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Published on 21st April 2013 19:30
After winning in China just one week ago, and a grid here in Bahrain that featured an all-Ferrari second row, to finish the fourth round of the world championship taking home just 4 points courtesy of Fernando Alonso finishing eighth, is as surprising as it is disappointing for Scuderia Ferrari. Felipe Massa took the flag, out of the points zone in fifteenth place. Luck certainly wasn’t on the Brazilian’s side as he was involved in a collision at the start and then twice had tyre troubles in the course of the 57 lap race. As for Fernando, a problem with the DRS could not be fixed at the first pit stops and he had to drive almost the entire race without this device, which is so vital to overtaking. Sebastian Vettel became the first driver to win two races this season. On the podium, the Red Bull man was flanked by the two Lotus drivers, Kimi Raikkonen second and Romain Grosjean third. Today’s result means that while the Prancing Horse is still third in the Constructors’ standings, on 77 points, the gap to Lotus, now on 93 and Red Bull, 109, has grown.
For racing fans who don’t have an allegiance to any particular team, the Bahrain Grand Prix was another thrilling motor race, once again partly down to different tyre strategies. Three stops looked like being the most obvious choice, but some cars that had seen less degradation and wear over the first two days of the Bahraini weekend were prepared to gamble on just two.
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