 The second win of the season from three
starts for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, with victory in Bahrain, for a
second year in succession going to Felipe Massa. Not just a win, but a
one-two finish, as standing next to Felipe, while the Brazilian National
Anthem echoed around the desert, was his team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen.
A race win always gives the team a good feeling, but in all honesty,
this was not the most exciting contest on track. After the grid was
cleared of personnel and VIPs, which included Ferrari enthusiast and
legendary guitarist, Eric Clapton, Felipe was the author of his own
destiny as, once the lights went out, he immediately shot off the front
row to dive into the lead ahead of the pole man, Robert Kubica in the
Sauber-BMW. On lap 3, Kimi also got past the Polish driver and from then
on, the two F2008 cars were able to exploit their full potential and
control the situation all the way through the fifty seven laps to the
chequered flag. The first lap saw one threat to the Scuderia relegated
to the bottom of the pack as Lewis Hamilton had to pit his
McLaren-Mercedes for a new nose, after colliding with the Renault of
Piquet. Sebastian Vettel was already out for Toro Rosso after two
collisions on the opening lap, Jenson Button pitted his Honda for a new
nose also and on lap 3, David Coulthard's afternoon in the Red Bull got
complicated as he made a stop because of a puncture.
 On lap 4, the best battle was the one for sixth place between the Toyota
of Jarno Trulli and the Toyota-powered Williams of Nico Rosberg. Next
time round, out in front, Massa led his team-mate by 3.7s but Kubica was
still hanging onto the Finn's tail.
The pit stops - everyone was on a two stop strategy - were initiated by
third placed Kubica on lap 17. On lap 18, Button tangled with Coulthard
forcing the Honda driver to come in for an unscheduled stop and he later
retired. On lap 20, Raikkonen was the first Ferrari to stop, remaining
stationery for 9.6 seconds. Massa was in next time round for a slightly
shorter 8.5 seconds. This left the yet to pit Heidfeld and Kovalainen
out in front, but only temporarily. On lap 23, the gap between the two
red cars was 5.4s and Timo Glock was third in the Toyota, but only
because he was about the only driver not to have refuelled yet.
On lap 33, the Ferrari duo led Kubica, Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Trulli,
Webber and Rosberg. Then on lap 38, Kimi stopped in the pits for 8.1
seconds, taking on enough fuel to get to the flag. He was slightly
delayed as he came out behind the Super Aguris, but it was not enough to
threaten his second place and next time round, the race leader came in.
From then, the two Ferrari men concentrated on bringing their cars home,
allowing Kubica to close to 1.6s by the end of the race. With Kubica and
Heidfeld taking the next two places ahead of Kovalainen, it seems that
the theory that BMW-Sauber could play a significant role in the outcome
of the championship might prove to be true. Today, they favoured us by
fighting off the one McLaren fighting for top positions, but in the
future, it could also go the other way.
 For race fans, it's an interesting proposition, but for the Scuderia it
probably means more work! In fact, at the moment, it is Sauber-BMW that
heads the Constructors' table on 30 points, one ahead of Scuderia
Ferrari Marlboro with McLaren-Mercedes trailing by a further point. In
the Drivers' Championship, Raikkonen leads on 19, followed by Heidfeld
on 16, with Kubica, Kovalainen and Hamilton all on 14. Massa has finally
got his name on the points table, next on 10.
Stefano Domenicali: "We are very
happy about this wonderful one-two finish. After a bad start to the
season, we have proved we know how to react with our actions, as usual.
We worked well all weekend and the results therefore followed. Now we
have to continue down this road, without allowing our absolute
concentration to slip for a moment, because in a championship that looks
like being very close, it takes almost nothing to lose precious points.
Felipe was fantastic and Kimi also did a good job, as did the entire
team, here at the track, but above all, those back home, because our
success stems from everyone in Maranello. A one-two is the best possible
way of celebrating a hundredth victory for Luca di Montezemolo as
President of Ferrari. He has always supported us, especially in the most
difficult times."
Felipe Massa: "Sensational! Finally, after a start to the
championship under dark clouds, I can see the sunshine again. We kept
our concentration all weekend long and this is the result. We knew we
could count on a great car and that certainly proved to be the case,
given that I never had to push to the maximum once I was in the lead. I
made a good start, managing to overtake Robert. Then, there were a few
difficult laps because of oil on track between Turns 5 and 8, but I was
always in control. Clearly, I always had in mind what happened in
Malaysia and so I tried to pay attention all the time, to ensure I
brought the car home. It is nice to be back in the winner's position
here in Sakhir, a track I have always liked."
Kimi Raikkonen: "Second place was the best I could hope for on a
weekend which was definitely not the best for me. These eight points
move me into the lead of the championship and that is definitely a
reason for me to leave Bahrain reasonably satisfied. I never found the
ideal balance. Sometimes you get weekends like this but I am convinced
that in Barcelona, the situation will be different. My first pit stop
was not very quick because we had a problem with the lights, but it
definitely did not affect the final result. Once I had consolidated my
position, I managed the situation, trying not to push the car too much,
knowing how important it is to always bring home the points."
Luca Baldisserri: "A great result which proves the worth of the
F2008 and of our team. We worked well with the only glitch concerning
the working of the lights at the pit stop. Once we had moved into the
positions we wanted, we asked the drivers to manage the cars very
carefully. There was no need to push, nor to take unnecessary risks. A
special thanks to our technical partners, first and foremost Shell. It
is also down to the engine oil we have introduced this year that we
manage to pull off this sort of performance."
Source - Ferrari Media |
