Thursday, April 03, 2008
# posted by Rich @ 3:05 PM
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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