Sunday, April 27, 2008
2008 Formula 1 Gran Premio De Espana Telefonica: The alternative podium ceremony
1st - The John Watson Award for most places gained in the race: Sato (22nd - 13th) and Fisichella (19th - 10th, 9 places)
2nd - The Olivier Grouillard Award for best roadblock: David Coulthard (getting in the way of Glock ultimately cost him)
3rd - The Philippe Alliot Award for most pointless crash: Nelsinho Piquet (optimistic lunge at Bourdais)
Constructors - The David Coulthard Award for outstanding achievement in the field of complaining: Nick Heidfeld (complained about the SC rules, but to be fair he's absolutely right).
2nd - The Olivier Grouillard Award for best roadblock: David Coulthard (getting in the way of Glock ultimately cost him)
3rd - The Philippe Alliot Award for most pointless crash: Nelsinho Piquet (optimistic lunge at Bourdais)
Constructors - The David Coulthard Award for outstanding achievement in the field of complaining: Nick Heidfeld (complained about the SC rules, but to be fair he's absolutely right).
Labels: Formula 1, Grand Prix, Spain
2008 Formula 1 Gran Premio De Espana Telefonica: Classification
Final Classification of the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix
Fastest lap: Kimi Raikkonen 1:21.670 (Lap 46)
Drivers' championship after 4 rounds
Constructors' championship after 4 rounds
| Pos. | Driver | Time | Pos. | Driver | Time |
| 1. | Raikkonen | 1:38:19.051 | 12. | Coulthard | + 1 Lap |
| 2. | Massa | + 3.228 | 13. | Sato | + 1 Lap |
| 3. | Hamilton | + 4.187 | 14. | Rosberg | Lap 42 |
| 4. | Kubica | + 5.694 | 15. | Alonso | Lap 35 |
| 5. | Webber | + 35.938 | 16. | Barrichello | Lap 35 |
| 6. | Button | + 53.01 | 17. | Kovalainen | Lap 22 |
| 7. | Nakajima | + 58.244 | 18. | Davidson | Lap 9 |
| 8. | Trulli | + 59.435 | 19. | Bourdais | Lap 8 |
| 9. | Heidfeld | + 63.073 | 20. | Piquet | Lap 7 |
| 10. | Fisichella | + 1 Lap | 21. | Vettel | Lap 1 |
| 11. | Glock | + 1 Lap | 22. | Sutil | Lap 1 |
Fastest lap: Kimi Raikkonen 1:21.670 (Lap 46)
Drivers' championship after 4 rounds
| Position | Driver | Points |
| 1. | Räikkönen | 29 |
| 2. | Hamilton | 20 |
| 3. | Kubica | 19 |
| 4. | Massa | 18 |
| 5. | Heidfeld | 16 |
| 6. | Kovalainen | 14 |
| 7. | Trulli | 9 |
| 8. | Webber | 8 |
| 9. | Rosberg | 7 |
| 10. | Alonso | 6 |
| 11. | Nakajima | 5 |
| 12. | Button | 3 |
| 13. | Bourdais | 2 |
Constructors' championship after 4 rounds
| Position | Team | Points |
| 1. | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 47 |
| 2. | BMW Sauber F1 Team | 35 |
| 3. | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | 34 |
| 4. | AT&T Williams | 12 |
| 5. | Panasonic Toyota Racing | 9 |
| 6. | Red Bull Racing | 8 |
| 7. | ING Renault F1 Team | 6 |
| 8. | Honda Racing F1 Team | 3 |
| 9. | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 2 |
Labels: Formula 1, Grand Prix, Spain
2008 Formula 1 Gran Premio De Espana Telefonica: Race Report
Kimi Raikkonen took an almost effortless victory in Barcelona to solidify his lead of the drivers' world championship. Ferrari took maximum points as Felipe Massa came home second ahead of title rival Lewis Hamilton. As usual, it was a relatively processional race. However, it was punctuated by two safety car periods, one of which was for a serious accident involving McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen.
On race day, the buzz was about Fernando Alonso - what fuel strategy was he on? Had he done a low fuel run in Q3 just to please the crowd, or was the pace of the Renault genuine? We almost didn't find out - on the warm up lap Fernando was so aggressive warming his rear tyres that he got sideways at the final corner, ran onto the grass and nearly hit the pit wall! He recovered to take his grid slot. All of the front runners started on the softer Option tyre, and when the lights went out, Felipe Massa got a run on Alonso into the first corner to take second place. Further back, Lewis Hamilton had a great start, and muscled his way into fourth place by the first corner. There was action further down the grid as well. Into turn 4 (Repsol), David Coulthard took an optimistic lunge down the inside of Adrian Sutil. The two collided, but looked like they could continue. However, Sebastian Vettel was left with nowhere to go, and jabbed right into the front of Sutil's car. This put both of them out of the race - Vettel's miserable 2008 season continues - and, due to the awkward position of the cars, the safety car was deployed.
On lap 3 the safety car peeled off, and the race was underway again. Kimi Raikkonen quickly took control of the race, and extended his lead from team mate Massa. Behind Massa, Alonso was actually lapping a little quicker (having dropped back a little bit at the restart, possibly to give himself some clean air to run in). It seemed obvious, though, that Alonso was on a much lighter fuel load and was possibly 3-stopping. More drama was provided by Renault team mate Nelsinho Piquet, as he took a trip across the gravel trap at turn Seat (turn 5). Two laps later he would eliminate himself from the competition altogether. After his off track excursion, he was running behind Sebastien Bourdais. On the run down to turn 10 (La Caixa), Piquet attempted a last second move down the inside of the Frenchman. Bourdais turned in as normal and the two collided - Piquet's race was done. Bourdais limped back to the pits for repairs, but the damage to his left-front suspension was too much to repair practically, and he too retired. Bourdais would later exclaim that he simply didn't see the Renault - a problem that Red Bull stablemate David Coulthard had in Melbourne, and blamed the poor position of the mirrors on his car.
Up at the front, the leaders were trading fastest sector times, with first Raikkonen and then Massa setting the pace. The field was beginning to spread out as the first round of pit stops approached. On lap 17, Fernando Alonso pitted - he was on a light fuel load. However, he took on a large amount of fuel in his stop (enough to take him to lap 44) and would actually be two-stopping. He remained on the Option tyres. On lap 20, Felipe Massa pitted. in the end, he had only three laps more fuel on board than Alonso. This was a lot less than many people had predicted, and it looked like the pace of the Renaults was indeed genuine. At the end of the lap, race leader Raikkonen pitted, and a lap later Hamilton and Kubica pitted. They all took on fuel that would put them on a two-stop strategy, and they all remained on the Option tyres.
On lap 22, it looked like Kovalainen was due to make his pit stop. However he would retire from the race before he could make it back to the pits. At the 150 mph Campsa (turn 9) corner, his car speared off the track and buried itself in the tyre wall. Replays showed that his left-front tyre catastrophically deflated as he turned in to the corner - possibly caused by stones or debris becoming lodged between the brake caliper and the wheel rim. His car skipped over the gravel trap and slammed almost head on into the tyres at unabated speed. The car was buried deep in the tyre wall, and the marshalls struggled to free the car. When they did so, they found that Kovalainen had been knocked unconcious, and called for the medical vehicle, which arrived promptly. The race was brought under control by the safety car and thankfully, a few laps later, Kovalainen was extricated from the car and was able to give a thumbs-up to the crowd whilst being stretchered away. He was taken to the track-side medical centre to receive medical attention, and was later transferred to hospital for observation as a precaution. In the end, he suffered nothing more serious than a concussion, but the incident will surely be a wake-up call for all involved in F1 that the quest for improved safety is never ending. Of particular concern was that the nose of Kovalianen's car was broken away and the foot well was exposed, which could have led to a possible infiltration.
So thankfully there were no major injuries to report, and the race continued. The safety car period came at a very inopportune moment for some drivers, who were about to make their scheduled pit stops. The one driver who was caught out was Nick Heidfeld, who had no choice but to pit whilst the pits were closed, and would incur a 10 second stop-go penalty, effectively skewering his race. When the pits opened, several cars stopped, including Rubens Barrichello, who managed to hit something upon exiting the pits which broke his front wing. He toured around for a lap before pitting (still under the safety car) for a replacement. On lap 28 the safety car peeled off, and the race resumed. Raikkonen again took control of the race, ahead of Massa, Hamilton, and Kubica. The rest of the race was somewhat processional (as in normal at Barcelona), although the drama didn't stop. On lap 35, local hero Fernando Alonso retired from fifth place - engine failure was to blame. It put the end to what could have been a podium position, something that looked inconceivable at the beginning of the season.
The final round of pit stops started on lap 46. All of the front runners pitted for fuel and took on the harder Prime tyres for their final stint. The status quo was maintained, but on the harder tyres, Hamilton seemed to be able to put more pressure on the Ferraris. They had been a lot quicker all weekend, but all of a sudden Hamilton was matching their pace. This could be explained by the Ferraris just easing off, but it could also signify that the pace of the McLarens, particularly in the long runs, was not as bad as everyone had thought. Further back, there were tussles between Nick Heidfeld and Giancarlo Fisichella - Fisichella impressively held the BMW at bay for several laps before making a small mistake at the exit of the final corner, which allowed Heidfeld to pass into turn 1. There was also a scrap between David Coulthard and Timo Glock, which culminated in a collision between the two - Glock made a lunge up the inside of turn 5 and Coulthard turned in. The small collision broke Glock's front wing and also punctured Coulthard's left-rear. Both would have to pit, but Coulthard lost a considerable amount of time due to his puncture. The stewards would later investigate the incident, but decided that no penalty was necessary.
It was smooth sailing for Raikkonen at the front though. Having set the fastest lap of the race, he controlled the pace to cruise home to an almost effortless victory, ahead of Massa and Hamilton. Indeed Raikkonen would later state that it was his best Grand Prix ever - he had never dominated a race weekend like that before. The pace of the McLarens will be somewhat relieving for Hamilton, but it is obvious that the Ferraris are still faster. Moreover Raikkonen is now in a comfortable lead in the drivers' championship. Robert Kubica came home an excellent fourth, ahead of an impressive Mark Webber in fifth, Jenson Button (who scored his first points of the year) in sixth, Kazuki Nakajima, and Jarno Trulli.
It was another masterclass for Ferrari then. Can anyone catch them this year?
On race day, the buzz was about Fernando Alonso - what fuel strategy was he on? Had he done a low fuel run in Q3 just to please the crowd, or was the pace of the Renault genuine? We almost didn't find out - on the warm up lap Fernando was so aggressive warming his rear tyres that he got sideways at the final corner, ran onto the grass and nearly hit the pit wall! He recovered to take his grid slot. All of the front runners started on the softer Option tyre, and when the lights went out, Felipe Massa got a run on Alonso into the first corner to take second place. Further back, Lewis Hamilton had a great start, and muscled his way into fourth place by the first corner. There was action further down the grid as well. Into turn 4 (Repsol), David Coulthard took an optimistic lunge down the inside of Adrian Sutil. The two collided, but looked like they could continue. However, Sebastian Vettel was left with nowhere to go, and jabbed right into the front of Sutil's car. This put both of them out of the race - Vettel's miserable 2008 season continues - and, due to the awkward position of the cars, the safety car was deployed.
On lap 3 the safety car peeled off, and the race was underway again. Kimi Raikkonen quickly took control of the race, and extended his lead from team mate Massa. Behind Massa, Alonso was actually lapping a little quicker (having dropped back a little bit at the restart, possibly to give himself some clean air to run in). It seemed obvious, though, that Alonso was on a much lighter fuel load and was possibly 3-stopping. More drama was provided by Renault team mate Nelsinho Piquet, as he took a trip across the gravel trap at turn Seat (turn 5). Two laps later he would eliminate himself from the competition altogether. After his off track excursion, he was running behind Sebastien Bourdais. On the run down to turn 10 (La Caixa), Piquet attempted a last second move down the inside of the Frenchman. Bourdais turned in as normal and the two collided - Piquet's race was done. Bourdais limped back to the pits for repairs, but the damage to his left-front suspension was too much to repair practically, and he too retired. Bourdais would later exclaim that he simply didn't see the Renault - a problem that Red Bull stablemate David Coulthard had in Melbourne, and blamed the poor position of the mirrors on his car.
Up at the front, the leaders were trading fastest sector times, with first Raikkonen and then Massa setting the pace. The field was beginning to spread out as the first round of pit stops approached. On lap 17, Fernando Alonso pitted - he was on a light fuel load. However, he took on a large amount of fuel in his stop (enough to take him to lap 44) and would actually be two-stopping. He remained on the Option tyres. On lap 20, Felipe Massa pitted. in the end, he had only three laps more fuel on board than Alonso. This was a lot less than many people had predicted, and it looked like the pace of the Renaults was indeed genuine. At the end of the lap, race leader Raikkonen pitted, and a lap later Hamilton and Kubica pitted. They all took on fuel that would put them on a two-stop strategy, and they all remained on the Option tyres.
On lap 22, it looked like Kovalainen was due to make his pit stop. However he would retire from the race before he could make it back to the pits. At the 150 mph Campsa (turn 9) corner, his car speared off the track and buried itself in the tyre wall. Replays showed that his left-front tyre catastrophically deflated as he turned in to the corner - possibly caused by stones or debris becoming lodged between the brake caliper and the wheel rim. His car skipped over the gravel trap and slammed almost head on into the tyres at unabated speed. The car was buried deep in the tyre wall, and the marshalls struggled to free the car. When they did so, they found that Kovalainen had been knocked unconcious, and called for the medical vehicle, which arrived promptly. The race was brought under control by the safety car and thankfully, a few laps later, Kovalainen was extricated from the car and was able to give a thumbs-up to the crowd whilst being stretchered away. He was taken to the track-side medical centre to receive medical attention, and was later transferred to hospital for observation as a precaution. In the end, he suffered nothing more serious than a concussion, but the incident will surely be a wake-up call for all involved in F1 that the quest for improved safety is never ending. Of particular concern was that the nose of Kovalianen's car was broken away and the foot well was exposed, which could have led to a possible infiltration.
So thankfully there were no major injuries to report, and the race continued. The safety car period came at a very inopportune moment for some drivers, who were about to make their scheduled pit stops. The one driver who was caught out was Nick Heidfeld, who had no choice but to pit whilst the pits were closed, and would incur a 10 second stop-go penalty, effectively skewering his race. When the pits opened, several cars stopped, including Rubens Barrichello, who managed to hit something upon exiting the pits which broke his front wing. He toured around for a lap before pitting (still under the safety car) for a replacement. On lap 28 the safety car peeled off, and the race resumed. Raikkonen again took control of the race, ahead of Massa, Hamilton, and Kubica. The rest of the race was somewhat processional (as in normal at Barcelona), although the drama didn't stop. On lap 35, local hero Fernando Alonso retired from fifth place - engine failure was to blame. It put the end to what could have been a podium position, something that looked inconceivable at the beginning of the season.
The final round of pit stops started on lap 46. All of the front runners pitted for fuel and took on the harder Prime tyres for their final stint. The status quo was maintained, but on the harder tyres, Hamilton seemed to be able to put more pressure on the Ferraris. They had been a lot quicker all weekend, but all of a sudden Hamilton was matching their pace. This could be explained by the Ferraris just easing off, but it could also signify that the pace of the McLarens, particularly in the long runs, was not as bad as everyone had thought. Further back, there were tussles between Nick Heidfeld and Giancarlo Fisichella - Fisichella impressively held the BMW at bay for several laps before making a small mistake at the exit of the final corner, which allowed Heidfeld to pass into turn 1. There was also a scrap between David Coulthard and Timo Glock, which culminated in a collision between the two - Glock made a lunge up the inside of turn 5 and Coulthard turned in. The small collision broke Glock's front wing and also punctured Coulthard's left-rear. Both would have to pit, but Coulthard lost a considerable amount of time due to his puncture. The stewards would later investigate the incident, but decided that no penalty was necessary.
It was smooth sailing for Raikkonen at the front though. Having set the fastest lap of the race, he controlled the pace to cruise home to an almost effortless victory, ahead of Massa and Hamilton. Indeed Raikkonen would later state that it was his best Grand Prix ever - he had never dominated a race weekend like that before. The pace of the McLarens will be somewhat relieving for Hamilton, but it is obvious that the Ferraris are still faster. Moreover Raikkonen is now in a comfortable lead in the drivers' championship. Robert Kubica came home an excellent fourth, ahead of an impressive Mark Webber in fifth, Jenson Button (who scored his first points of the year) in sixth, Kazuki Nakajima, and Jarno Trulli.
It was another masterclass for Ferrari then. Can anyone catch them this year?
Labels: Formula 1, Grand Prix, Spain
Saturday, April 26, 2008
2008 Formula 1 Gran Premio De Espana Telefonica: Qualifying
Kimi Raikkonen put in a blistering performance to take pole position ahead of Sunday's race. Hoever, the buzz was that Fernando Alonso took second on the grid, narrowly missing out to Raikkonen.
The buzz going into the session was the pace of the Renaults - could they pull off something spectacular? Q1 saw the elimination of the usual suspects, but a surprise was David Coulthard - he could manage no better than 17th, and would be eliminated early on. The other drivers eliminated were Vettel, Fisichella, Sutil, Davidson, and Sato. Meanwhile, Raikkonen was easily the fastest man on track, with Trulli second fastest and Alonso third - it looked like the pace of the Renaults was genuine. In Q2 it was Felipe Massa's turn to be fastest, just pipping Robert Kubica. In the heat of the competition, the Renaults looked less impressive, but nevertheless they both made it through to Q3 - Piquet squeaked through in 8th place. The eliminees were Barrichello, Nakajima, Button, Glock, Rosberg, and Bourdais. In the end it was a disappointing performance for the Hondas - much had been expected of their new aero package, but it seemed like one-lap pace was still eluding them. So it came down to the Q3 shootout. Felipe Massa put in a solid performance early on, but could not better his time on his second run. However, Fernando Alonso put in a stunning lap to take provisional pole. He was to be disappointed though - Kimi Raikkonen pulled a superb lap out of his hat to take pole position by a tenth of a second, with Massa in third, Kubica fourth, Hamilton fifth, Kovalainen 6th, Webber 7th, followed by Trulli, Heidfeld, and Piquet. The performance of the McLarens looked poor, but there was doubt about the fuel loads they were running.
Again, apologies for the short post - I'm still out of town.
Qualifying Results
The buzz going into the session was the pace of the Renaults - could they pull off something spectacular? Q1 saw the elimination of the usual suspects, but a surprise was David Coulthard - he could manage no better than 17th, and would be eliminated early on. The other drivers eliminated were Vettel, Fisichella, Sutil, Davidson, and Sato. Meanwhile, Raikkonen was easily the fastest man on track, with Trulli second fastest and Alonso third - it looked like the pace of the Renaults was genuine. In Q2 it was Felipe Massa's turn to be fastest, just pipping Robert Kubica. In the heat of the competition, the Renaults looked less impressive, but nevertheless they both made it through to Q3 - Piquet squeaked through in 8th place. The eliminees were Barrichello, Nakajima, Button, Glock, Rosberg, and Bourdais. In the end it was a disappointing performance for the Hondas - much had been expected of their new aero package, but it seemed like one-lap pace was still eluding them. So it came down to the Q3 shootout. Felipe Massa put in a solid performance early on, but could not better his time on his second run. However, Fernando Alonso put in a stunning lap to take provisional pole. He was to be disappointed though - Kimi Raikkonen pulled a superb lap out of his hat to take pole position by a tenth of a second, with Massa in third, Kubica fourth, Hamilton fifth, Kovalainen 6th, Webber 7th, followed by Trulli, Heidfeld, and Piquet. The performance of the McLarens looked poor, but there was doubt about the fuel loads they were running.
Again, apologies for the short post - I'm still out of town.
Qualifying Results
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference | Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference | Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference |
| 1. | Räikkönen | 1:20.701 | 1. | Massa | 1:20.584 | 1. | Räikkönen | 1:21.813 | |||
| 2. | Trulli | 1:21.158 | + 0.457 | 2. | Kubica | 1:20.597 | + 0.013 | 2. | Alonso | 1:21.904 | + 0.091 |
| 3. | Alonso | 1:21.347 | + 0.646 | 3. | Räikkönen | 1:20.784 | + 0.200 | 3. | Massa | 1:22.058 | + 0.245 |
| 4. | Hamilton | 1:21.366 | + 0.665 | 4. | Alonso | 1:20.804 | + 0.220 | 4. | Kubica | 1:22.065 | + 0.252 |
| 5. | Piquet | 1:21.409 | + 0.708 | 5. | Heidfeld | 1:20.815 | + 0.231 | 5. | Hamilton | 1:22.096 | + 0.283 |
| 6. | Kubica | 1:21.423 | + 0.722 | 6. | Kovalainen | 1:20.817 | + 0.233 | 6. | Kovalainen | 1:22.231 | + 0.418 |
| 7. | Glock | 1:21.427 | + 0.726 | 7. | Hamilton | 1:20.825 | + 0.241 | 7. | Webber | 1:22.429 | + 0.616 |
| 8. | Kovalainen | 1:21.430 | + 0.729 | 8. | Piquet | 1:20.894 | + 0.310 | 8. | Trulli | 1:22.529 | + 0.716 |
| 9. | Heidfeld | 1:21.466 | + 0.765 | 9. | Trulli | 1:20.907 | + 0.323 | 9. | Heidfeld | 1:22.542 | + 0.729 |
| 10. | Rosberg | 1:21.472 | + 0.771 | 10. | Webber | 1:20.984 | + 0.400 | 10. | Piquet | 1:22.699 | + 0.886 |
| 11. | Webber | 1:21.494 | + 0.793 | 11. | Barrichello | 1:21.049 | + 0.465 | ||||
| 12. | Massa | 1:21.528 | + 0.827 | 12. | Nakajima | 1:21.117 | + 0.533 | ||||
| 13. | Bourdais | 1:21.540 | + 0.839 | 13. | Button | 1:21.211 | + 0.627 | ||||
| 14. | Barrichello | 1:21.548 | + 0.847 | 14. | Glock | 1:21.230 | + 0.646 | ||||
| 15. | Nakajima | 1:21.690 | + 0.989 | 15. | Rosberg | 1:21.349 | + 0.765 | ||||
| 16. | Button | 1:21.757 | + 1.056 | 16. | Bourdais | 1:21.724 | + 1.140 | ||||
| 17. | Coulthard | 1:21.810 | + 1.109 | ||||||||
| 18. | Vettel | 1:22.108 | + 1.407 | ||||||||
| 19. | Fisichella | 1:22.516 | + 1.815 | ||||||||
| 20. | Sutil | 1:23.224 | + 2.523 | ||||||||
| 21. | Davidson | 1:23.318 | + 2.617 | ||||||||
| 22. | Sato | 1:23.496 | + 2.795 | ||||||||
Labels: Formula 1, Grand Prix, Spain
2008 Formula 1 Gran Premio De Espana Telefonica: Saturday Practice
In P3, Nick Heidfeld was the man on top, demonstrating the ever present threat that BMW pose. David Coulthard was a somewhat surprising second fastest, although he was probably concentrating on his Q1 and Q2 pace whereas the other drivers were concentrating on their Q3 pace. Alonso was again third fastest; Hamilton and Kovalainen were 11th and 15th respectively; Massa and Raikkonen were 9th and 13th.
Apologies for the short post - I was out of town.
Lap Times
Apologies for the short post - I was out of town.
Lap Times
| Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference | Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference |
| 1. | Heidfeld | 1:21.269 | 12. | Rosberg | 1:22.174 | + 0.905 | |
| 2. | Coulthard | 1:21.465 | + 0.196 | 13. | Räikkönen | 1:22.176 | + 0.907 |
| 3. | Alonso | 1:21.599 | + 0.330 | 14. | Nakajima | 1:22.189 | + 0.920 |
| 4. | Kubica | 1:21.717 | + 0.448 | 15. | Kovalainen | 1:22.220 | + 0.951 |
| 5. | Trulli | 1:21.771 | + 0.502 | 16. | Vettel | 1:22.292 | + 1.023 |
| 6. | Bourdais | 1:21.942 | + 0.673 | 17. | Barrichello | 1:22.350 | + 1.081 |
| 7. | Piquet | 1:21.992 | + 0.723 | 18. | Fisichella | 1:22.466 | + 1.197 |
| 8. | Button | 1:22.060 | + 0.791 | 19. | Sutil | 1:22.689 | + 1.420 |
| 9. | Massa | 1:22.075 | + 0.806 | 20. | Sato | 1:23.726 | + 2.457 |
| 10. | Glock | 1:22.081 | + 0.812 | 21. | Davidson | 1:23.921 | + 2.652 |
| 11. | Hamilton | 1:22.094 | + 0.825 | 22. | Webber | No time |
Labels: Formula 1, Grand Prix, Spain
Friday, April 25, 2008
2008 Formula 1 Gran Premio De Espana Telefonica: Friday Practice 2
Kimi Raikkonen was again the fastest man on track in Friday Practice 2, but the story of the session was that the two Renaults were second and third fastest. However, it was rookie Nelsinho Piquet who was the faster of the two, beating his double world champion team mate and home favourite Fernando Alonso by some 13 1/1000ths of a second. It was a good session for the Williams cars as well - Nakajima was fourth fastest and Rosberg was seventh fastest. Meanwhile, Felipe Massa in the other Ferrari was 5th fastest, ahead of Mark Webber in the Red Bull machine. The top ten was rounded out by Coulthard, Fisichella, and Sutil. Indeed, the Force India cars had a strong performance - they topped the time sheet for almost all of the first 45 minutes of the session.
McLaren endured a less than stellar session - Hamilton could only manage 11th fastest (and complained of poor braking, which may have contributed to him having a spin at the turn 10 "La Caixa" hairpin), while Kovalainen had a technical problem and stopped by the side of the track after having completed only 8 laps. He would end the session 16th fastest. It was a tough session for the Hondas as well - after a strong showing in the morning session, Button and Barrichello would end 15th and 17th respectively.
Almost all the drivers completed over 30 laps - the only two who did not were Alonso and Kovalainen. At the end of the session there was rapturous applause and cheering for Alonso - his session was magnificent, and he put in some stunning displays of driving, including power slides and a lot of opposite lock through the final corner chicane. It was glorious to watch. The improvements to the Renault certainly seem to have worked, although the fuel loads that they were running on are unknown. Nevertheless, the Spanish crowd certainly have something to cheer about. Unfortunately, they also showed their displeasure at Lewis Hamilton. After he had a small off at turn 1 early in the session, the crowd cheered loudly. They also booed as he walked down the pit lane at the end of the session. It is unfortunate that the partisan Spanish crowd feel that way, but at least there wasn't a repeat of the disgraceful behaviour that was seen in pre-season testing.
So, Raikkonen looks like the man to beat this weekend. It seems like he has just that little bit extra speed than Massa - it must be his new shaven-head hair style...
Lap Times
McLaren endured a less than stellar session - Hamilton could only manage 11th fastest (and complained of poor braking, which may have contributed to him having a spin at the turn 10 "La Caixa" hairpin), while Kovalainen had a technical problem and stopped by the side of the track after having completed only 8 laps. He would end the session 16th fastest. It was a tough session for the Hondas as well - after a strong showing in the morning session, Button and Barrichello would end 15th and 17th respectively.
Almost all the drivers completed over 30 laps - the only two who did not were Alonso and Kovalainen. At the end of the session there was rapturous applause and cheering for Alonso - his session was magnificent, and he put in some stunning displays of driving, including power slides and a lot of opposite lock through the final corner chicane. It was glorious to watch. The improvements to the Renault certainly seem to have worked, although the fuel loads that they were running on are unknown. Nevertheless, the Spanish crowd certainly have something to cheer about. Unfortunately, they also showed their displeasure at Lewis Hamilton. After he had a small off at turn 1 early in the session, the crowd cheered loudly. They also booed as he walked down the pit lane at the end of the session. It is unfortunate that the partisan Spanish crowd feel that way, but at least there wasn't a repeat of the disgraceful behaviour that was seen in pre-season testing.
So, Raikkonen looks like the man to beat this weekend. It seems like he has just that little bit extra speed than Massa - it must be his new shaven-head hair style...
Lap Times
| Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference | Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference |
| 1. | Räikkönen | 1:21.935 | 12. | Kubica | 1:22.788 | + 0.853 | |
| 2. | Piquet | 1:22.019 | + 0.084 | 13. | Heidfeld | 1:23.130 | + 1.195 |
| 3. | Alonso | 1:22.032 | + 0.097 | 14. | Trulli | 1:23.224 | + 1.289 |
| 4. | Nakajima | 1:22.172 | + 0.237 | 15. | Button | 1:23.263 | + 1.328 |
| 5. | Massa | 1:22.229 | + 0.294 | 16. | Kovalainen | 1:23.264 | + 1.329 |
| 6. | Webber | 1:22.238 | + 0.303 | 17. | Barrichello | 1:23.415 | + 1.480 |
| 7. | Rosberg | 1:22.266 | + 0.331 | 18. | Vettel | 1:23.661 | + 1.726 |
| 8. | Coulthard | 1:22.289 | + 0.354 | 19. | Bourdais | 1:23.684 | + 1.749 |
| 9. | Fisichella | 1:22.383 | + 0.448 | 20. | Glock | 1:23.883 | + 1.948 |
| 10. | Sutil | 1:22.548 | + 0.613 | 21. | Sato | 1:25.110 | + 3.175 |
| 11. | Hamilton | 1:22.685 | + 0.750 | 22. | Davidson | 1:25.163 | + 3.228 |
Labels: Formula 1, Grand Prix, Spain
2008 Formula 1 Gran Premio De Espana Telefonica: Friday Practice 1
As expected, it was the two Ferraris who were fastest in Friday Practice 1 - Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time of 1:20.649, just 5 1/100ths faster than his team mate Felipe Massa. Lewis Hamilton was third fastest, roughly half a second slower than Massa, followed by Kubica, Kovalainen, Alonso, Piquet, and Coulthard.
Given that the teams tested here very recently, you would have expected there to be few dramas. Indeed there weren't many, but Felipe Massa raised some eyebrows by having not one but two spins during the session. The first was under braking for the new final-corner chicane, the second was under power coming out of the turn 7/8 chicane. The latter incident seemed to indicate that again Massa was having difficulty sans traction control. Massa wasn't the only man off track though - Timo Glock had a large slide/spin under braking for the turn 10 hairpin, several people ran wide out of the fast right-hand turn 9, and there were also some wayward moments at the final chicane.
Renault seemed to be enjoying much improved pace - Alonso's best time of 1:21.933 was good enough for sixth fastest, albeit 1.3 seconds slower than the Ferraris. That said, he was around 7 tenths slower than Hamilton. Alonso's team mate Nelsinho Piquet showed much improved for also - he was but 3 1/1000ths slower than Alonso.
Elsewhere, the BMWs continued to show their good pace - Kubica was fourth fastest, although Heidfeld was only 9th fastest. He was probably on a different evaluation program than the Pole though. Honda also seemed in good shape. Button was 10th fastest with a 1:22.632 (1.9 seconds slower than Raikkonen). That might seem a lot and, given that they seemed further up the order in Malaysia and Bahrain, one might have expected them to do better. But, given the nature of the Barcelona track, and the fact that everyone tests there, the midfield runners tend to be quite close. A case in point - 11th through 17th places were covered by just 2 tenths of a second, and Button was well clear of that group.
Most teams ran fewer than 20 laps (6 cars ran more than 20 laps) - this was to be expected given the recent test here - and for once the Super Aguris didn't run the fewest number of laps. That honor fell to Felipe Massa, who ran just 9 laps.
So, the Ferraris look to be in fine form yet again. Another win for the Scuderia looks to be on the cards already, but there is plenty of weekend left yet.
Lap Times
Given that the teams tested here very recently, you would have expected there to be few dramas. Indeed there weren't many, but Felipe Massa raised some eyebrows by having not one but two spins during the session. The first was under braking for the new final-corner chicane, the second was under power coming out of the turn 7/8 chicane. The latter incident seemed to indicate that again Massa was having difficulty sans traction control. Massa wasn't the only man off track though - Timo Glock had a large slide/spin under braking for the turn 10 hairpin, several people ran wide out of the fast right-hand turn 9, and there were also some wayward moments at the final chicane.
Renault seemed to be enjoying much improved pace - Alonso's best time of 1:21.933 was good enough for sixth fastest, albeit 1.3 seconds slower than the Ferraris. That said, he was around 7 tenths slower than Hamilton. Alonso's team mate Nelsinho Piquet showed much improved for also - he was but 3 1/1000ths slower than Alonso.
Elsewhere, the BMWs continued to show their good pace - Kubica was fourth fastest, although Heidfeld was only 9th fastest. He was probably on a different evaluation program than the Pole though. Honda also seemed in good shape. Button was 10th fastest with a 1:22.632 (1.9 seconds slower than Raikkonen). That might seem a lot and, given that they seemed further up the order in Malaysia and Bahrain, one might have expected them to do better. But, given the nature of the Barcelona track, and the fact that everyone tests there, the midfield runners tend to be quite close. A case in point - 11th through 17th places were covered by just 2 tenths of a second, and Button was well clear of that group.
Most teams ran fewer than 20 laps (6 cars ran more than 20 laps) - this was to be expected given the recent test here - and for once the Super Aguris didn't run the fewest number of laps. That honor fell to Felipe Massa, who ran just 9 laps.
So, the Ferraris look to be in fine form yet again. Another win for the Scuderia looks to be on the cards already, but there is plenty of weekend left yet.
Lap Times
| Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference | Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference |
| 1. | Raikkonen | 1:20.649 | 12. | Rosberg | 1:23.003 | + 2.354 | |
| 2. | Massa | 1:20.699 | + 0.050 | 13. | Webber | 1:23.015 | + 2.366 |
| 3. | Hamilton | 1:21.192 | + 0.543 | 14. | Trulli | 1:23.141 | + 2.492 |
| 4. | Kubica | 1:21.568 | + 0.919 | 15. | Nakajima | 1:23.153 | + 2.504 |
| 5. | Kovalainen | 1:21.758 | + 1.109 | 16. | Sutil | 1:23.156 | + 2.507 |
| 6. | Alonso | 1:21.933 | + 1.284 | 17. | Fisichella | 1:23.196 | + 2.547 |
| 7. | Piquet | 1:21.936 | + 1.287 | 18. | Barrichello | 1:23.353 | + 2.704 |
| 8. | Coulthard | 1:22.118 | + 1.469 | 19. | Bourdais | 1:23.952 | + 3.303 |
| 9. | Heidfeld | 1:22.278 | + 1.629 | 20. | Vettel | 1:24.082 | + 3.433 |
| 10. | Button | 1:22.632 | + 1.983 | 21. | Sato | 1:24.278 | + 3.629 |
| 11. | Glock | 1:23.002 | + 2.353 | 22. | Davidson | 1:25.068 | + 4.419 |
Labels: Formula 1, Grand Prix, Spain
Thursday, April 24, 2008
2008 Formula 1 Gran Premio De Espana Telefonica: Preview
After a three week gap, the 2008 Formula 1 season continues in Barcelona (actually Granollers, some 10 miles NNE of Barcelona) - the first of two Grand Prix venues in Spain in 2008. The Spanish Grand Prix customarily marks the start of the European season of the F1 calendar, a period in which the most rapid car development takes place.
In the three week gap since the last Grand Prix in Bahrain, most of the teams have been testing at the Circuit de Catalunya. Felipe Massa was fastest in the Ferrari, although he was testing on Bridgestone slick tyres, which are to be re-introduced for the 2009 season. Other teams were testing slicks as well as their 2009 spec cars. Because of the variety of different set-ups that were being tested, it is difficult to gauge whether any of the teams made any major progress, but it is likely that Ferrari are still the cars to beat, followed by BMW. McLaren gave mixed signals about their test, with Lewis Hamilton and Martin Whitmarsh alternately stating that they had made progress and that the test was inconclusive. Renault set some impressive times at the recent test, but again these may not be indicative. Nevertheless, according to technical director Pat Symonds, they have a very substantial new aero package on the car and will be hoping for some major performance gains.
Given that so many of the teams test (and of course tested very recently) at the Circuit de Catalunya and thus know and understand the track very well, there are unlikely to be any major surprises for the race, unless of course any of the teams have made huge improvements in their performance. One question mark remains though - the status of Super Aguri. Within the last week, it emerged that the deal from the Magma consortium to buy the Anglo-Japanese outfit fell through, leaving the team in dire financial straits. It was uncertain whether they would turn up for the race (they missed the recent test session), but have now arrived in Barcelona, and look like they will be competing.
The weather for the race is predicted to be sunny and warm - temperatures in the low 20s C/ low 70s F - throughout the weekend, with a low chance of rain.
Given their recent form, it would probably be unwise to bet against Ferrari, in particular Felipe Massa. He won here last year from pole and even survived a small fire in the pits; team mate Raikkonen retired with electrical problems. The BMWs also look strong, and the McLarens still look to be a bit behind. Have they and Renault managed to improve any? And what about Honda's latest aero package? We'll have to wait for tomorrow's practice sessions to find out.
In the three week gap since the last Grand Prix in Bahrain, most of the teams have been testing at the Circuit de Catalunya. Felipe Massa was fastest in the Ferrari, although he was testing on Bridgestone slick tyres, which are to be re-introduced for the 2009 season. Other teams were testing slicks as well as their 2009 spec cars. Because of the variety of different set-ups that were being tested, it is difficult to gauge whether any of the teams made any major progress, but it is likely that Ferrari are still the cars to beat, followed by BMW. McLaren gave mixed signals about their test, with Lewis Hamilton and Martin Whitmarsh alternately stating that they had made progress and that the test was inconclusive. Renault set some impressive times at the recent test, but again these may not be indicative. Nevertheless, according to technical director Pat Symonds, they have a very substantial new aero package on the car and will be hoping for some major performance gains.
Given that so many of the teams test (and of course tested very recently) at the Circuit de Catalunya and thus know and understand the track very well, there are unlikely to be any major surprises for the race, unless of course any of the teams have made huge improvements in their performance. One question mark remains though - the status of Super Aguri. Within the last week, it emerged that the deal from the Magma consortium to buy the Anglo-Japanese outfit fell through, leaving the team in dire financial straits. It was uncertain whether they would turn up for the race (they missed the recent test session), but have now arrived in Barcelona, and look like they will be competing.
The weather for the race is predicted to be sunny and warm - temperatures in the low 20s C/ low 70s F - throughout the weekend, with a low chance of rain.
Given their recent form, it would probably be unwise to bet against Ferrari, in particular Felipe Massa. He won here last year from pole and even survived a small fire in the pits; team mate Raikkonen retired with electrical problems. The BMWs also look strong, and the McLarens still look to be a bit behind. Have they and Renault managed to improve any? And what about Honda's latest aero package? We'll have to wait for tomorrow's practice sessions to find out.
Labels: Formula 1, Grand Prix, Spain
Monday, April 07, 2008
2008 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix: The alternative podium ceremony
1st - The John Watson Award for most places gained in the race: Giancarlo Fisichella (18th - 12th, 6 places)
2nd - The Olivier Grouillard Award for best roadblock: Lewis Hamilton (for his poor start)
3rd - The Philippe Alliot Award for most pointless crash: Lewis Hamilton (for mounting Alonso)
Constructors - The David Coulthard Award for outstanding achievement in the field of complaining: Lewis Hamilton (for waving furiously at Fisichella, even though they were racing for position).
Wow, that's almost a grand slam for Hamilton! How did I do with my predictions? Well, I got 1st, 2nd, and 5th right. 6/10.
2nd - The Olivier Grouillard Award for best roadblock: Lewis Hamilton (for his poor start)
3rd - The Philippe Alliot Award for most pointless crash: Lewis Hamilton (for mounting Alonso)
Constructors - The David Coulthard Award for outstanding achievement in the field of complaining: Lewis Hamilton (for waving furiously at Fisichella, even though they were racing for position).
Wow, that's almost a grand slam for Hamilton! How did I do with my predictions? Well, I got 1st, 2nd, and 5th right. 6/10.
Labels: Bahrain, Formula 1, Grand Prix
Sunday, April 06, 2008
2008 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix: Classification
Final Classification of the 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix
Fastest Lap: Heikki Kovalainen 1:33.193 (Lap 49)
Drivers' championship after 3 rounds
Constructors' championship after 3 rounds
| Position | Driver | Time | Position | Driver | Time |
| 1. | Massa | 1hr 31:06.970 | 12. | Fisichella | + 1 Lap |
| 2. | Raikkonen | + 3.339 | 13. | Hamilton | + 1 Lap |
| 3. | Kubica | + 4.998 | 14. | Nakajima | + 1 Lap |
| 4. | Heidfeld | + 8.409 | 15. | Bourdais | + 1 Lap |
| 5. | Kovalainen | + 26.789 | 16. | Davidson | + 1 Lap |
| 6. | Trulli | + 41.314 | 17. | Sato | + 1 Lap |
| 7. | Webber | + 45.473 | 18. | Coulthard | + 1 Lap |
| 8. | Rosberg | + 55.889 | 19. | Sutil | + 2 Laps |
| 9. | Glock | + 69.500 | 20. | Piquet | Lap 41 |
| 10. | Alonso | + 77.862 | 21. | Button | Lap 20 |
| 11. | Barrichello | + 1 Lap | 22. | Vettel | Lap 1 |
Fastest Lap: Heikki Kovalainen 1:33.193 (Lap 49)
Drivers' championship after 3 rounds
| Position | Driver | Points |
| 1. | Raikkonen | 19 |
| 2. | Heidfeld | 16 |
| 3. | Hamilton | 14 |
| 4. | Kubica | 14 |
| 5. | Kovalainen | 14 |
| 6. | Massa | 10 |
| 7. | Trulli | 8 |
| 8. | Rosberg | 7 |
| 9. | Alonso | 6 |
| 10. | Webber | 4 |
| 11. | Nakajima | 3 |
| 12. | Bourdais | 2 |
Constructors' championship after 3 rounds
| Position | Team | Points |
| 1. | BMW Sauber F1 Team | 30 |
| 2. | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 29 |
| 3. | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | 28 |
| 4. | AT&T Williams | 10 |
| 5. | Panasonic Toyota Racing | 8 |
| 6. | ING Renault F1 Team | 6 |
| 7. | Red Bull Racing | 4 |
| 8. | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 2 |
Labels: Bahrain, Formula 1, Grand Prix
2008 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix: Race Report
Felipe Massa put the disappointments of Australia and Malaysia behind him to take a superb victory in Bahrain ahead of Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen and pole sitter Robert Kubica. Title contender Lewis Hamilton had a disastrous race and would finish outside the points in 13th place.
The buzz going into the race was Robert Kubica starting from pole position. While the headlines may have written themselves, the reality was that Felipe Massa had dominated the weekend up until Q3. Indeed, had Felipe Massa not made a mistake in sector 2 on his final flying lap, he would likely have taken pole position as well. The pace of the BMWs was impressive though, and it looked like it could be an exciting and action filled race.
The drama started even before the lights went out - Felipe Massa was quite late to the grid due to having to replace his malfunctioning ear-pieces. On the parade lap, Nelsinho Piquet complained that he couldn't select second gear. Evidently the Renault team were able to find a work around by the time he lined up for the start, but it foreshadowed later problems for the young Brazilian.
On the parade lap, it was evident that most drivers would be starting on the softer Option tyres - only Rosberg, Piquet, and Bourdais elected to start on the harder Prime tyres. So, the cars lined up on the grid, and the lights went out. Felipe Massa stormed off the line to take the lead into the first corner, but Lewis Hamilton, starting from third on the grid, got a dreadful start, and found himself tenth by the first corner. There were also several comings together, and Sebastian Vettel found himself on the receiving end - he was tagged in the rear by, although he wasn't sure by whom, and his race was done. The incident managed to spread oil in turns 4, 5, 6, and 7, and on the next lap several drivers slipped and slid their way through the mess. Elsewhere, Jenson Button picked up a puncture on the first lap, and was forced to pit.
So, on lap 2 Lewis Hamilton found himself buried behind his nemesis Fernando Alonso. On the run down to turn 4, Hamilton attempted a pass on the Spaniard, but inexplicably tagged his right-rear wheel, launching the front of his car into the air. The collision obliterated the front of Hamilton's car, and took a healthy chunk out of Alonso's rear wing. Hamilton would have to pit for repairs, but not before running extremely wide at turn 6 due to the lack of grip. His race had come unstuck early on, and a switch to a 1-stop strategy did nothing to mitigate the damage - he would score no points today.
Up front, Raikkonen managed to get past Kubica on lap 2. The Ferraris were stamping their authority on the race already, and Massa was calmly extending his lead. Meanwhile, Heikki Kovalainen lost a position to Nick Heidfeld. It was looking as though it was not going to be McLaren's day. So the early order was Massa, Raikkonen, Kubica, Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Trulli, Rosberg, Webber. Kubica piled pressure on Raikkonen, setting fastest lap of the race. Raikkonen responded, as did Massa. They would all trade fastest lap time in the early laps. However, the pace of the Ferraris was relentless, and they eased away from their pursuers. As they entered the first pit window, it was Robert Kubica who was the first to dive to pit lane - he had in fact got slightly less fuel on board than his rivals. He pitted on lap 18 and took on another set of the Option tyres. Rosberg pitted on the same lap, and switched from the Prime to the Option tyres.
Back at the tail end of the field, Button and Coulthard had a coming together. Button had been pressuring Coulthard for a few laps, but on lap 18 Button appeared to get his braking a little wrong. This, combined with a move to cover the inside line for turn 8 by Coulthard, resulted in a collision. Button's front wing was knocked off, but Coulthard's car seemed unscathed. However, the Scot would ultimately have to pit for a new front wing. Button, on the other had, sustained major damage and after pitting once for repairs eventually returned to the pits to retire.
Back with the leaders, and a pit stop was being readied for Ferrari. Surprisingly it was for Raikkonen, on lap 20. Massa had more fuel on board than had been anticipated, and he now looked good for the win. He finally pitted on lap 22 - four laps later than Kubica. He emerged from his pit stop in the lead, ahead of Mark Webber who had yet to stop. When he did pit on lap 23, he managed to leap frog Nico Rosberg, who was pushed down into 8th place.
And so the order remained pretty much the same for the rest of the race, despite fast laps from Kubica and Heidfled - it appeared than anything they could throw at the Ferraris would get returned with more spin. Lewis Hamilton was struggling his way through the field and had climbed to 14th by the time he pitted on lap 32. He took on the harder Prime tyres - his race was all but run. To add insult to injury, he was lapped by lap 34.
Despite the drama, there were few retirements. In the end there were only three, the last of whom was Nelsinho Piquet, who slowed to a crawl with gearbox problems on lap 38.
Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen had increased his tempo and was closing in on team mate Massa. The two Ferrari drivers traded fastest lap times, before Raikkonen pitted on lap 39. He took on the Prime tyres, as too did Massa when he pitted on the next lap, and Kubica when he pitted on lap 41. Kubica had a poor out lap, and lost ground on Raikkonen - his challenge was effectively over for the day. The fourth and fifth place runners - Heidfeld and Kovalainen - had their own private battle. The two of them would pit quite late, on laps 45 and 48 respectively, and in the process traded fastest lap of the race. On lap 49, a lap after taking on new tyres, Kovalainen set the fastest lap of the race but it was all too little too late for the Finn.
But up front, Massa went unchallenged. He cruised through the last few laps to take a well deserved win, some 3 seconds clear of his team mate. After having taken his first pole position, Robert Kubica came home third, ahead of his team mate Heidfeld, followed by Kovalainen, Trulli, Webber, and Rosberg. It was a welcome points haul for Massa and Ferrari, but McLaren and Hamilton will be left shaking their heads - McLaren have now been surpassed by BMW in the constructors' championship, and Kimi Raikkonen now assumes the lead in the drivers' championship.
So, Felipe Massa exorcised the demons of the first two races and dominated not only the race but the whole weekend, save for a blip in Q3. Moreover, Ferrari were comfortably quickest. The BMWs looked like the only other team that could mount a challenge. All the other teams, McLaren included, have a lot of work to do to catch up.
The buzz going into the race was Robert Kubica starting from pole position. While the headlines may have written themselves, the reality was that Felipe Massa had dominated the weekend up until Q3. Indeed, had Felipe Massa not made a mistake in sector 2 on his final flying lap, he would likely have taken pole position as well. The pace of the BMWs was impressive though, and it looked like it could be an exciting and action filled race.
The drama started even before the lights went out - Felipe Massa was quite late to the grid due to having to replace his malfunctioning ear-pieces. On the parade lap, Nelsinho Piquet complained that he couldn't select second gear. Evidently the Renault team were able to find a work around by the time he lined up for the start, but it foreshadowed later problems for the young Brazilian.
On the parade lap, it was evident that most drivers would be starting on the softer Option tyres - only Rosberg, Piquet, and Bourdais elected to start on the harder Prime tyres. So, the cars lined up on the grid, and the lights went out. Felipe Massa stormed off the line to take the lead into the first corner, but Lewis Hamilton, starting from third on the grid, got a dreadful start, and found himself tenth by the first corner. There were also several comings together, and Sebastian Vettel found himself on the receiving end - he was tagged in the rear by, although he wasn't sure by whom, and his race was done. The incident managed to spread oil in turns 4, 5, 6, and 7, and on the next lap several drivers slipped and slid their way through the mess. Elsewhere, Jenson Button picked up a puncture on the first lap, and was forced to pit.
So, on lap 2 Lewis Hamilton found himself buried behind his nemesis Fernando Alonso. On the run down to turn 4, Hamilton attempted a pass on the Spaniard, but inexplicably tagged his right-rear wheel, launching the front of his car into the air. The collision obliterated the front of Hamilton's car, and took a healthy chunk out of Alonso's rear wing. Hamilton would have to pit for repairs, but not before running extremely wide at turn 6 due to the lack of grip. His race had come unstuck early on, and a switch to a 1-stop strategy did nothing to mitigate the damage - he would score no points today.
Up front, Raikkonen managed to get past Kubica on lap 2. The Ferraris were stamping their authority on the race already, and Massa was calmly extending his lead. Meanwhile, Heikki Kovalainen lost a position to Nick Heidfeld. It was looking as though it was not going to be McLaren's day. So the early order was Massa, Raikkonen, Kubica, Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Trulli, Rosberg, Webber. Kubica piled pressure on Raikkonen, setting fastest lap of the race. Raikkonen responded, as did Massa. They would all trade fastest lap time in the early laps. However, the pace of the Ferraris was relentless, and they eased away from their pursuers. As they entered the first pit window, it was Robert Kubica who was the first to dive to pit lane - he had in fact got slightly less fuel on board than his rivals. He pitted on lap 18 and took on another set of the Option tyres. Rosberg pitted on the same lap, and switched from the Prime to the Option tyres.
Back at the tail end of the field, Button and Coulthard had a coming together. Button had been pressuring Coulthard for a few laps, but on lap 18 Button appeared to get his braking a little wrong. This, combined with a move to cover the inside line for turn 8 by Coulthard, resulted in a collision. Button's front wing was knocked off, but Coulthard's car seemed unscathed. However, the Scot would ultimately have to pit for a new front wing. Button, on the other had, sustained major damage and after pitting once for repairs eventually returned to the pits to retire.
Back with the leaders, and a pit stop was being readied for Ferrari. Surprisingly it was for Raikkonen, on lap 20. Massa had more fuel on board than had been anticipated, and he now looked good for the win. He finally pitted on lap 22 - four laps later than Kubica. He emerged from his pit stop in the lead, ahead of Mark Webber who had yet to stop. When he did pit on lap 23, he managed to leap frog Nico Rosberg, who was pushed down into 8th place.
And so the order remained pretty much the same for the rest of the race, despite fast laps from Kubica and Heidfled - it appeared than anything they could throw at the Ferraris would get returned with more spin. Lewis Hamilton was struggling his way through the field and had climbed to 14th by the time he pitted on lap 32. He took on the harder Prime tyres - his race was all but run. To add insult to injury, he was lapped by lap 34.
Despite the drama, there were few retirements. In the end there were only three, the last of whom was Nelsinho Piquet, who slowed to a crawl with gearbox problems on lap 38.
Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen had increased his tempo and was closing in on team mate Massa. The two Ferrari drivers traded fastest lap times, before Raikkonen pitted on lap 39. He took on the Prime tyres, as too did Massa when he pitted on the next lap, and Kubica when he pitted on lap 41. Kubica had a poor out lap, and lost ground on Raikkonen - his challenge was effectively over for the day. The fourth and fifth place runners - Heidfeld and Kovalainen - had their own private battle. The two of them would pit quite late, on laps 45 and 48 respectively, and in the process traded fastest lap of the race. On lap 49, a lap after taking on new tyres, Kovalainen set the fastest lap of the race but it was all too little too late for the Finn.
But up front, Massa went unchallenged. He cruised through the last few laps to take a well deserved win, some 3 seconds clear of his team mate. After having taken his first pole position, Robert Kubica came home third, ahead of his team mate Heidfeld, followed by Kovalainen, Trulli, Webber, and Rosberg. It was a welcome points haul for Massa and Ferrari, but McLaren and Hamilton will be left shaking their heads - McLaren have now been surpassed by BMW in the constructors' championship, and Kimi Raikkonen now assumes the lead in the drivers' championship.
So, Felipe Massa exorcised the demons of the first two races and dominated not only the race but the whole weekend, save for a blip in Q3. Moreover, Ferrari were comfortably quickest. The BMWs looked like the only other team that could mount a challenge. All the other teams, McLaren included, have a lot of work to do to catch up.
Labels: Bahrain, Formula 1, Grand Prix
2008 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix: Pre-race
In preparation for the main event of the weekend, here are a few things to look out for, and some predictions. The race is scheduled for 57 laps (308.238km/191.539 miles), and is due to start at 14.30 local time (11.30 GMT/12.30 BST, 06.30 EST/07.30 EDT). The pit stop windows are as follows:
1 stop - laps 27-33
2 stops - laps 12-15, 33-37
3 stops - laps 6-12, 20-27, 37-45
Bridgestone's tyre compound allocation for this race is Medium (Prime) and Soft (Option). This is in contrast to last year (Hard and Medium).
Last year's winner was Felipe Massa, who won from pole position and set fastest lap of the race (1:34.067) to give himself a grand slam. He used a two-stop strategy (using a Medium/Medium/Hard tyre combination). The lap record is held by Michael Schumacher (1:30.252).
The weather is predicted to be sunny, clouding over later in the afternoon, with a temperature around 31 celcius. The risk of rain is low.
So, some predictions. With Robert Kubica on pole, Massa second, Hamilton third, and Raikkonen fourth, it looks like there is going to be a fierce fight into the first corner. The Ferraris are starting on the dirty side of the track, and therefore I predict that Hamilton will take second place either into the first corner or at turn 4. I think that Heidfeld and Trulli may collide at the first corner, which will drop both of them out of contention for the points.
Tyre degradation, especially rear tyre degradation, is going to be crucial, according to Renault's Pat Symonds. Consequently most teams will probably opt for a two-stop strategy, with two of the three stints on the harder Prime tyres. The BMWs and McLarens are known to be hard on their tyres, and the Ferraris are known to be kind on theirs. This plays into Ferraris hands, but Kubica could potentially be three-stopping to mitigate the tyre problems. Further back, the slow pace of Button and Alonso in Q3 suggests that they might have a lot of fuel on board for the start of the race, although it should be borne in mind that those times were set using the Prime tyres, which are thought to be worth about 0.4 seconds per lap.
Nico Rosberg has been racy all weekend, and looks like he could pull off a top 8 finish in the race. Jenson Button has been much improved in the Honda, although he will need retirements ahead of him to seriously challenge for points. The same will be true for Fernando Alonso.
So, given how fast he has been all weekend, I think it will be Felipe Massa taking the victory, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, and Lewis Hamilton. Then I think the order will be Kubica, Kovalainen, Rosberg, Alonso, Button. I can't wait for the red lights to go out!
Provisional Starting Grid
1 stop - laps 27-33
2 stops - laps 12-15, 33-37
3 stops - laps 6-12, 20-27, 37-45
Bridgestone's tyre compound allocation for this race is Medium (Prime) and Soft (Option). This is in contrast to last year (Hard and Medium).
Last year's winner was Felipe Massa, who won from pole position and set fastest lap of the race (1:34.067) to give himself a grand slam. He used a two-stop strategy (using a Medium/Medium/Hard tyre combination). The lap record is held by Michael Schumacher (1:30.252).
The weather is predicted to be sunny, clouding over later in the afternoon, with a temperature around 31 celcius. The risk of rain is low.
So, some predictions. With Robert Kubica on pole, Massa second, Hamilton third, and Raikkonen fourth, it looks like there is going to be a fierce fight into the first corner. The Ferraris are starting on the dirty side of the track, and therefore I predict that Hamilton will take second place either into the first corner or at turn 4. I think that Heidfeld and Trulli may collide at the first corner, which will drop both of them out of contention for the points.
Tyre degradation, especially rear tyre degradation, is going to be crucial, according to Renault's Pat Symonds. Consequently most teams will probably opt for a two-stop strategy, with two of the three stints on the harder Prime tyres. The BMWs and McLarens are known to be hard on their tyres, and the Ferraris are known to be kind on theirs. This plays into Ferraris hands, but Kubica could potentially be three-stopping to mitigate the tyre problems. Further back, the slow pace of Button and Alonso in Q3 suggests that they might have a lot of fuel on board for the start of the race, although it should be borne in mind that those times were set using the Prime tyres, which are thought to be worth about 0.4 seconds per lap.
Nico Rosberg has been racy all weekend, and looks like he could pull off a top 8 finish in the race. Jenson Button has been much improved in the Honda, although he will need retirements ahead of him to seriously challenge for points. The same will be true for Fernando Alonso.
So, given how fast he has been all weekend, I think it will be Felipe Massa taking the victory, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, and Lewis Hamilton. Then I think the order will be Kubica, Kovalainen, Rosberg, Alonso, Button. I can't wait for the red lights to go out!
Provisional Starting Grid
| Row 1 | Kubica | Massa |
|---|---|---|
| Row 2 | Hamilton | Raikkonen |
| Row 3 | Kovalainen | Heidfeld |
| Row 4 | Trulli | Rosberg |
| Row 5 | Button | Alonso |
| Row 6 | Webber | Barrichello |
| Row 7 | Glock | Piquet |
| Row 8 | Bourdais | Nakajima |
| Row 9 | Coulthard | Fisichella |
| Row 10 | Vettel | Sutil |
| Row 11 | Davidson | Sato |
Labels: Bahrain, Formula 1, Grand Prix
Saturday, April 05, 2008
2008 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix: Qualifying
There were huge smiles on the BMW pit wall as Robert Kubica stormed to his, and BMW Sauber F1's, first ever pole position ahead of tomorrow's F1 Bahrain Grand Prix. The Pole edged out Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton for the top spot. Kimi Raikkonen will line up fourth, ahead of Kovalainen, Heidfeld, Trulli, Rosberg, Button, and Alonso.
The story of the weekend thus far had been that the Ferraris, especially Massa, had been fastest. Indeed, it looked as though there weren't going to be too many surprises in qualifying, but qualifying always generates surprises.
Q1 saw a few wayward moments. Early on Fisichella ran far too deep into turn 8 with locked tyres, but easily gathered the car up. Lewis Hamilton looked as though he had a few lock ups as well. Indeed, there was a little smoke coming from the back of his car under braking for turn 1. Although it was theorised that this was oil smoke, it was probably rear tyre smoke - the exact same phenomenon (at the exact same place) was seen throughout last year's race on Hamilton's car, with no ill effects whatsoever.
Towards the end of the Q1 session, with around 6 minutes to go, Takuma Sato ran wide out of the final corner, and spun to the inside of the circuit, connecting with the barrier with the right-rear of his car. The incident was somewhat similar to Hamilton's accident in P2. Sato managed to limp his car off line, but the session was red-flagged nonetheless. Before then, though, there was a minor controversy - Felipe Massa was on a hot lap and blew through a waved yellow flag (for the Sato incident) at full speed, setting the fastest time of the session in the process. However, there would be no penalty, and really that was sensible - given where Sato's car was, a stationary yellow flag should have sufficed.
So, Q1 restarted, and there was a scramble out on the track, but really it was the usual suspects who were eliminated. One surprise though was Coulthard, who admitted that he basically made a mistake and didn't do a good lap time. Those left in the basement were Coulthard, Fisichella, Vettel, Sutil, Davidson, and Sato.
Q2 was less dramatic than Q1. Most of the drivers went out on the softer Option tyres in an effort to set the ultimate lap time. Several drivvers were trying very hard, including Nelsinho Piquet, who locked up his tyres into turns 8 and 9/10. Sadly his efforts weren't good enough to enable him to progress to Q3. Neither were the efforts of Mark Webber, who was just edged out of the top ten in the last moments of the session. Sebastien Bourdais discussed with his engineer whether to make only one run on the Option tyres in Q2, reasoning that the best they could hope for was P12 anyway, so why waste the tyres. In the event, he did two runs but would end up 15th. The men stuck in the lobby, therefore, were Webber, Barrichello, Glock, Piquet, Bourdais, and Nakajima. Felipe Massa was the fastest man, as expected - he set a blistering time of 1:31.188.
Incredibly, Jenson Button had worked his way into Q3 - something that he only achieved four times last year. The Hondas are definitely improving! Nico Rosberg also continued to impress, and worked his way into Q3 as well, along with Alonso.
In Q3, all the drivers were out in the Option tyres again, and the showdown began. After everyone had done their first run, Massa was the fastest man, but Robert Kubica was only a shade slower. With fresh tyres on, everybody attempted another run. Hamilton was the first to challenge, and set a new provisional pole time. But then came Robert Kubica - he eclipsed Hamilton's time by 2 tenths, and was the new provisional pole sitter. What could the Ferraris do about that? Raikkonen crossed the line but couldn't best Hamilton's time. It was down to Massa, but he looked in trouble - he lost three tenths in the middle sector, and it was going to be close coming to the line. He swept down the start/finish straight and broke the tape - he was slower than Kubica by 27/1000ths of a second. Robert Kubica had secured his and BMW's first pole position. The giant smile on Mario Theissen's face on the pit wall said it all. They were delighted. Kubica later thought that he could have gone faster because he locked up and flat spotted his tyres at one point on the lap. Elsewhere, Kovalainen was fifth, Heidfeld was sixth, followed by Trulli, Rosberg, Button, and Alonso - the latter two's times were dismal, which suggests that they are on heavy fuel for the race tomorrow. Furthermore, both had done two runs each in Q1 and Q2 and had therefore presumably used up their allocation of Option tyres.
So, it's a Pole on pole - the headlines write themselves. However, with the likes of Massa and Hamilton surrounding him, he'll have a tough task converting that into glory in the race.
Qualifying Results
The story of the weekend thus far had been that the Ferraris, especially Massa, had been fastest. Indeed, it looked as though there weren't going to be too many surprises in qualifying, but qualifying always generates surprises.
Q1 saw a few wayward moments. Early on Fisichella ran far too deep into turn 8 with locked tyres, but easily gathered the car up. Lewis Hamilton looked as though he had a few lock ups as well. Indeed, there was a little smoke coming from the back of his car under braking for turn 1. Although it was theorised that this was oil smoke, it was probably rear tyre smoke - the exact same phenomenon (at the exact same place) was seen throughout last year's race on Hamilton's car, with no ill effects whatsoever.
Towards the end of the Q1 session, with around 6 minutes to go, Takuma Sato ran wide out of the final corner, and spun to the inside of the circuit, connecting with the barrier with the right-rear of his car. The incident was somewhat similar to Hamilton's accident in P2. Sato managed to limp his car off line, but the session was red-flagged nonetheless. Before then, though, there was a minor controversy - Felipe Massa was on a hot lap and blew through a waved yellow flag (for the Sato incident) at full speed, setting the fastest time of the session in the process. However, there would be no penalty, and really that was sensible - given where Sato's car was, a stationary yellow flag should have sufficed.
So, Q1 restarted, and there was a scramble out on the track, but really it was the usual suspects who were eliminated. One surprise though was Coulthard, who admitted that he basically made a mistake and didn't do a good lap time. Those left in the basement were Coulthard, Fisichella, Vettel, Sutil, Davidson, and Sato.
Q2 was less dramatic than Q1. Most of the drivers went out on the softer Option tyres in an effort to set the ultimate lap time. Several drivvers were trying very hard, including Nelsinho Piquet, who locked up his tyres into turns 8 and 9/10. Sadly his efforts weren't good enough to enable him to progress to Q3. Neither were the efforts of Mark Webber, who was just edged out of the top ten in the last moments of the session. Sebastien Bourdais discussed with his engineer whether to make only one run on the Option tyres in Q2, reasoning that the best they could hope for was P12 anyway, so why waste the tyres. In the event, he did two runs but would end up 15th. The men stuck in the lobby, therefore, were Webber, Barrichello, Glock, Piquet, Bourdais, and Nakajima. Felipe Massa was the fastest man, as expected - he set a blistering time of 1:31.188.
Incredibly, Jenson Button had worked his way into Q3 - something that he only achieved four times last year. The Hondas are definitely improving! Nico Rosberg also continued to impress, and worked his way into Q3 as well, along with Alonso.
In Q3, all the drivers were out in the Option tyres again, and the showdown began. After everyone had done their first run, Massa was the fastest man, but Robert Kubica was only a shade slower. With fresh tyres on, everybody attempted another run. Hamilton was the first to challenge, and set a new provisional pole time. But then came Robert Kubica - he eclipsed Hamilton's time by 2 tenths, and was the new provisional pole sitter. What could the Ferraris do about that? Raikkonen crossed the line but couldn't best Hamilton's time. It was down to Massa, but he looked in trouble - he lost three tenths in the middle sector, and it was going to be close coming to the line. He swept down the start/finish straight and broke the tape - he was slower than Kubica by 27/1000ths of a second. Robert Kubica had secured his and BMW's first pole position. The giant smile on Mario Theissen's face on the pit wall said it all. They were delighted. Kubica later thought that he could have gone faster because he locked up and flat spotted his tyres at one point on the lap. Elsewhere, Kovalainen was fifth, Heidfeld was sixth, followed by Trulli, Rosberg, Button, and Alonso - the latter two's times were dismal, which suggests that they are on heavy fuel for the race tomorrow. Furthermore, both had done two runs each in Q1 and Q2 and had therefore presumably used up their allocation of Option tyres.
So, it's a Pole on pole - the headlines write themselves. However, with the likes of Massa and Hamilton surrounding him, he'll have a tough task converting that into glory in the race.
Qualifying Results
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference | Laps | Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference | Laps | Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference | Laps |
| 1. | Massa | 1:31.937 | 3 | 1. | Massa | 1:31.188 | 3 | 1. | Kubica | 1:33.096 | 6 | |||
| 2. | Trulli | 1:32.493 | + 0.556 | 7 | 2. | Kovalainen | 1:31.718 | + 0.530 | 3 | 2. | Massa | 1:33.123 | + 0.027 | 6 |
| 3. | Raikkonen | 1:32.652 | + 0.715 | 3 | 3. | Kubica | 1:31.745 | + 0.557 | 3 | 3. | Hamilton | 1:33.292 | + 0.196 | 6 |
| 4. | Hamilton | 1:32.750 | + 0.813 | 4 | 4. | Heidfeld | 1:31.909 | + 0.721 | 6 | 4. | Raikkonen | 1:33.418 | + 0.322 | 6 |
| 5. | Button | 1:32.793 | + 0.856 | 6 | 5. | Hamilton | 1:31.922 | + 0.734 | 3 | 5. | Kovalainen | 1:33.488 | + 0.392 | 6 |
| 6. | Glock | 1:32.800 | + 0.863 | 9 | 6. | Raikkonen | 1:32.933 | + 0.745 | 3 | 6. | Heidfeld | 1:33.737 | + 0.641 | 6 |
| 7. | Kubica | 1:32.893 | + 0.956 | 3 | 7. | Trulli | 1:32.159 | + 0.971 | 6 | 7. | Trulli | 1:33.994 | + 0.898 | 6 |
| 8. | Rosberg | 1:32.903 | + 0.966 | 9 | 8. | Rosberg | 1:32.185 | + 0.997 | 7 | 8. | Rosberg | 1:34.015 | + 0.919 | 6 |
| 9. | Barrichello | 1:32.944 | + 1.007 | 6 | 9. | Alonso | 1:32.345 | + 1.157 | 6 | 9. | Button | 1:35.057 | + 2.411 | 5 |
| 10. | Alonso | 1:32.947 | + 1.010 | 6 | 10. | Button | 1:32.362 | + 1.174 | 6 | 10. | Alonso | 1:35.115 | + 2.019 | 5 |
| 11. | Piquet | 1:32.975 | + 1.038 | 9 | 11. | Webber | 1:32.371 | + 1.183 | 6 | |||||
| 12. | Kovalainen | 1:33.057 | + 1.120 | 3 | 12. | Barrichello | 1:32.508 | + 1.320 | 6 | |||||
| 13. | Heidfeld | 1:33.137 | + 1.200 | 3 | 13. | Glock | 1:32.528 | + 1.340 | 6 | |||||
| 14. | Webber | 1:33.194 | + 1.257 | 6 | 14. | Piquet | 1:32.790 | + 1.602 | 6 | |||||
| 15. | Nakajima | 1:33.386 | + 1.449 | 9 | 15. | Bourdais | 1:32.915 | + 1.727 | 6 | |||||
| 16. | Bourdais | 1:33.415 | + 1.478 | 9 | 16. | Nakajima | 1:32.943 | + 1.755 | 6 | |||||
| 17. | Coulthard | 1:33.433 | + 1.496 | 7 | ||||||||||
| 18. | Fisichella | 1:33.501 | + 1.564 | 5 | ||||||||||
| 19. | Vettel | 1:33.562 | + 1.625 | 9 | ||||||||||
| 20. | Sutil | 1:33.845 | + 1.908 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 21. | Davidson | 1:34.140 | + 2.203 | 9 | ||||||||||
| 22. | Sato | 1:35.725 | + 3.788 | 5 | ||||||||||
Labels: Bahrain, Formula 1, Grand Prix
2008 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix: Saturday Practice
Nico Rosberg was the man to watch in this morning's practice session - he topped the time sheet with a lap of 1:32.521, two tenths clear of Felipe Massa in second place, and Mark Webber in third. World champion Kimi Raikkonen finished the session 9th fastest with a time of 1:33.237, around half a tenth faster than his Finnish compatriot Heikki Kovalainen, who was tenth fastest. Lewis Hamilton, who suffered a shunt in the closing minutes of P2 yesterday, was 18th fastest with a time of 1:33.659.
The track temperature was as high as it has been all weekend - around 44 celcius - and the winds were still gusting. The winds were fluctuating a lot during the session, and stiff winds are expected to continue into qualifying.
This morning's practice times are not necessarily indicative, due to the fact that the drivers were probably experimenting with different fuel loads ahead of Q3 and the race, and there will have also been drivers that will have been making low fuel runs in preparation for Q1 and Q2. One such driver was probably Mark Webber, who posted the third fastest time of the sesssion. In spite of fuel loads this morning, Nico Rosberg has been quite quick all weekend, as has his team mate Nakajima, who was 6th fastest this morning.
The competition in practice was tight - a second covered the top 14, and just over 1.5 seconds covered the top 20, and just 0.6 seconds covered 6th - 16th. It looks like it will be a fierce battle in qualifying, but given the raw pace of the Ferraris and Massa's strength at the Bahrain track, it looks likely that the diminutive Brazilian will take the pole position, with team mate Raikkonen alongside. The McLarens look like they will be best of the rest, but the Williams, the BMWs, and the Toyotas will all be nipping at their heels, especially if the McLarens have a bad day.
The weather for qualifying is set to be fine, with air temperatures around 30 celcius and a track temperatures in the low 40s. The fastest time (Q2) should be in the low 1 minute 31 second range, possibly a high 1 minute 30 second lap.
Lap Times
The track temperature was as high as it has been all weekend - around 44 celcius - and the winds were still gusting. The winds were fluctuating a lot during the session, and stiff winds are expected to continue into qualifying.
This morning's practice times are not necessarily indicative, due to the fact that the drivers were probably experimenting with different fuel loads ahead of Q3 and the race, and there will have also been drivers that will have been making low fuel runs in preparation for Q1 and Q2. One such driver was probably Mark Webber, who posted the third fastest time of the sesssion. In spite of fuel loads this morning, Nico Rosberg has been quite quick all weekend, as has his team mate Nakajima, who was 6th fastest this morning.
The competition in practice was tight - a second covered the top 14, and just over 1.5 seconds covered the top 20, and just 0.6 seconds covered 6th - 16th. It looks like it will be a fierce battle in qualifying, but given the raw pace of the Ferraris and Massa's strength at the Bahrain track, it looks likely that the diminutive Brazilian will take the pole position, with team mate Raikkonen alongside. The McLarens look like they will be best of the rest, but the Williams, the BMWs, and the Toyotas will all be nipping at their heels, especially if the McLarens have a bad day.
The weather for qualifying is set to be fine, with air temperatures around 30 celcius and a track temperatures in the low 40s. The fastest time (Q2) should be in the low 1 minute 31 second range, possibly a high 1 minute 30 second lap.
Lap Times
| Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference | Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference |
| 1. | Rosberg | 1:32.521 | 12. | Fisichella | 1:33.392 | + 0.871 | |
| 2. | Massa | 1:32.726 | + 0.205 | 13. | Alonso | 1:33.445 | + 0.924 |
| 3. | Webber | 1:32.742 | + 0.221 | 14. | Barrichello | 1:33.551 | + 1.030 |
| 4. | Trulli | 1:32.901 | + 0.380 | 15. | Glock | 1:33.595 | + 1.074 |
| 5. | Coulthard | 1:32.918 | + 0.397 | 16. | Button | 1:33.600 | + 1.079 |
| 6. | Nakajima | 1:33.020 | + 0.499 | 17. | Vettel | 1:33.651 | + 1.130 |
| 7. | Kubica | 1:33.024 | + 0.503 | 18. | Hamilton | 1:33.659 | + 1.138 |
| 8. | Piquet | 1:33.074 | + 0.553 | 19. | Sutil | 1:33.857 | + 1.336 |
| 9. | Raikkonen | 1:33.237 | + 0.716 | 20. | Heidfeld | 1:34.074 | + 1.553 |
| 10. | Kovalainen | 1:33.367 | + 0.846 | 21. | Davidson | 1:34.591 | + 2.070 |
| 11. | Bourdais | 1:33.372 | + 0.851 | 22. | Sato | 1:34.952 | + 2.431 |
Labels: Bahrain, Formula 1, Grand Prix
Friday, April 04, 2008
2008 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix: Friday Practice 2
Felipe Massa was again top of the time sheet in Friday Practice 2, with a stunningly fast time of 1:31.420 - 9 tenths faster than his team mate Raikkonen in second place. Heikki Kovalainen was third fastest, and team mate Lewis Hamilton was fourth fastest. However, towards the end of the session, Hamilton spun and crashed his McLaren MP4/23, causing substantial damage to the car.
The McLarens had been off the pace of the Ferraris the whole session, and with around 9 minutes of the session remaining, Hamilton was pushing hard to post a better time and leapfrog Kovalainen into third place. At the exit of the downhill left-hand turn 7, Hamilton ran wide over the kerbs. The car snapped away to the left, and Hamilton slid across the track and impacted heavily into the barriers almost side on. Hamilton was unhurt, but the right hand side of the car, especially the right rear, took a beating. His car looked rather used up, and his mechanics will now have a task ahead of them to repair it.
There were few other incidents in the session - the track temperature cooled off from 43 celcius to 34 celcius during the session and more rubber went down, both of which improved the grip levels. Furthermore, most drivers used the softer Option tyres for a good part of the session. Nevertheless, there were some moments from some of the drivers. Fernando Alonso had a particularly erratic session - he had a couple of lock ups and slides into, around, and out of turn 10 and then in the final minutes of the session he had a clash with Adrian Sutil in the Force India car. Alonso was close behind Sutil coming up to turn 1, and it appeared as if the Spaniard missed his braking point - he skewed to the right, then attempted to take Sutil up the inside of the corner, but it was a gap that was closing fast. The two made contact, and both spun, although there didn't appear to be much damage.
Robert Kubica had a good session, and finished 5th fastest, ahead of Rosberg, Coulthard, Nakajima, Bourdais, and Piquet. The Williams cars were fast in P1, and impressed again in P2. Particularly impressive were the efforts of Piquet - who outperformed his illustrious team mate for the first time - and Bourdais, who must feel quite pleased with his progress - he complained early on in the session that the track was in terrible shape, that there was no grip, and that he was sliding around like crazy. Indeed several drivers complained about various issues: Coulthard said that the aero configuration of his car was "not happy" and that the rear of the car was not aero stable, perhaps as a result of some aero tweaks for this weekend; Button complained about locking the rear tyres, and felt that it contributed to him having a small off; and Rosberg complained that he was locking the front wheels in some places and the rear wheels in others, and speculated that it was due to the wind. Whatever the reason, Rosberg had a big off-track excursion at turn 13 - he ran wide onto the kerbs, then simply could not turn in to the corner and ended up running through a gravel trap before rejoining the circuit.
Most drivers did around 25-35 laps in the session. The two Super Aguri drivers again did the fewest number of laps (24 each).
So, it appears as though the Ferraris have the pace and the momentum at the moment. The McLarens seem a little off the pace so far this weekend. And the Williams cars seem very much on the pace. The rest of the weekend could be very exciting.
Lap Times
The McLarens had been off the pace of the Ferraris the whole session, and with around 9 minutes of the session remaining, Hamilton was pushing hard to post a better time and leapfrog Kovalainen into third place. At the exit of the downhill left-hand turn 7, Hamilton ran wide over the kerbs. The car snapped away to the left, and Hamilton slid across the track and impacted heavily into the barriers almost side on. Hamilton was unhurt, but the right hand side of the car, especially the right rear, took a beating. His car looked rather used up, and his mechanics will now have a task ahead of them to repair it.
There were few other incidents in the session - the track temperature cooled off from 43 celcius to 34 celcius during the session and more rubber went down, both of which improved the grip levels. Furthermore, most drivers used the softer Option tyres for a good part of the session. Nevertheless, there were some moments from some of the drivers. Fernando Alonso had a particularly erratic session - he had a couple of lock ups and slides into, around, and out of turn 10 and then in the final minutes of the session he had a clash with Adrian Sutil in the Force India car. Alonso was close behind Sutil coming up to turn 1, and it appeared as if the Spaniard missed his braking point - he skewed to the right, then attempted to take Sutil up the inside of the corner, but it was a gap that was closing fast. The two made contact, and both spun, although there didn't appear to be much damage.
Robert Kubica had a good session, and finished 5th fastest, ahead of Rosberg, Coulthard, Nakajima, Bourdais, and Piquet. The Williams cars were fast in P1, and impressed again in P2. Particularly impressive were the efforts of Piquet - who outperformed his illustrious team mate for the first time - and Bourdais, who must feel quite pleased with his progress - he complained early on in the session that the track was in terrible shape, that there was no grip, and that he was sliding around like crazy. Indeed several drivers complained about various issues: Coulthard said that the aero configuration of his car was "not happy" and that the rear of the car was not aero stable, perhaps as a result of some aero tweaks for this weekend; Button complained about locking the rear tyres, and felt that it contributed to him having a small off; and Rosberg complained that he was locking the front wheels in some places and the rear wheels in others, and speculated that it was due to the wind. Whatever the reason, Rosberg had a big off-track excursion at turn 13 - he ran wide onto the kerbs, then simply could not turn in to the corner and ended up running through a gravel trap before rejoining the circuit.
Most drivers did around 25-35 laps in the session. The two Super Aguri drivers again did the fewest number of laps (24 each).
So, it appears as though the Ferraris have the pace and the momentum at the moment. The McLarens seem a little off the pace so far this weekend. And the Williams cars seem very much on the pace. The rest of the weekend could be very exciting.
Lap Times
| Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference | Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference |
| 1. | Massa | 1:31.420 | 12. | Alonso | 1:33.755 | + 2.335 | |
| 2. | Raikkonen | 1:32.327 | + 0.907 | 13. | Webber | 1:33.782 | + 2.362 |
| 3. | Kovalainen | 1:32.752 | + 1.332 | 14. | Trulli | 1:33.822 | + 2.402 |
| 4. | Hamilton | 1:32.847 | + 1.427 | 15. | Glock | 1:33.856 | + 2.436 |
| 5. | Kubica | 1:32.915 | + 1.495 | 16. | Barrichello | 1:33.966 | + 2.546 |
| 6. | Rosberg | 1:33.022 | + 1.602 | 17. | Heidfeld | 1:34.023 | + 2.603 |
| 7. | Coulthard | 1:33.048 | + 1.628 | 18. | FIsichella | 1:34.388 | + 2.968 |
| 8. | Nakajima | 1:33.098 | + 1.678 | 19. | Sutil | 1:34.405 | + 2.985 |
| 9. | Bourdais | 1:33.197 | + 1.777 | 20. | Vettel | 1:34.787 | + 3.367 |
| 10. | Piquet | 1:33.247 | + 1.827 | 21. | Sato | 1:35.288 | + 3.868 |
| 11. | Button | 1:33.710 | + 2.290 | 22. | Davidson | 1:35.712 | + 4.292 |
Labels: Bahrain, Formula 1, Grand Prix
2008 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix: Friday Practice 1
Friday first practice looked at though it was pretty much to plan for the Ferraris - Felipe Massa topped the session with a time of 1:32.233, edging out his team mate Kimi Raikkonen by just over a tenth of a second. Third place was a bit of a surprise though - Nico Rosberg posted a time 1:32.415, just shy of two tenths slower than Massa. Rosberg's pace is not necessarily unexpected, as this is a circuit that he has excelled at in the past. However, his time was set towards the end of the session, and he could very well have been on a low fuel run.
Behind him were the two McLarens of Hamilton and Kovalainen, who were ahead of Kazuki Nakajima, who was also showing strong pace in his Williams. The top ten was rounded out by Kubica, Trulli, Coulthard, and Alonso.
The track looked very dusty and dirty at the beginning of the session, and few drivers ventured out early, save for making installation runs. As seems to be the norm, though, Sebastien Bourdais was out on track early in an effort to give himself the maximum amount of time to learn and adapt. He would finish the session 15th, although he did not complete the most laps. That honour fell to his team mate Sebastian Vettel, who completed 32 laps, and set the 16th fastest time. Most drivers completed between 16 - 24 laps, although the Super Aguris completed only six each. There was very little running on the Option tyres - other than installation laps, only the two Toro Rosso drivers ventured out on the softer rubber, which they did at the end of the session. Speaking of tyres, it looked like Lewis Hamilton had a set of extreme weather tyres on when he did his installation lap, although that could have been a trick of the camera.
There were no major incidents in the session, although several drivers has small offs. Most of the drama seemed to happen at the final corner - turn 14 - with several drivers running wide, including Fisichella, Webber, Nakajima, and Raikkonen. After his off-track excursion, Kimi Raikkonen spent a long time in the pits whilst the front of the car was worked on. It is possible that there was some minor damage. Several other drivers were caught out at turns 9 and 10, including Adrian Sutil - who missed the entry to turn 10 on one lap, then ran wide on the exit of turn 10 on the next lap - and Lewis Hamilton, who had quite a large left-front lock up into turn 9, followed by monstrous oversteer on the exit of turn 10. It looked as though he was struggling with the balance of the car somewhat.
Others who were struggling a little bit were Robert Kubica, who was complaining of rear tyre degradation and that turns 9 and 10 were "bad"; and Nelsinho Piquet, who complained that the car was difficult to drive and that rubber was flying off the tyres - presumably he was having graining problems. He may also have been having a minor electrical problem - the team asked him to confirm which position his tyre switch was in (wet or dry) because they noticed his rear light was on (with the switch in the dry position as it turned out). Nico Rosberg also may have been having technical issues - he asked his team to check what the differential was doing on the exit of corners. The Williams team have had problems with the differential on Rosberg's car already this year.
The track temperature crept up throughout the session from 35 degrees celcius to 42, although the air temperature only rose from 27 to 29 degrees. This is a natural consequence of the sun's intensity increasing up to midday, but the fact that the humidity dropped drastically during the session - from 31% to 22% - and thus more of the suns rays were able to reach the track and warm it up also played a part. The wind was gusting somewhat, almost perpendicular to the pits straight, although this didn't seem to affect the amount of dust or sand on the track. Nevertheless, none of the big guns (excluding Rosberg, of course) were able to improve upon their times set earlier in the session, probably as a consequence of the higher track temperatures.
The track and air temperatures will most likely be higher for P2, which will result in less grip. Couple that with the fact that the drivers will be pushing harder in P2, and we will likely see more off-track excursions and probably some spins as well.
Lap Times
Behind him were the two McLarens of Hamilton and Kovalainen, who were ahead of Kazuki Nakajima, who was also showing strong pace in his Williams. The top ten was rounded out by Kubica, Trulli, Coulthard, and Alonso.
The track looked very dusty and dirty at the beginning of the session, and few drivers ventured out early, save for making installation runs. As seems to be the norm, though, Sebastien Bourdais was out on track early in an effort to give himself the maximum amount of time to learn and adapt. He would finish the session 15th, although he did not complete the most laps. That honour fell to his team mate Sebastian Vettel, who completed 32 laps, and set the 16th fastest time. Most drivers completed between 16 - 24 laps, although the Super Aguris completed only six each. There was very little running on the Option tyres - other than installation laps, only the two Toro Rosso drivers ventured out on the softer rubber, which they did at the end of the session. Speaking of tyres, it looked like Lewis Hamilton had a set of extreme weather tyres on when he did his installation lap, although that could have been a trick of the camera.
There were no major incidents in the session, although several drivers has small offs. Most of the drama seemed to happen at the final corner - turn 14 - with several drivers running wide, including Fisichella, Webber, Nakajima, and Raikkonen. After his off-track excursion, Kimi Raikkonen spent a long time in the pits whilst the front of the car was worked on. It is possible that there was some minor damage. Several other drivers were caught out at turns 9 and 10, including Adrian Sutil - who missed the entry to turn 10 on one lap, then ran wide on the exit of turn 10 on the next lap - and Lewis Hamilton, who had quite a large left-front lock up into turn 9, followed by monstrous oversteer on the exit of turn 10. It looked as though he was struggling with the balance of the car somewhat.
Others who were struggling a little bit were Robert Kubica, who was complaining of rear tyre degradation and that turns 9 and 10 were "bad"; and Nelsinho Piquet, who complained that the car was difficult to drive and that rubber was flying off the tyres - presumably he was having graining problems. He may also have been having a minor electrical problem - the team asked him to confirm which position his tyre switch was in (wet or dry) because they noticed his rear light was on (with the switch in the dry position as it turned out). Nico Rosberg also may have been having technical issues - he asked his team to check what the differential was doing on the exit of corners. The Williams team have had problems with the differential on Rosberg's car already this year.
The track temperature crept up throughout the session from 35 degrees celcius to 42, although the air temperature only rose from 27 to 29 degrees. This is a natural consequence of the sun's intensity increasing up to midday, but the fact that the humidity dropped drastically during the session - from 31% to 22% - and thus more of the suns rays were able to reach the track and warm it up also played a part. The wind was gusting somewhat, almost perpendicular to the pits straight, although this didn't seem to affect the amount of dust or sand on the track. Nevertheless, none of the big guns (excluding Rosberg, of course) were able to improve upon their times set earlier in the session, probably as a consequence of the higher track temperatures.
The track and air temperatures will most likely be higher for P2, which will result in less grip. Couple that with the fact that the drivers will be pushing harder in P2, and we will likely see more off-track excursions and probably some spins as well.
Lap Times
| Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference | Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference |
| 1. | Massa | 1:32.233 | 12. | Webber | 1:33.950 | + 1.717 | |
| 2. | Raikkonen | 1:32.350 | + 0.177 | 13. | Piquet | 1:33.981 | + 1.748 |
| 3. | Rosberg | 1:32.415 | + 0.182 | 14. | Heidfeld | 1:34.106 | + 1.873 |
| 4. | Hamilton | 1:32.705 | + 0.472 | 15. | Bourdais | 1:34.235 | + 2.002 |
| 5. | Kovalainen | 1:32.868 | + 0.635 | 16. | Vettel | 1:34.321 | + 2.088 |
| 6. | Nakajima | 1:33.121 | + 0.888 | 17. | Fisichella | 1:34.892 | + 2.659 |
| 7. | Kubica | 1:33.333 | + 1.100 | 18. | Button | 1:34.915 | + 2.682 |
| 8. | Trulli | 1:33.539 | + 1.306 | 19. | Barrichello | 1:35.174 | + 2.941 |
| 9. | Coulthard | 1:33.788 | + 1.555 | 20. | Sutil | 1:35.429 | + 3.196 |
| 10. | Alonso | 1:33.815 | + 1.582 | 21. | Davidson | 1:36.145 | + 3.912 |
| 11. | Glock | 1:33.929 | + 1.696 | 22. | Sato | 1:36.536 | + 4.303 |
Labels: Bahrain, Formula 1, Grand Prix
Thursday, April 03, 2008
2008 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix: Preview
Round three of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship sees the drivers and teams arrive in the Kingdom of Bahrain - a desert island in the Persian Gulf, which is currently the Formula 1 calendar's only venue in the Middle East. Bahrain is prosperous and wealthy with a burgeoning middle class, and consequently is one of the most liberal countries in the Arab world (for example, even though Waard is sprayed on the podium, alcohol is legal in Bahrain). It is a fitting venue, therefore, for Formula 1.
The Bahrain International Circuit, located just over 10 miles south west of the capital Manama, is relatively new - it hosted its first F1 race in 2004. Like most new F1 circuits, it was designed by Hermann Tilke, and it shares some similarities with his other designs (such as Sepang, Shanghai, and Istanbul) including long straights followed by tight corners, and long flowing high-speed sequences. The Bahrain circuit, however, presents a unique set of challenges due to the sand which gets blown on to the circuit - the changing grip levels throughout the course of the weekend will test both drivers and engineers.
Coming into this race, Lewis Hamilton still leads the drivers' world championship. However, Ferrari bounced back in Malaysia (after their dreadful start to the season in Australia), and Kimi Raikkonen took a comfortable win. Given that Ferrari won in Bahrain last year, and the fact that they tested there over the winter, Kimi Raikkonen surely enters the weekend as the favourite. Felipe Massa should not be discounted however - he was the Ferrari driver who won the event last year. Massa enters the weekend with zero championship points after two inglorious retirements in a row. He will be feeling the pressure to get results for sure, but will also be that much more hungry for victory.
The two McLarens will also be competitive - Heikki Kovalainen showed great form to earn only his second career podium in Malaysia, ahead of team mate Lewis Hamilton who struggled home in fifth. Both drivers went the wrong way with their set-ups - they elected to use too little downforce and favoured the Option tyres in the race - and were both penalised for blocking in Q3 as they returned to the pits at a crawl. A return of the 120% lap time rule this weekend should help prevent a similar occurrence. Both drivers will surely have learnt from those mistakes and both should by vying for the win.
Elsewhere, the Toyotas and the BMWs have shown great promise - Robert Kubica brought his BMW home in second place in Malaysia, and Jarno Trulli excelled all weekend long. There should be similarly strong performances for the pair of them this weekend. Further back, Fernando Alonso has the potential to punch above his weight, having won here in 2005 and 2006 in the Renault. And let's not forget Nico Rosberg, who in his debut F1 race in 2006 stormed through the field after a first lap clash and subsequent pit stop for repairs to come home 8th, setting fastest lap of the race in the process.
The weather for the weekend is predicted to be sunny and hot - 31 degrees celcius on Sunday - but with winds picking up to about 15 mph on Saturday and Sunday.
So, who goes into this weekend with the momentum? Ferrari come off the back of a win, but there are still doubts about their reliability. McLaren took the season opener but seemed to struggle in Malaysia. It's tough to say at this stage, but the outcome of the Bahrain GP could be crucial - the next race in Spain marks the beginning of the European season and the driver and team that starts the European season in front has the psychological advantage.
The Bahrain International Circuit, located just over 10 miles south west of the capital Manama, is relatively new - it hosted its first F1 race in 2004. Like most new F1 circuits, it was designed by Hermann Tilke, and it shares some similarities with his other designs (such as Sepang, Shanghai, and Istanbul) including long straights followed by tight corners, and long flowing high-speed sequences. The Bahrain circuit, however, presents a unique set of challenges due to the sand which gets blown on to the circuit - the changing grip levels throughout the course of the weekend will test both drivers and engineers.
Coming into this race, Lewis Hamilton still leads the drivers' world championship. However, Ferrari bounced back in Malaysia (after their dreadful start to the season in Australia), and Kimi Raikkonen took a comfortable win. Given that Ferrari won in Bahrain last year, and the fact that they tested there over the winter, Kimi Raikkonen surely enters the weekend as the favourite. Felipe Massa should not be discounted however - he was the Ferrari driver who won the event last year. Massa enters the weekend with zero championship points after two inglorious retirements in a row. He will be feeling the pressure to get results for sure, but will also be that much more hungry for victory.
The two McLarens will also be competitive - Heikki Kovalainen showed great form to earn only his second career podium in Malaysia, ahead of team mate Lewis Hamilton who struggled home in fifth. Both drivers went the wrong way with their set-ups - they elected to use too little downforce and favoured the Option tyres in the race - and were both penalised for blocking in Q3 as they returned to the pits at a crawl. A return of the 120% lap time rule this weekend should help prevent a similar occurrence. Both drivers will surely have learnt from those mistakes and both should by vying for the win.
Elsewhere, the Toyotas and the BMWs have shown great promise - Robert Kubica brought his BMW home in second place in Malaysia, and Jarno Trulli excelled all weekend long. There should be similarly strong performances for the pair of them this weekend. Further back, Fernando Alonso has the potential to punch above his weight, having won here in 2005 and 2006 in the Renault. And let's not forget Nico Rosberg, who in his debut F1 race in 2006 stormed through the field after a first lap clash and subsequent pit stop for repairs to come home 8th, setting fastest lap of the race in the process.
The weather for the weekend is predicted to be sunny and hot - 31 degrees celcius on Sunday - but with winds picking up to about 15 mph on Saturday and Sunday.
So, who goes into this weekend with the momentum? Ferrari come off the back of a win, but there are still doubts about their reliability. McLaren took the season opener but seemed to struggle in Malaysia. It's tough to say at this stage, but the outcome of the Bahrain GP could be crucial - the next race in Spain marks the beginning of the European season and the driver and team that starts the European season in front has the psychological advantage.
Labels: Bahrain, Formula 1, Grand Prix
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