to hot up once more. With the stops coming up, Rosberg managed to close the gap to his team mate to just a few tenths. Another wheel to wheel battle insued, with the German managing to get past Hamilton. The Brit, knowing that he needed to be in the lead to get the first choice on stops, and he nipped back in front at turn 4, before grabbing the initiative and diving into the pit lane. Interestingly, the pair opted for different tyres, with Hamilton choosing to continue on the option tyre whilst Rosberg went for the harder prime. As we had seen throughout, Hamilton, due to the fact that he pitted earlier, managed to stretch his advantage to 3 seconds by the time Rosberg emerged two laps later. By this point, the race saw 2 Mercedes followed by 2 Force Indias and 2 Williams, all 6 cars powered by Mercedes power systems.

The battle for third continued to hot up, as the Williams chose to use a different strategy to their rivals. Unlike those around them, Bottas and Massa used a three stop strategy, seemingly putting them out of the race for 3rd, and favouring the resurgent Force Indias. Daniel Ricciardo, who had been toiling in anonymity for the majority of the race, beginning in 13th, had found some pace, managing to get his way into the lower end of the points by passing Kimi Raikkonen. With Hamilton pulling away from Nico Rosberg on his quicker tyres (though not as quickly as initially expected), his chances of winning were dealt a hammer blow. Pastor Maldonado, having emerged from the pit lane, seemingly failed to judge the speed difference between himself and Esteban Gutierrez. As a result, the collision ended up flipping the Sauber, leaving debris littering the track and bringing out the safety car.

With both Hamilton and Rosberg pitting, the Briton's 9.5 second lead had been eradicated, and he had to survive the remainder of the race on the slower tyres. A mean feat even if facing a slower car, but against the Mercedes seemed impossible. The crash had benefitted the Red Bulls and Jenson Button's McLaren, who had managed to jump the three stopping Williams drivers. However, Sebastian Vettel was instructed by his engineer that the Williams' newer and quicker tyres meant that they would come under threat later in the race. The final few laps of the race saw two enormous battles, with the lead taking the majority of air time, whilst the battle between the Force India driver and Daniel Ricciardo for the final podium was equally as interesting.

From the restart, the Mercedes flew away from the rest, opening up a 10 second gap within just a few laps, demonstrating their dominance over the rest. However, a furious battle continued to rage between the pair, with Rosberg making a number of lunges down the inside into turn 1. However, no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not keep his nose in front of his team mate. On several occasions, the Briton had to get aggressive in his defence, forcing his team mate off the circuit in an attempt to keep his place. And keep it he did, beginning to slowly but surely ease away from Rosberg as his tyres began to lose their edge. This led the cameras to switch their attention to battle for 3rd, as Hamilton seemed to have the race under control going into the final few laps.

As Jenson Button's McLaren fell off completely, dropping behind both Willams, Red Bulls and Ferraris, the battle continued between the two Force Indias for the final podium, with Daniel Ricciardo reeling the pair in quickly. Sergio Perez, who has had to play second fiddle to Hulkenberg for the majority of the first few races, finally got his chance to shine, holding on to his first podium for the team ahead of his team mate, and slowly edged his way away. This meant that Hulkenberg fell back into the clutches of Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian managing to get himself into a remarkable fourth. But there were not enough laps left to pull off a podium. Another nice moment for the Aussie will have been the overtake he pulled on Vettel (not the one that was due to team orders) as he showed the world champion that he is not there simply to make up the numbers.

But the day, as has been the case at every race so far, belonged to Mercedes. As the cars get more reliable, we will see this kind of thing continue to happen, with the Silver Arrows seemingly having by far the superior package. Unless we see a huge swing in fortune, I fear more races where the battle for third is the most interesting spectacle. However, at least the racing between the pair, and the fact that Mercedes have said they will not stop this with team orders, means that we may have something interesting to watch up front.

Not as controversial as a year ago, nor (arguably) as interesting a race, but we are ushering a new era of Formula 1. Love it or loathe it, it seems as though it is here to stay, so we had all better get used to it, and hope that another team can develop their car throughout the season!

2013 British Grand Prix: When Will The Tyres Get Sorted?

             The 2013 Formula 1 season is in full flow, as the roadshow moves onto British soil. The home grand prix of 4 drivers in the field, and home to the owner of the entire franchise. After years of turbulence between the governing body and Silverstone, racing fans will be pleased to see the grand old track claim its rightful place on the Grand Prix calendar. In contrast, a name we will soon see disappearing from Formula 1 is, sadly, Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who announced his retirement from the end of the season before one of his favourite races. The feisty but likeable Aussie will be sorely missed from the paddock, but conspiracy theories have begun emerging that this was a case of 'jump before he was pushed', as his relationship with the World Champion Sebastian Vettel has deteriorated in recent months. With Red Bull inevitably plumping for their three-time World Champion, Webber has arguably been cast out into the cold by Christian Horner after 7 years of loyal service.

                With this news initially detracting from the build-up to the British Grand Prix, thoughts were transferred back onto the job in hand for qualifying. With the early favourites in practice being the traditional one-lap specialist Mercedes cars, it was Ferrari who found themselves lacking in pace in the early stages, with Felipe Massa nearly failing to make it out of Q1. As it finished, it was the usual suspects who ended the first session at the bottom, with home debutant Max Chilton finishing at the back, a full 1.7 seconds behind his teammate. Q2 saw further woe for the usually big teams, as Felipe Massa could only manage 12th. McLaren also struggled, with neither of their cars able to make the top 10 shootout. This time, Britain's Jenson Button outqualified his Mexican counterpart, with 11th the best he could manage. Q3 was all about the battle between the Red Bulls and the Mercedes, with the resurgent Austrian team fighting back against the Silver Arrows' dominance in Q2. However, the Germans were not to be denied, completing a lock-out of the front row. To the home support's delight, it was Stevenage-born Lewis Hamilton who took pole, with a scintillating lap. The question now, though, was could Mercedes translate their qualifying pace into race pace?

                  Even before the start of the race, there was further controversy and heartbreak, with Britain's Paul di Resta being disqualified from his all-time highest qualifying position of 5th, for performing in an underweight car. This meant that he cascaded to the back of the grid. A silly mistake from the Force India team, and one that threatened the Scot's chances of a good points haul on the Sunday. The race itself began equally eventfully. A first corner incident between Webber and Lotus driver Romain Grosjean forced the Red Bull driver off track and way down the field. Back up front, Lewis Hamilton and Vettel began trading fastest laps, with the Mercedes man eventually breaking free of the vital DRS activation point of 1 second. With Hamilton's lap times comparable with Vettel's, the question began to be asked whether the Mercedes had developed a race winning car. Unfortunately for the British driver, disaster then struck. He suffered a left rear tyre failure mid way through lap 8, forcing him to limp back to the pits, costing him bags of time, and any chance of winning the race.

                     With Hamilton's demise, Force India's disappointment the previous day was beginning to be recified by the achievements of Adrian Sutil, who moved into the final podium position. The racing was brought to a shuddering halt just two laps after Hamilton's incident, as Felipe Massa also exited the track courtesy of a left rear tyre failure. Just 5 laps later, in almost exactly the same part of the track, John-Eric Vergne suffered a left rear tyre failure. With three such similar incidents in quick succession, concerns were once again raised over the condition of the Pirelli tyres. With the recent controversy over the Italian manufacturers, they can ill-afford this type of debacle. Whilst spokesmen for the tyre supplier claimed it was more to do with the kerbs at Silverstone than the tyres, these claims fell on deaf ears, with a full inquiry to be held in the future days. After these incidents, the safety car was deployed as sweepers were used in an attempt to clear the track of any debris. When racing eventually resumed on lap 21, Vettel scampered away at the front, eventually taking a lead of 3.2 seconds before his second, and final, pit stop of the afternoon.

                      Further down the field, the action was coming thick and fast. Brits Lewis Hamilton and Paul di Resta found themselves locked in an enthralling battle for the 7th place, with the Mercedes driver beginning to make his way back through the field. With both Alonso, and Raikkonen, coming through after their second pit-stops, Hamilton attacked the Force India, only to fall back behind the chasing pair in successive corners. Back up front, Nico Rosberg made his second pit stop before Vettel, in an attempt to undercut his rival. Advantage Mercedes? The Red Bull mechanics instantly recalculated, bringing their man in the following lap to cover off the Rosberg threat. Vettel rejoined 3 seconds ahead of the Mercedes, with the race now his to lose.

                       Then lap 42 threw the race, and arguably the championship, back into the balance. After a few laps of Rosberg gaining on the triple World Champion, Vettel's Red Bull coasted to a halt, with a gearbox problem ending the leader's Grand Prix, and opening the door for his title contenders. The fact that this was the first time the championship leader had failed to finish anything lower than 4th this year, and the fact that this was the German's first retirement since Italy of the previous year says a lot for the consistency of the Red Bull, clearly illustrating the bedrock upon which Vettel's success has been built. With the safety car once again being deployed, race leader Rosberg used his 13 second advantage to make a precautionary pit-stop, leaving him on fresher tyres to complete the final few laps. Once Vettel's stricken car was removed from the racing line, the contest could begin again. However, after nearly 50 laps without tyre controversy, Sergio Perez's left rear also let go on lap 46, causing further worries of another safety car period. Fortunately, the carcass was cleared quickly, and racing could continue.

                       Immediately after the restart, it was clear that Mark Webber had not given up on his chances of, at least, a podium finish. He began cutting through the field, dispatching Ricciardo and Sutil, before a stunning pass on Kimi Raikkonen secured the Aussie 2nd place. Could he now catch Rosberg for the most unlikely of wins? Similar movements were going on behind, with Alonso and Hamilton also making late dashes through the field. From 8th and 9th places at the race restart, the pair finished in a remarkable 3rd and 4th place respectively, overtaking 5 cars each in 6 laps. Just up the road, Webber was closing in on Rosberg, getting the gap down as low as 0.7 of a second. This was going to come down to a final corner finish. Unfortunately for the Aussie, he had perhaps one lap too few, running out of time, and having to settle for 2nd place. Whilst the fairytale send-off from Silverstone will not happen, he can nevertheless be extremely proud of a tremendous drive, on a day where, for once, he got the better of Sebastian Vettel.

                        The events of yesterday has heaped further doubt onto the reliability of the Pirelli tyres, with many in the FIA undoubtedly questioning whether it they are more trouble than they are worth. I would not at all be surprised if we saw a switch back to the Bridgestones or Michelins of yesteryear in the very near future, as Pirelli have demonstrated they cannot be trusted. As for the title race, whether yesterday was a blip or the beginnings of a collapse or reliability issue cannot be decided in one race. The next few races will certainly be interesting, as it now gives those around Red Bull hope that they can push their cars into failure.

F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2013: Rising Above Controversy?

             In a week in which F1 has been plagued with controversies regarding sexism, with former champion Sir Stirling Moss arguing that women lack the necessary ‘mental fortitude’ for racing, a relaxing trip to a hot, tranquil country and an exciting but uneventful race seemed precisely what F1 required. Unfortunately, step forward Bahrain. A country currently in the centre of considerable political distress, with arguments over the monarchy and human rights dominating recent headlines. Indeed, such has been the scale of the problems that several British MPs have made suggestions, in the last week, that the F1 roadshow should not roll into Bahrain. The events of 2012 further support the argument not to return to the country this year. Whilst the race itself was relatively uneventful, the event will be best remembered for petrol bombings near the Force India garage, leading to a significant pit lane fire. The hacking of the official F1 website by an anonymous group, wreaking havoc with the live timing also overshadowed the grand prix itself. Recent reports suggest that the latter will reoccur this year, after heavy protests on the streets in recent days. The reason? The belief that F1 coming to Bahrain legitimises the current undemocratic regime, causing the worlds of politics and sport to clash.

 

                Nevertheless, F1 is in Bahrain this weekend, and with all of the discussion over political trouble, we seem to forget that a serious sporting event is taking place. Whilst arguments over postponing the race may be levied at Bernie Ecclestone and the heads of the FIA, it is important to remember that the political concerns are not the fault of the drivers. Therefore, assuming there are no significant security concerns, we can all enjoy the spectacle of the race itself, irrespective of the political issues. The start of the 2013 season suggests that the championship will be every bit as close as last year, which leaves F1 fans a mouth-watering 17 grand prix to enjoy over the next 7 months. Qualifying yesterday gave us much of the same indication, with 6 or 7 teams having the ability to challenge for Q3, and at least 3 teams (Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes) believing they had what it takes to snatch pole. As it was, Mercedes took the top spot. However, it was Nico Rosberg, not Lewis Hamilton, who was fastest, with a stunning lap of 1:32.330. Hamilton, who had outqualified his new teammate at every race previously, started 9^th after a 5 place penalty for a gearbox change in P3. That left Force India’s Paul Di Resta as the highest placed Brit, as he, and his teammate Adrian Sutil, started on the 3^rd row, a very encouraging result for the small team.

 

                The talk before the race was all about rear tyres, as the hot conditions in the desert-based track were considered to take a significant toll on the back end of the cars. Therefore, the winner of the race was considered to be most likely the one who could best look after the rear tyres. This gave assumptions that the race would be fought ‘Ferrari versus Red Bull’. Much of the rhetoric coming from Mercedes pre-race, and Ross Brawn in particular, suggested that they did not believe they would look after the tyres sufficiently to win. This was clearly illustrated by Rosberg falling drastically down the field early on. After starting on pole, and fighting Vettel very hard in the first corner, Rosberg had a disappointing afternoon, eventually ending in 9th. This led to an early fight between Vettel and Fernando Alonso. However, this intriguing battle ended prematurely, with Ferrari driver Alonso developing a DRS problem on lap , wrecking his race. After all of the recent talk of team orders, McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Sergio Perez had obviously not been paying close enough attention to the pre-race team briefings, as they collided on lap 31. Whilst both continued, after their persistent squabbling over position, one can imagine that team boss Martin Whitmarsh would have been unimpressed. After Alonso’s DRS failure, Ferrari’s afternoon imploded, with Felipe Massa suffering 2 separate punctures, leading to questions over the Pirelli tyres supplied. Despite a rousing Alonso fightback, the Tifosi were left in disappointing 8^th and 15^th places. Ferrari’s misfortune was Lotus’s (2^nd and 3^rd) and Force India’s (4^th) gain. This capped a dream weekend for di Resta, having been quoted after qualifying as saying that 4^th would be perfect for the Brit. The problems behind left three-time and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel free to stroll to a practically lights-to-flag victory, ending with a huge margin of 9.1 seconds from Kimi Raikkonen. Interestingly, the podium was identical to that of last year, with Vettel victorious from the Lotus pair of Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean. The final few laps were lit up with a ferocious scrap between Hamilton (5^th) and Red Bull’s Mark Webber (7^th), where at more than one point it looked like contact was inevitable. Luckily, both managed to make it to the end unscathed in a truly thrilling climax.

Picture from GoogleImages

 

                Those who argue that Formula 1 is boring due to the lack of overtaking clearly failed to tune in to the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix. Throughout the field there were incidents and accidents, giving F1 fans a fantastic preview into the rest of what promises to be an exciting, competitive and action-packed season. Based on the action on-track, I hope Formula 1 returns to Bahrain for many years to come. The clash of off-track politics with sport, however, threatens to derail F1 in this part of the globe. Until the controversial issues are resolved, I fear we may be seeing similar scenes of protest before future Bahrain Grand Prix, if indeed we see another.