Bahrain Grand Prix: Analysis

The Bahrain Grand Prix has been dominated by Ferrari, but in this post I take a closer look at who’s hot, and who’s not.

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso, P1
Felipe Massa, P2

Fernando Alonso got his Ferrari career off to a flying start with a win on his debut. The Spaniard passed his teammate Felipe Massa into turn one, but at first struggled to keep up with the Red Bull’s young German Sebastian Vettel. Vettel was reeled in by the boys in red however once the Scuderia were on the harder compound tyres, and the race was hotting up before Vettel lost power and it was a simple race for the chequered flag, with Alonso gradually pulling more and more time on his teammate – something which the Brazilian may have to get used to. However, one thing’s for sure: Ferrari are back!

Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel, P4
Mark Webber, P8

Sebastian Vettel didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend and was heading for the race win before a faulty spark plug cruelly ruined his race. However, the young German admirably continued to push as hard as possible and did well to finish 4th, ahead of Nico Rosberg. Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber didn’t have as much of a succesful race, being stuck in traffic behind Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher, who jumped him during the tyre stops.

McLaren

Lewis Hamilton, P3
Jenson Button, P7

Lewis Hamilton lost a place on the opening lap to Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, and that is where he was stuck until a quick pitstop meant the 2008 World Champion jumped the young German. Hamilton was quick on the harder rubber, managing to lap at around the same pace of the Ferrari’s, but capitalised on Vettel’s technical problem to secure 3rd place on the podium. As for Jenson Button, he was never in the hunt for the podium, and finished the race in 7th, right on the tail of Michael Schumacher.

Mercedes GP

Nico Rosberg, P5
Michael Schumacher, P6

Mercedes were never going to challenge the front-runners, and who’d have thought that on the return of Michael Schumacher, it was Nico Rosberg who was the main performer for the German team? The younger driver, Rosberg, held up the faster Lewis Hamilton at the start, before being passed by the Brit in the pit stops phase. Rosberg narrowly missed out on passing the struggling Rosberg at the end of the race, but ran out of time. Michael Schumacher couldn’t match the pace of his compatriot but didn’t put a foot wrong.

Force India

Vitantonio Liuzzi, P9
Adrian Sutil, P12

Vitantonio Liuzzi put in an impressive drive, starting 12th on the grid, but making up 3 places to P9 on the first lap, and that is where he stayed until the end of the race. Adrian Sutil ruined his race on the first lap colliding with Robert Kubica, and despite starting 10th, he ended up losing two places. However, Force India have shown impressive pace this weekend, and I imagine more points are on the cards in future races.

Williams

Rubens Barrichello, P10
Nico Hulkenberg, P14

More worrying midfield mediocrity seems to loom for Williams, who didn’t have the pace they thought they might. Barrichello managed to make up one place from where he started to finish 10th, but Nico Hulkenberg span on the first lap and finished 14th, losing 1 place from his grid position.

Renault

Robert Kubica, P11
Vitaly Petrov, Retired lap 13, suspension damage

The Bahrain Grand Prix hasn’t given us an accurate picture of where Renault will be in 2010, with Robert Kubica spinning on the first lap, and Vitaly Petrov retiring on lap 13 with suspension damage. However, they seem to have produced a better car than last year’s R29, with Kubica battling back impressively to finish 11th.

Toro Rosso

Jaime Alguersuari, P13
Sebastien Buemi, P16

Jaime Alguersuari battled to 13th place in an impressive showing, beating his more experienced teammate Sebastien Buemi, who had to stop just 3 laps from the end with an electrical problem.

Lotus

Heikki Kovalainen, P15
Jarno Trulli, P17

Lotus proved to be the most impressive and reliable new team, as they were the only new team not to have both drivers retiring. Heikki Kovalainen finished in P15, with Jarno Trulli stopping on lap 46 with a hydraulics problem, but he was still classified in P17. I believe we can expect big improvements on the T127 throughout the season, and who knows, maybe a few points in their first season won’t be out of reach.

Sauber

Pedro de la Rosa, Retired lap 29, hydraulics
Kamui Kobayashi, Retired lap 12, hydraulics

Considering the Sauber C29 seemed quite impressive in testing, it is disappointing what a poor weekend the team had. Both drivers lacked race pace, and had retired by lap 29, both with hydraulic problems.

Virgin

Timo Glock, Retired lap 19, gear selection
Lucas di Grassi, Retired lap 3, hydraulics

Virgin had as good race pace as any of the new teams, but not the reliability. Lucas di Grassi retired just 3 laps in with a hydraulics problem, and Timo Glock retired on lap 19 with a gearbox issue.

Hispania

Bruno Senna, Retired lap 18, water leak
Karun Chandhok, Retired lap 2, accident

Despite starting from the pit lane, Karun Chandhok retired on lap 2, spinning his way into retirement. Bruno Senna lasted 18 laps before a water leak ended his race. Despite two retirements, their ‘give-it-a-go’ attitude has no doubt won them some fans, even if the back of the grid is where they will stay in their first season. They will take it one step at a time, and their next milestone will undoubtedly getting both cars to the chequered flag.