The 2009 F1 season thus far has been one of the most intriguing for years. Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix further compounded that belief for me. What was particularly interesting about this race even before an engine had been revved was the fact that 3 races in, we'd still not technically seen a straight forward race which would really give us an indication of where the cars were in terms of out and out performance in the dry. Bahrain, situated in the hot and sunny surroundings of the Emirates was never in any danger of the type of washout that had occurred previously in Malaysia and China respectively. This was proved right, with temperatures soaring to the high 30 degrees. An all together different type of challenge awaited the drivers.
Where China had been a brilliant weekend for Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel (Germany) and Mark Webber (Australia), Bahrain's qualifying on the Saturday provided stark contrast for Webber, whom, blocked by Sutil in the first section of qualifying was unable to make an inroads on the front of the grid and was to subsequently start from 19th position. Vettel had a better time of it, placing 3rd and keeping up his record of being the only driver to place in the top 3 starting slots throughout 2009 without fail. Qualifying was undoubtedly happiest for Toyota with Jarno Trulli (Italy) 1st and Timo Glock (Germany) 2nd for the first ever all Toyota front row at a Grand Prix. A proud moment for the Japanese team that has invested millions in Formula 1 since they began more than 10 years ago.
Lewis Hamilton (British) was also a much happier man putting his improving McClaren on the 3rd row of the grid in a highly respectable 5th spot. The reigning World Champion has had little to smile about so far this season, and with the "lie-gate" scandal hanging over the teams head, the improved speed of the car was a small boost for morale. Fellow Briton, and Championship leader, Jenson Button placed the ever-impressive Brawn GP 4th, whilst team-mate Barrichello (Brazil) was 6th.
The race itself was an altogether different beast from what we had experienced in Australia, Malaysia and China. For one there was no safety car period and the race was able to finish under green flag conditions at full pace for pretty much the first time all season. Miraculously, retirements were few and far between only Williams driver Nakajima (Japan) departed early.
The start was frantic, and the opening laps really were great to watch. The Toyota's retained their starting advantage, switching Trulli and Glock however. Hamilton made the most of his KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) and had a great start, touching 2nd at one point however, he ran wide allowing Trulli to regain the place. The pack split in two, with a small collision at the back of the grid with Kovaleinen (Finland) and one of the BMW drivers. Whilst at the front Hamilton began to slip back after his excellent start, as Button made his way back into 3rd position.
The race settled into a groove and it was the pit stop sections which made this race intriguing. Trulli was not enjoying his tyres in the first stint and dropped into the clutches of Fernando Alonso which damaged his strategy for the race. After starting favorite to win it was becoming clear that the race victory was a straight out fight between Button and Vettel, whilst Hamilton and Trulli attempted to hang onto the back of those two drivers in the final battle for the last podium spot.
Once again Ferrari were really suffering, Massa being lapped by the race leaders, a real embarrassment for the Italian giants. Small consolation was Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) who enjoyed his most solid performance of the season eventually finishing in 6th position for 2 points, saving Ferrari from the stigma of having their worst start to a championship season ever. Remembering this is the team that has won the constructors title 8 times out of the last 10 years, a highly impressive showing.
The day belong however, once again to the Brawn GP team and Jenson Button, who took the victory with a perfect drive. No mistakes from the man of the moment, outpacing the Red Bull car of Vettel who had looked quicker all weekend, but ended up being a fair distance behind the winner. Once again Jarno Trulli showed a lack of ability to convert an excellent qualifying showing into race performance and finished 3rd in a race he really could have won.
Jenson leads the way in the Championsip after 3 wins out of 4. The apparent overheating problems, which had lead to the team cutting pieces out of the underneath of the car to aid cooling did not seem to effect their performance. The next race in 2 weeks time see's the start of the European season with team's favorite Barcelona in Spain. A high downforce circuit should suit the likes of Brawn and I fully expect to see another great fight between the Brawn GP, Red Bull and Toyota cars. More misery for Ferrari and McClaren as the new order of F1 further attempt to estalish themselves.
Bahrain Race classification:
1st Jenson Button 2nd Sebastian Vettel 3rd Jarno Trulli 4th Lewis Hamilton 5th Rubens Barrichello 6th Kimi Raikkonen 7th Timo Glock 8th Fernando Alonso
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My husband is an avid watcher of F1 and gets up at the crack of dawn to watch races live but it is great to see the smaller teams doing well. It makes it much more interesting to watch teams like Farrari struggle.
Collingwood21 28.04.2009 10:19
I am not a huge F1 fan, but it is great to see the smaller teams doing well this year rather than Ferrari winning everything.
blackmagicstar4 28.04.2009 09:28
Well explained review- i dont mind it but im not a huge fan x
Apr 27th, 2009
exceptional by (13%):
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