Bahrain GP 2013: Preview, News, Quotes etc

[vcs316]

Tony Jardine: My money on Alonso

From the fast flow of low heat China to the intense heat of the Sakir desert and it's tighter turns, Formula One's teams have just days to prepare themselves for this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.

Central to the plot just one week after China are the tyres.

For this Gulf island track, Pirelli are bringing the hard and medium compounds - both of which have to be used in the race.

Rear tyres as opposed to the fronts are under pressure here, as are the brakes and cooling of both cars and drivers in the desert heat.

Even though organisers apply special adhesives to the sand and rock surrounds, granules of sand still layer themselves on the track and cause tyres to grain.

Bahrain has rivalled F1's hottest ever race - Dallas in 1984 when it was 130 degrees Fahrenheit - before now so drivers may resort to their special flame proof cool suits worn under the normal fire resistant overalls and sometimes will wear cooled balaclavas.

Who will potentially cope with all these challenges best in Bahrain?

My money is on Fernando Alonso, the man I predicted to take the 2013 World Championship in my pre-season preview.

Some of my China predictions turned out in the wrong order but my top five were there, I was bang on with Jenson Button fifth and Kimi Raikkonen second. Lewis Hamilton, Alonso and Sebastian Vettel were slightly adrift but all in the mix which they will be again in Sakir.

Alonso is the only triple winner in Bahrain and Ferrari have great form, winning four times since the first race in 2004.

If the Spaniard can qualify towards the front as he did in China, he can demonstrate great tyre management and incisive action in the traffic aided by Ferrari strategy and a much improved car that they are developing all the time. Whilst all around him struggled to keep their tyres in the groove, Alonso maximised his rubber as the team ran shorter stints.

Behind this successful tyre management policy is Ferrari's own tyre guru Hirohide Hamashima, the former technical director of Bridgestone Motorsport, who I worked with over many years.

Backing up the central tyre plot should be Lotus and Raikkonen.

Second and third last year, Kimi nearly took the lead as he tried to pass Vettel at turn one but changed tack from inside to outside and lost the initiative.

China showed how kind their car is to tyres, as well as being a quick car, but Kimi only qualified 11th last year.

If he is closer to the front of the grid expect him to be in the hunt from the start.

Red Bull are not too harmonious at present and this lack of accord can affect all aspects of performance - which is just what their rivals are hoping for!

Realistically China witnessed a lack of straight line speed which in turn influenced their strategy of running the harder tyre first and it only produced fourth place.

While the world champion should be very competitive as last year's winner, I think third could be the outcome.

It suited the current McLaren development to go the same way, but with only two stops Button finished fifth and I think he can do the same in Bahrain, especially given his winning experience there and 'easy on tyres' ability.

Hamilton was mighty in China and I am going for him to take pole again in the podium-finishing Mercedes which has the qualifying pace but not race pace yet, something both Ross Brawn and Lewis have stated.

His third place in China, defending from the charging Vettel in the dying laps, was epic F1 action and we could see the same sort of excitement in Bahrain.

But given their current race pace I have Hamilton down for fourth.

Team mate Nico Rosberg deserves a good finish and as this track is the scene of his debut in 2006, when he set the fastest lap finishing seventh, he will want to do well.

He completes my top six with Felipe Massa seventh and Mark Webber eighth.

The Aussie incurred a three place grid penalty for hitting Jean-Eric Vergne in China to add to his woes.

Paul di Resta drove a great race in China to finish eighth.

Last year in Bahrain he led for a while as he made his tyres last on fewer stops and I think he can do that again for a top 10, as can Hulkenberg who led in China for a stint in the Sauber.

That completes my top-10 tips but please have a think about an outside bet on Daniel Ricciardo in the Toro Rosso for a top-six placing.

He scored his career-best grid position in sixth last year and has just finished seventh in China - a mighty performance from the Australian who most think will take over from Mark Webber in the Red Bull team next season.

http://www.sportinglife.com/formula1/news/article/669/8645522/-?

[Kiwi Nick]

"Bahrain has rivalled F1's hottest ever race - Dallas in 1984 when it was 130 degrees Fahrenheit"

Stuff like this makes me crazy. I lived in Dallas in 1984. It has never been 130 in Dallas. The all time record high is 113 set on the 26th of June in 1980. On the day of the 1984 US GP (July 8th) the temp was 100. Given that the average high temperature in Dallas is just over 96, 100 is not a big departure from what should have been expected. If I remember correctly, Goodyear said the track temperature was almost 150. That may be a record track temperature.

That being said, Dallas gets pretty damn hot. If you can't stand the heat, don't schedule a race in Dallas during what is usually the hottest week of the year in a historically very hot city. Austin in November is nearly perfect weather.

[Rob]

Alonso’s ten pearls
Maranello, 17 April –Famous Italian pop singer Lucio Battisti might have settled for ten girls in his 1969 song, but there’s no way Fernando Alonso is going to settle for his ten wins to date as a Ferrari man. However, it is an important round number, good enough to put him in fifth place on the list of the drivers who have won the most for the Scuderia in Formula 1. It might be very difficult, if not impossible, for him to reach Michael Schumacher’s total of 72 wins, but the other three ahead of him are within his grasp. However, one has to bear in mind that one of those three is Felipe Massa, who is in fourth place and he is still perfectly capable of improving on his current tally of 11 wins. Ahead of the Brazilian we find Alberto Ascari on 13 and Niki Lauda on 15.

Fernando is already in Bahrain, which this weekend hosts the fourth round of the World Championship. It was on this very track, albeit with a modified layout, that the Spaniard secured his first win in red. On 14 March 2010, Alonso crossed the line ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa at the end of a race in which his only true rival, Vettel, did not have a car as reliable as the Spaniard’s F10. At the time, Ferrari fans around the world thought this signalled the start of a series of wins, but in Maranello, everyone was perfectly aware that the car was not yet competitive enough. It was more so later, on 25 July at Hockenheim, where the Alonso-Massa duo took its second and, to date, last one-two of their time together. That race went down in history because of the overtaking move the Spaniard pulled on his team-mate, even when they were already both ahead of Vettel, proving how very competitive was the F10 on the German circuit.

The best win that year was yet to come. On 12 September at Monza, Alonso started from pole and crushed Button’s resistance in the McLaren at the end of an extremely close race on the fastest track of the season. It was celebration time both on and underneath the amazing Monza podium, which provided unforgettable emotions for everyone there that day. Two weeks later came pole and a win again, this time on one of the slowest tracks of the year, Singapore. It was a heart stopping race, in which Fernando led from start to finish, but with his mirrors constantly filled with Vettel’s Red Bull. Fernando delivered a flawless performance to bring home another amazing win.

A bit less than a month later came the fifth win of 2010, in an epic race. On the new Yeongam track a dramatic Grand Prix took place, with rain right from the start, with interruptions and long Safety Car periods, packed with incidents until the race ended in the gloaming. Once again, Fernando was impeccable and he was working his way up the order when the engine in Vettel’s Red Bull let go on the pit straight: come the end, the Spaniard was masterful in managing the tyres, thus taking the win which propelled him to the lead in the championship. After that, everyone knows how it ended a few weeks later in Abu Dhabi, but that’s one page in the history of Alonso’s time at Ferrari that has definitely been filed away.

2011 did not produce as many wins. The F2011 was not up to the standards of its predecessor and it faced the all-conquering duo of Vettel and a Red Bull. However, Fernando’s only win came at a time and at a circuit which held great significance for the Scuderia. It was on the same Silverstone track, where sixty years before, Jose Froilan Gonzalez had secured the first of Ferrari’s 220 Formula 1 wins and it came just a few hours after Fernando had driven the very same 375 F1 used by the Argentinian driver. The Spaniard just managed it, overtaking the Red Bull that had seemed uncatchable at the time.

In 2012, Alonso took three wins and the first was definitely the least expected. It came at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit at a time when the F2012 was anything other than quick in that first part of the season. But the rain gods intervened, producing a tropical downpour at the start. Alonso produced a fantastic drive and made the most of his talent to exceed the technical abilities of his car. Three months later, in Valencia, the Spaniard took a win that ranked as highly with him as that at Monza, at least on the emotional front. To be back in the winner’s circle in front of his home crowd was an amazing feeling, as amazing as his race performance, when he fought his way through the field in the first half, before controlling it in the second. Fernando’s tears on the podium will always be one of the most touching moments of his career in red. The third win last year, at Hockenheim, was the only one in which the Spaniard did not have to pull off a miracle, but had “only” to be perfect. Just like the F10 from two years earlier, the F2012 seemed to like the German track, confirmed not just by the fact it took pole in the wet, but also in the way it won the race, run almost entirely in the lead, without ever offering any hope to rivals of the calibre of Button and Vettel. That was the final competitive moment for the Maranello car, in a season which, for the second time since the arrival of the man from Oviedo at the Scuderia, would end in disappointment.

The tenth pearl on the necklace is recent history. The amazing win in Shanghai can be compared in some ways to the 2010 wins in Monza and Hockenheim, in terms of car performance, a perfect job from the driver, the management from the pit wall and the teamwork in the pits. It was a win produced by a strong and determined group and an Alonso who like never before this year wants to live up to the unanimous views of the fans and experts, that he is the best driver in the fight for the championship. There’s still a long way to go to achieve this and to get there, it will be necessary to add to that necklace. One thing’s for sure, there’s definitely room on the chain for some more pearls. They just need to be threaded on.

http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/alonsos-ten-pearls

[Rob]

Double "DRS zone" for the Grand Prix of Bahrain
In addition to the one on the main straight, they will be prepared a second on the inner
April 17, 2013 12:53
The FIA continues with its policy of doubling the "DRS zone" in Bahrain . For the first time, therefore, the drivers will operate the moveable rear wing in two distinct sections of the track. A almost a foregone conclusion that the main straight, which had been used in 2011, in fact, has added a new "zone of overtaking "on the straight inside of the track, which involves the detection fixed point of the curve 9 and the operation of the device immediately out of the curve 10. however Everything unchanged for the "DRS zone" on the pit straight, with the detection of the gap between the car that will take place in the vicinity of the braking curve 14 and the wing instead be open for a few meters before the finish line. This choice of the FIA to double the areas where you can use the device was also dictated by its new regulations, which now also in qualifying and in practice they provide for use only in areas subject, unlike a year ago when it was bound only in the race.

http://www.omnicorse.it/magazine/26611/f1-doppia-drs-zone-anche-per-il-gp-del-bahrein

With how the teams are setting up the DRS now only in the zones for quali and race, think they becoming to powerfull. Just 1 DRS zone i think would be fine.

[Nero Horse]

Top 10 drivers with most GP wins with Ferrari:

1. Michael Schumacher - 72 GP wins

2. Niki Lauda - 15 GP wins

3. Alberto Ascari - 13 GP wins

4. Felipe Massa - 11 GP wins

5. Fernando Alonso - 10 GP wins

6. Rubens Barrichello - 9 GP wins

7. Kimi Räikkönen - 9 GP wins

8. Jacky Ickx - 6 GP wins

9. Gilles Villeneuve - 6 GP wins

10. Carlos Reutemann - 5 GP wins (Alain Prost & Gerhard Berger have also 5 GP wins)

[MRRabbit]

It really feels good coming into the weekend with a positive feeling :-) I'm sure we will have a good race on our hands, may the best Ferrari driver win :clap

[Jose-Lorca Fan]

It's a shame that Pirelli decided to replace the softs with mediums because this would have given Ferrari a massive advantage going into the weekend.

[Hermann]

It's a shame that Pirelli decided to replace the softs with mediums because this would have given Ferrari a massive advantage going into the weekend.

Which is probably one of the reasons to replace them.

[Greig]

It's a shame that Pirelli decided to replace the softs with mediums because this would have given Ferrari a massive advantage going into the weekend.

Not sure how? We were very quick on the mediums and they lasted very well for us. If they brought the softs here we would be spending most of the race on the hards.

[Nero Horse]

It's a shame that Pirelli decided to replace the softs with mediums because this would have given Ferrari a massive advantage going into the weekend.

True, but hopefully the high temperatures will help us. *fingers crossed*

Our car is so good right now that it should still go really well on Sakhir circuit despite the hard tyre compounds.

[REDARMYSOJA]

Top 10 drivers with most GP wins with Ferrari:

1. Michael Schumacher - 72 GP wins

2. Tazio Nuvolari - 29

3. Niki Lauda - 15 GP wins

4. Alberto Ascari - 13 GP wins

5. Felipe Massa - 11 GP wins

6. Fernando Alonso - 10 GP wins

7. Rubens Barrichello - 9 GP wins

8. Kimi Räikkönen - 9 GP wins

9. Jacky Ickx - 6 GP wins

10. Gilles Villeneuve - 6 GP wins

11. Carlos Reutemann - 5 GP wins (Alain Prost & Gerhard Berger have also 5 GP wins)

Fixed that for you.

[Nero Horse]

Fixed that for you.

Oh yea, thanks, my bad :oops

But are all those 29 wins with Scuderia Ferrari or did you include the wins with Alfa Romeo in there as well? How many wins did Tazio achieve overall anyway? Sorry, my knowledge about those days is a little hazy.

[REDARMYSOJA]

Oh yea, thanks, my bad :oops

But are all those 29 wins with Scuderia Ferrari or did you include the wins with Alfa Romeo in there as well? How many wins did Tazio achieve overall anyway? Sorry, my knowledge about those days is a little hazy.



They are all in Alfa's but in those days Scuderia Ferrari was Alfa's racing division. I don't know about overall as you would have to include sport cars as well.

Correction. One of those 29 wins was in a Maserati, but it still counts since it was entered by Scuderia Ferrari.

[Nero Horse]

They are all in Alfa's but in those days Scuderia Ferrari was Alfa's racing division. I don't know about overall as you would have to include sport cars as well.

Yea, it's absolutely mind-blowing to think that Scuderia Ferrari was once "just" a small racing division for Alfa Romeo and then compare the two today. Ferrari has grown bigger and greater than anything what Alfa Romeo could've ever dreamed of and Alfa itself is basically nowhere now. Ironic isn't it? A student has become the master. :-)

[REDARMYSOJA]

Yea, it's absolutely mind-blowing to think that Scuderia Ferrari was once "just" a small racing division for Alfa Romeo and then compare the two today. Ferrari has grown bigger and greater than anything what Alfa Romeo could've ever dreamed of and Alfa itself is basically nowhere now. Ironic isn't it? A student has become the master. :-)

Really they were more than just a small racing division for Alfa, they were the entire racing division for Alfa. When Alfa Romeo decided to end their house team in 1929, Enzo took over the entire racing operation for them. They were the dominant car and won everything until Mercedes/Auto Union came along. And even those Alfa Romeo 159's that won the first two F1 world championships were pre-war designs by Enzo.

[Nero Horse]

Really they were more than just a small racing division for Alfa, they were the entire racing division for Alfa. When Alfa Romeo decided to end their house team in 1929, Enzo took over the entire racing operation for them. They were the dominant car and won everything until Mercedes/Auto Union came along. And even those Alfa Romeo 159's that won the first two F1 world championships were pre-war designs by Enzo.

I didn't mean it literally when I said "just a small racing division", I just said it to put things in perspective. And yes, I know that Enzo was at the head of the racing division, but Alfa was still very much in control and a contract clause didn't even allow Enzo to build his own racing cars for four years after Enzo had left Alfa. So it's quite an ironic twist for Alfa that Ferrari became so great without them. But anyway, clearly you know more about these facts than I do and I need to brush up on my history asap. :-)

[vcs316]

Bahrain: Ferrari going all out to win, Alonso out to claim 4th victory

Milano, 17 April 2013

The situation in Bahrain is calm at the moment. Ferrari want a repeat of their win in China and Alonso is in fantastic form: Ferrari have won 4 of the 8 grand prix raced in Bahrain, Fernando winning 3 (two while at Renault)

The images of violence or protests that land in the newsrooms across the world almost every day are in stark contrast to what you actually witness when first landing in Bahrain. What you see is a country that, in terms of building work and construction sites, has been in continual expansion since 2004, when Bahrain was host to the first ever grand prix held in the Middle East. Yesterday, for example, we were one of the first to travel along a newly-built stretch of motorway that takes cars away from the heavily congested Pearl Square (also the square made famous 2 years ago when protestors clashed with police there) and towards the skyscrapers that are still sprouting up and being built in and around Bahrain Bay. Just as 12 months ago, the roads that lead to the Bahrain International Circuit are still patrolled by police and armoured cars, but this year they’re parked up and seeking out the shade and protection from the scorching heat offered by newly-planted hedges. Not even a sudden and extremely rare thunderstorm on Tuesday night offered much rest bite from the heat. Things are calm here at the moment, but all that could change on Friday, the day set aside for congregational prayer. We’ll have to wait and see.

REVOLUTION — But... the real revolution is taking place in the paddock. In a bid to stop drivers from the big, rival teams as well as team members and sporting directors from being within touching distance of each other in their various motor homes, hospitality boxes and pits, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has decided to mix things up a bit: Red Bull will still have the 1st garage in the pit lane - but the Lotus and Sauber pits have been moved next to them. Vettel and Alonso will, therefore, be much further apart than usual. A pity, as there are fewer and fewer fans mingling with the teams in Bahrain every year.

PLOTTING... — Following the Chinese Grand Prix, Vettel, Raikkonen and Hamilton all opted to return to Europe (Vettel and Raikkonen to their respective homes in Switzerland and Hamilton to London) but Alonso opted to make is way to the Middle East, as did Massa. The Brazilian went directly to Bahrain while Fernando (as he had told everyone) stopped off in Dubai, where he met up and dined with Mark Webber (as seen from the images they both posted on Twitter). The pair are old friends, but the meal, at such a delicate time for Red Bull and the internal friction between the drivers in their team, has led people to speculate that Fernando and Mark are 'plotting' an alliance against Vettel - or even talking about possible scenarios for driver line ups next season: it’s no secret that Webber came close to signing a deal with Ferrari last summer. Who knows what Massa thinks about the situation: but in Bahrain he has an absolute duty to put in a decent drive following his mediocre races in Sepang and Shanghai.

TRADITION — On paper, this is a fantastic opportunity for Ferrari to score another grand prix win, as the team from Maranello have (other than on rare occasions, such as last season) always done very well here: of the 8 grand prix held (there was no Bahrain Grand Prix in 2011) Ferrari have won 4, including the first ever grand prix held here, with Michael Schumacher at the wheel, followed by two consecutive wins for Massa and the race in 2010, which ended in the fantastic one-two finish by Alonso and Felipe. Fernando has also gone very well here and has won the race more times than any other driver: he’s won a total of three times (in 2005 and 2006 with Renault and in 2010 with Ferrari). And had Pirelli decided to stick with their original decision to bring the soft and hard tyre compounds here for the race, then it would have been just perfect (or at least almost perfect) for the F138, as the Ferrari appears to be very good when it comes to tyres wear. However, following the race in Malaysia the tyre company have made the decision to bring their medium and hard tyre compounds to Bahrain.

from our correspondent Andrea Cremonesi
© RIPRODUZIONE RISERVATA

http://english.gazzetta.it/Motor_sports/17-04-2013/bahrain-ferrari-going-all-out-to-win-alonso-out-to-claim-4th-victory-921044301129.shtml?

[vcs316]

Pirelli denies tyre advantage for Lotus, Ferrari

Paul Hembery has rubbished suggestions Lotus and Ferrari are getting an unfair advantage in 2013.

One theory doing the rounds is that Lotus' E21 is kind to the otherwise heavily-degrading tyres this year because Pirelli's test car is the 2010-spec R30 -- which was designed by Enstone based Lotus' former incarnation, Renault.

"We have certainly done everything to avoid any team getting any advantage from our test data," Pirelli's Paul Hembery is quoted by German magazine Sport Bild.

He confirmed reports that rival teams rejected a proposal to share the burden of providing Pirelli with a test car.

"We even proposed that they alternate with each other to test our tyres, but none of our proposals proved popular," said Briton Hembery.

"So they can't start complaining now."

Hembery also rejected a wild theory that Ferrari obtained an advantage through the shared nationality of its lead driver, Fernando Alonso, and main Pirelli tester Jaime Alguersuari.

He smiled: "Someone told me actually that Jaime and Fernando don't even talk.

"Anyway, how could a comment be converted into a design?" he wondered. "That's hard to accomplish.

"And even if you could get something from it, it would be pretty minimal."

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns25221.html?

[tifosi1993]

http://i.imgur.com/wYwMQpcl.jpg (http://www.gophoto.it/view.php?i=http://i.imgur.com/wYwMQpc.jpg)

http://i.imgur.com/UmFZZE9l.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/UmFZZE9.jpg)

http://i.imgur.com/zRxtrFtl.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/zRxtrFt.jpg)

http://i.imgur.com/S9zDXFJl.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/S9zDXFJ.jpg)

[F2002]

It's a shame that Pirelli decided to replace the softs with mediums because this would have given Ferrari a massive advantage going into the weekend.

Alonso was flying during his stints on mediums, can't see the disadvantage.

[Kingdom Hearts]

Alonso was flying during his stints on mediums, can't see the disadvantage.

The concern it's the hard.

[radosav]

The concern it's the hard.

i think that first option for bahrain were softs and hards, so we would have to use hards anyway!

[Greig]

Yep and if they had soft here that lasted 5 laps then we would have to do 90% of the race on hard, so now the mediums might well be the race tyre.

[Dino]

Yep and if they had soft here that lasted 5 laps then we would have to do 90% of the race on hard, so now the mediums might well be the race tyre.

Good point but we don't look so competitive on the Mediums for Pole.
Maybe Ferrari [and the higher temps.] can solve that!

[tifosi1993]

http://i.imgur.com/SdbUVFDl.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/SdbUVFD.jpg)

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http://i.imgur.com/Y8G7tPZl.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/Y8G7tPZ.jpg)

[Alonso14]

Alonso was flying during his stints on mediums, can't see the disadvantage.

I think we would have had massive advantage on the softs, I'll try to make some sense. I guess we can assume the first stint would be 6-7 laps (as Sakhir is a bit lighter on the tyres than Shanghai). The Pirelli's degrade in such way that the difference between a new tyre and one nearing a cliff could be more than second. Hamilton's tyres went off before ours in China and look what happened, our guys pulled a massive gap (considering it was a single lap) as soon as they had clear air. Being easier on the softs could translate into heavy advantage. At least I think so.

[Hornet]

Pirelli denies tyre advantage for Lotus, Ferrari

Paul Hembery has rubbished suggestions Lotus and Ferrari are getting an unfair advantage in 2013.

...

Hembery also rejected a wild theory that Ferrari obtained an advantage through the shared nationality of its lead driver, Fernando Alonso, and main Pirelli tester Jaime Alguersuari.


How cute. That was quick too. Only one win and here it comes already. :Cube

[tifosi1993]

http://i.imgur.com/ka7LMSPl.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/ka7LMSP.jpg)

http://i.imgur.com/1UoQedpl.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/1UoQedp.jpg)

http://i.imgur.com/WAK9zIYl.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/WAK9zIY.jpg)

http://i.imgur.com/ny7Xg1Vl.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/ny7Xg1V.jpg)

[Rob]

The concern it's the hard.

Think we should be ok. ;-)

[Rob]

Bahrain GP – Alonso: “we need to be a little bit faster”
Sakhir, 18 April – Amazingly, around the time of Fernando Alonso’s regular Thursday afternoon meeting with the media, it started to rain on the desert circuit of Sakhir, not heavily but rain all the same. It’s as if even the weather feels obliged to produce something unusual and interesting to match the start of this year’s Formula 1 season.

First question for the Scuderia Ferrari driver concerned his thoughts on the fact that currently, the Drivers’ classification is headed by a quartet of world champions, Fernando himself, Vettel, Raikkonen and Hamilton. “I don’t know if I am surprised, because I didn’t have any plan in my head as to what the championship order would be after the first three races,” admitted the Spaniard. “Last year, we saw many surprises in the early part of the season and this is the time when we look at everyone’s potential and increase our own learning of the new rules and other new elements: this year the tyres are probably the main learning process we are all tackling right now. At the moment, championship positions are not really important, but at the same time, it’s not a big surprise to see Lewis where he is: he is one of the best drivers on the grid right now and last year he put McLaren in a competitive position and this year he is doing it with Mercedes. We know the Red Bull is probably the strongest car and Kimi is having a fantastic start to the season and driving maybe better than anyone.”

Looking back at standing on the top step of the Shanghai podium, Fernando was naturally very satisfied with his performance, although cautious when assessing it’s importance. “I was very happy, as not winning for a while is a very difficult matter to deal with,” he said. “It was eleven or twelve races that we had not won, even if we were consistently on the podium, but there are many other drivers with super cars who have not won a race in the last 50 or 60 races. However, we need to be consistently on the podium if we want to fight for the championship.” The press clearly consider the reigning world champion, Sebastian Vettel as the Ferrari man’s main rival. “Not having Sebastian on the podium in China is good news at the moment only because he is currently leading the championship and I would feel the same if it was Lewis or Webber for example in the lead. It’s not because it’s Sebastian the person, it’s because he’s leading!”

Alonso was equally circumspect in assessing the current level of performance of the F138. “I don’t think we are the car to beat at the moment, just because we have this one victory,” he insisted. “In Australia we were clearly not the quickest and in Malaysia we struggled a bit. In China, on race pace, Sebastian was quickest in all the stints, but had chosen a strange strategy for qualifying. We need to keep improving and to be a little bit faster. There are some new pieces for this race and new components coming to Barcelona and Monaco. So hopefully in the next month and a half, we can be at the level of the best cars.”

http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/bahrain-gp-alonso-we-bit-faster

[Rob]

Bahrain GP – Massa: “Secret is secret!”
Sakhir, 18 April – Felipe Massa was one of the panellists in this afternoon’s FIA press conference. Much of the press interrogation dealt with the media’s current obsession with tyre behaviour in China last Sunday, but the first question the Ferrari man was asked, stemmed from the fact he has won twice before in Bahrain. “What is the secret of going well here?” asked the moderator and Felipe’s answer prompted amused laughter all round, as he replied, “secret is secret!” He then went on to give a fuller answer. “I have always liked driving this circuit, since the first time I came here with Sauber in 2004. It’s a nice track, with long straights and hard braking, where traction is also important.”

The Brazilian was then asked what it was like to haves spent his entire Ferrari career partnering world champions, some of them multiple ones. “I have always had strong team-mates and many people have said that’s not a good thing, but for me it’s a positive. It motivates you to always do the best you can, because if you don’t do a perfect job, it shows, as your team-mate is always there. I have learned a lot from partnering what people all over the world have usually considered the best drivers of all. You are always under pressure to be perfect every day and I like that.”

Finally, the Ferrari man delivered an analysis of his tyre problems in Shanghai and what could be expected on the rubber front at the very different Sakhir track. “I had a big problem with graining on the Medium tyres at the last race, already in Friday practice,” he revealed. “As the track got better over the weekend, I found a lot more rear grip and so, in the race, I at first concentrated on saving the front tyres, but then the graining started and that cost me the second stint. In the third stint, I decided to push and that cleaned the graining off the tyres, so maybe it was completely wrong for me to have tried to look after the fronts. I am not concerned about having the Hard tyres here, because I had no problem with them in Malaysia: there was graining but it was the same for everyone. I think here the time difference will be big between the two tyre types, which means most people will try and use the Medium as much as possible in the race. Therefore, once again, it will be vital to work out a good strategy. In general, I think Pirelli is doing a good job and the races have been entertaining for the fans.”

http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/bahrain-gp-massa-secret-secret

[Dino]

Thursday Press Conference Bahrain 2013

Q. Felipe, let's move on to you. Jenson's talked about this circuit. It's a circuit you've won on before. You've enjoyed success here. So what's the secret to a good lap here at Sakhir.

Felipe MASSA: The secret is secret!

Q. Spill the beans.

FM: I don't know to be honest. It's a track I like to drive, since the first race, which I don't remember when it was, I was with Sauber – 2005 or 2005? It's a nice track. It's a track that has a lot of long straights, heavy braking, traction. I don't know, I just like it. So I imagine that you come here with a fair amount of confidence, certainly different to last year. Your form seems to have improved immeasurably on this time in 2012.

Q. What's made the difference for you, the car, the tyres - what?

FM: Yeah, I think since the middle of last year we understood a lot more how to work with the tyres, how to work with the car, to improve the car, the set-up. I'm sure how we started this year was much more in a good way. I'm very comfortable in the car and I think when you are comfortable you drive automatically. So you can do the better job you can on the car. This is the job we did last year. For sure it's a different car, many things are different but I think the working is in the right direction.

Q. (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / National Speedsport News) A question for Felipe: by now you're very used to having a world champion as a team-mate. Describe to us the challenges, the pressures and the satisfaction of working with and competing against a guy who's the champion and therefore one of the best in the world.

FM: Yeah, I think for sure I had most of my career a strong team-mate. I think many people say it's not good to have but I think it's positive. You always need to do the best you can and if you don't do the perfect job you know you're going to be behind. And I think in terms of experience you learn a lot by working with a good team-mate, a strong driver. I think to be honest, for maybe most of you guys or many people around the world is maybe everybody's talking about him as the best driver, y'know? So, you know you have a lot to do, you have a very important job and I think that's good. You're always under pressure because you need to be perfect everyday. But I think, I like… think it's nice, I think it's important and we always need to grow, we always need to get better and better and that's still what I'm trying to do all the time.

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Felipe, at the beginning of the last race you were fighting with Alonso for second place. Then after the pit stop, with the medium tyres, you suffered a lot. You said you had graining. What's the origin of this graining – the way you drive, the set up you chose? Could it be predicted during free practice?

FM: Well, for sure I had a big problem with graining in the last race, with the medium tyres. It was something that I was already having at the beginning of practice on Friday. It was a little bit less graining on Friday, but I had it anyway and for sure, the track gets better up to Sunday. I had a lot more grip at the rear of the car so the graining was even more in the race. I started the race concentrating very much on not over-using the front tyres, because of the graining, but then the graining started and I was not pushing because I was trying not to use the front tyres. I lost the second stint because of that. And in the third stint I had the graining and I started to push and I cleaned the front tyres and then the car started to be very quick after a while. So for sure the direction I took - saving the fronts - was completely wrong. I suppose to push a little bit harder with also a bit of traffic in the second stint and very concentrated not use the front and that was wrong. The third stint and the second last stint was not as much of a problem as the second stint but in the second stint I lost many positions, I lost a lot of time to these guys in front and I lost the opportunity to fight with them. For sure, it's something that we understand and it shouldn't happen again.

Q. (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Felipe, tyres this year seem more important than ever, maybe as important as 2011. In this race, Pirelli has decided to change their option tyre from the soft to the medium. On the hard, you had problems in Malaysia. Could you tell us how the car feels on the hard and if you feel a little penalised by Pirelli's decision?

FM: Yeah, I think maybe you're going to see a race strategy which can be very important for the race as we've seen in most of the races up to now. It will be no different here. But I didn't have problems with the hard tyres in Malaysia. The only problem I had was that the degradation was similar to the medium, not just for me but for most of the teams. I think that's a little problem of the tyres. I think you need to chose the right difference, from one compound to the other, and I think that's the only... so I'm sure here the difference will be big on the tyres, from medium to hard, even though the degradation may be similar. Many people try to use the medium tyres as much as possible. I think here it's a track that is very hot so let's try to do a good strategy as well.

Q. Felipe, you've been driving for a while. Is it difficult to change your driving style after so many years in the sport, or is there something that you have to do in the simulator which helps you to achieve that?

FM: Well, I think Formula One is something that you have to learn year-by-year, it's part of the school that we have in Formula One every year. Rules change, things change. You need to learn how to drive the car with the tyres so you need to learn how to save the tyres. As Jenson said at the beginning, from a driving point of view, for sure sometimes the situation is not easy for us to race, to save the tyres, and as he said 'I was on a two stop, people were overtaking me very easily' but it was the right strategy that he did anyway so sometimes our life is a little bit difficult. When you are at home, watching the race, I think the race is very nice to see now. It's a nice race to see and it's much nicer in comparison to the past. So I think many people actually complain about what Pirelli is doing but I think they're going in a good direction for the sport and I think what is the formula is to chose the right difference between all the tyres, super soft, soft, medium and hard. I think that's one of the little things where we have to work in a better direction but I think the races are very nice to watch. You don't just need to think about ourselves, we need to think about everything. I think it's really important to learn how to drive and save the tyres and everything.

He seems to understand how to avoid the problems with graining !!!:thumb

[Hombre B]

Interesting article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22204087

[OSS EL BOSS]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb4ds_lMgpA

[sagi58]

Interesting article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22204087

First of all, I don't like that Pirelli has so much influence on the performance of the cars!
However, it's still ridiculous if they even entertain Red Bull's "demand"!! Red Bull should
have done what other teams have done and taken the Pirelli tires into consideration when
they were designing their car!! It would be grievously UNFAIR to those teams that did!!

[Dino]

Alonso predica calma: “La F138 non è la migliore”

18 aprile 2013 19:17 Scritto da: Davide Reinato 3 commenti



Il pilota spagnolo affronta il weekend in Bahrain con grande prudenza. E a chi gli chiede se può puntare dritto alla vittoria, risponde: “La F138 non è ancora la migliore”.



Occhi puntati su Fernando Alonso e la Ferrari al prossimo GP del Bahrain. Ma lo spagnolo predica calma e insiste nel dire che la F138, pur essendo molto migliorata, non può essere di certo considerata l’auto da battere. Lo scorso weekend, Fernando ha rotto un digiuno di vittorie che durava dal GP di Germania dello scorso anno. Una serie di 12 corse lontano dal gradino più alto del podio, un periodo fin troppo lungo per chi punta in alto.

Alonso sposta l’attenzione su Vettel, il cui passo gara a Shanghai è stato penalizzato dalla poca lucidità strategia della Red Bull. Secondo il ferrarista, Sebastian avrebbe potuto lottare tranquillamente per la pole e per la vittoria al GP di Cina. A questo poi si aggiunga che la Ferrari è ancora lontana dal poter vantare una superiorità netta sugli avversari: “Non abbiamo ancora vantaggio sugli altri come qualcuno cerca di dire dopo la vittoria di domenica scorsa. In Australia non eravamo certo i più veloci e in Malesia abbiamo faticato un po’, soprattutto in qualifica. In gara Felipe era quinto e Vettel ha dominato la gara”.

Nonostante il poco tempo a disposizione, dall’Italia sono arrivati nuovi aggiornamenti che faranno la propria apparizione sulla F138. Alonso conferma dicendo: “Abbiamo bisogno di migliorare ed essere più veloci. Ci sono alcuni pezzi nuovi per questa gara, mentre ne arriveranno altri per Barcellona e Monaco. Spero che nel prossimo mese, un mese e mezzo, possiamo essere allo stesso livello dei nostri avversari”.

La F138 non sarà più veloce degli altri, ma il grande equilibrio di questo inizio Mondiale lasciano ben sperare gli appassionati, sicuri di vedere un altro weekend infuocato.
================================================== ============================
Alonso preaches calm: "The F138 is not the best"

18 April 2013 19:17 Written by: David Reinato 3 comments



The Spaniard faces the weekend in Bahrain with great caution. And who asks if he can go straight to victory, he replied: "The F138 is still not the best."



All eyes on Fernando Alonso and Ferrari to the next GP of Bahrain. But the Spaniard preaching calm and insists that the F138, although much improved, certainly can not be considered to be the car to beat. This past weekend, Fernando broke a fast victories that lasted from the GP of Germany the previous year. A series of 12 runs away from the top step of the podium, a period too long for those who aim high.

Alonso shifts attention Vettel, whose race pace in Shanghai was penalized by the lack of clarity strategy of Red Bull. According to Ferrari, Sebastian could easily fight for pole position and victory at the GP of China. To this is added then that Ferrari is still far from being able to boast a clear superiority over his rivals: "We have not advantage over the other as someone tries to say after the victory last Sunday. In Australia we were not certain of the fastest in Malaysia and we struggled a bit ', especially in qualifying. Felipe was fifth in the race and Vettel dominated the race. "

Despite the short time available, from Italy has received new updates that will make their appearance on the F138. Alonso confirms saying, "We need to improve and be faster. There are some new parts for this race, while more will come to Barcelona and Monaco. I hope that in the next month, a month and a half, we can be at the same level of our opponents. "

The F138 will not be faster than the other, but the great balance of this bodes well start World enthusiasts, sure to see another fiery weekend.

[OSS EL BOSS]

wow :clap I think we are the only team that has updates for this race

[sagi58]

Alonso preaches calm: "The F138 is not the best"

:ferrarifl:passhttp://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g441/sagi58/Ferrari/61f1bec1-ffbe-4232-af78-32659bfa40e6_zpsd0a7f80e.jpg:pass:ferrarifl

[Massimo]

wow :clap I think we are the only team that has updates for this race

I believe they'd brought so much updates to China, they didn't have the time to test them all :-D

[Nero Horse]

Despite the short time available, from Italy has received new updates that will make their appearance on the F138. Alonso confirms saying, "We need to improve and be faster. There are some new parts for this race, while more will come to Barcelona and Monaco.

That's fantastic news yeeeaaahh!!! :clap

Thus far there have been new updates for every single race this season. Hopefully we can keep this kind of development pace going throughout the season. :thumb

[killer]

Most happy about the fact that the team now understands the graining issue with the medium tyre. The hards are a mystery for everyone so having an advantage on mediums may prove key.

[roddick_andy]

Exclusive Lewis Hamilton Q&A: We are way faster than I expected


When it was announced late last year that Lewis Hamilton would be leaving McLaren to join Mercedes in 2013, there was considerable shock in the paddock. But after three races - and two podium finishes - Hamilton’s bold decision looks to have paid immediate dividends. We caught up with the 2008 world champion in Bahrain to discuss, amongst other things, what’s gone right at Mercedes and what might be going wrong at his old team…

Q: Lewis, you must laugh at all those who predicted that your career would go south when you joined Mercedes. How does it feel proving them all wrong?
Lewis Hamilton: It feels nice! (laughs) It is good to walk around with my head up and smile at all those who have helped me in my decision and gave me the opportunity. I also feel good about myself. I have really thought it through and it is great to see now that the team is doing so well and that I can contribute to that success.

Q: Can it be that you are the one who is most surprised about the current situation?
LH: No, not really. I remember meeting with Ross (Brawn) before I signed; he came to my house and we sat down and he told me all the plans and I have been in the sport long enough to understand what he was talking about. I could see that Mercedes were en route to making some very positive changes - that they were really, really determined to turn things around. He showed me what potential there was in the car and I thought ‘wow, this sounds good’. Of course I didn’t know how good it would be and, to be honest, I never expected it to be as good as it is now. I thought it would be a slow but steady improvement - but it is way faster than I expected.

Q: The McLaren was the fastest car on the grid at the end of last season and the Mercedes was sometimes two seconds off the pace, but now - after three races - Mercedes is way ahead of McLaren. Would you have believed that if somebody had told you so?
LH: Definitely not. That is probably the biggest surprise - where we are in relation to them. The McLaren at the end of last year was awesome - the quickest car on the grid - and usually if you have the quickest car and there are not massive changes in the regulations you carry that into the next year. So it should, again, be a quick and awesome car, but for some reason - I don’t know why - it hasn‘t happened that way. But that is not my concern anymore! (laughs) And take Mercedes: they had a car that was nowhere, and look - we had a pole position last weekend! What a great feeling that was - it is a beautiful car to drive.

Q: So that marathon of improvement actually turned out to be a sprint…
LH: Ah, it’s not that easy. We still have a lot of work to do. It is still early in the season and we can still have bad races. But fingers crossed that won’t happen.

Q: What is going so wrong at your old team, McLaren?
LH: I don’t really know - I haven’t even spoken to the drivers about what is happening there. It surely has something to do with the downforce on the car. It was there all last year but probably they tweaked something. I thought that the car looked the same, but I was told that they’ve changed the car completely. They’ve probably made some big decisions which they thought would translate into big gains, but that hasn’t happened. Actions like that are not unusual with McLaren. I have experienced that in the past, particularly in 2009 and in 2010 as well. So it’s not unheard of that they make drastic changes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Q: And what’s going so right in your current team, Mercedes? The winter tests weren’t that promising - and suddenly you have a pole in China and two podium places so far…
LH: I think that they’ve been lost before. They have even said that. The aerodynamics, the wind tunnel - people were in the wrong place - so they took a step back and tried to analyse everything and move things into the right position. The car has just been on a positive curve since they changed the wind tunnel - since they made all these changes within the last half year - and they’ve been improving at a very serious rate.

Q: And obviously with you they’ve put the right man in the cockpit…
LH: Hopefully. I’ve tried to be as helpful as possible. But even if they didn’t get the results last year, this is a fantastic team and they clearly had the ability back then - but sometimes you just get lost. Even with McLaren - such a great team - they have troubles now. It is so easy to lose your way and it is so hard to find it again. I am so glad that Mercedes have now found it.

Q: We hear that there will be no more team order at Mercedes. Were you surprised that there was one issued in the first place?
LH: True, I haven’t been in that position for a long time and obviously it came as a surprise. I tell you, it is not the greatest of experiences. After the race, as we sat down and talked, I understood the situation and now I feel a lot more positive about it, but also we must make sure that we are never in such a position again.

Q: Without a robust ego you don’t get anywhere in F1 racing. How much elbow room should there be for a driver?
LH: Oh yes. (laughs) Wow, that’s an interesting question - I have never been asked that before. Let me think: I feel that I am fully a team player. Of course when you are driving and are in the position that Nico (Rosberg) was in, he had to put his own ego to one side. Even for me, my ego was affected by it because my team mate was quicker than me at the point, and that is something a driver never wants to see - that his team mate is faster.

Q: So at that point you were both losers - you because he was faster, and Nico because you bagged his podium?
LH: Let’s put it this way: it was a win-lose, win-lose situation.

Q: Your lapse in Malaysia when trying to pit at the wrong team caused much laughter. But in reality, how much contact do you still have with McLaren? You’ve grown up with them so a new contract can hardly cut off such deep roots…
LH: I went to see them in Australia. But I also tried to see them in Jerez, at the test, and there Sam Michael threw me out of the garage. That wasn’t very positive and I don’t feel very good about that. Martin (Whitmarsh) has been great and I have to say that I haven’t had enough contact, so I will give Martin a call.

Q: You’ve looked more concentrated since you joined Mercedes, but you also seem to laugh less - at least during your working hours. Why?
LH: Really? Maybe it is that I have so much to take in at the moment. I don’t have time to laugh and chill. When I was at McLaren I was at the top of everything - I knew everything: what the car was doing, how people reacted - so it was a lot easier as I knew exactly how I wanted to have my car set up. Here I have so much more work to do with the engineers - so many new, different things on the car that I still don’t fully understand - so I have no time to mess around. But don’t get me wrong: I am still having a great time.

Q: From Barcelona onwards, there has been talk of Pirelli looking at the tyre situation. If they made changes would the racing lose the current spice and is there really such suffering at the moment? The way the tyres are now seems to separate the wheat from the chaff in terms of drivers…
LH: I don’t know what’s coming our way, any improvement is welcomed and will be very positive. And about the wheat and the chaff; that’s not really so. The more balls you can juggle the better you are - all the different techniques you have to do to look after your tyres the better you are as a driver - and that is the challenge. So hopefully after Barcelona there will be fewer balls that we have to juggle.

Q: A pole position and two P3 finishes. Isn’t it about time to count down?
LH: Well, yes, second place is the next position. One step at a time. I don’t want to shoot straight at P1 - but of course if it comes, it comes. I am not saying ‘we have to win’. So if we move forward - a second place and then a first - that would be fantastic. So my target for this weekend is to finish higher than last weekend. And all signals suggest that we can do it. I feel very positive for this weekend. Sure it is a very tough track for tyre degradation, but generally I’ve always been quite quick here. So I’ll keep fingers crossed to end up in a better position than last weekend. (laughs)

http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2013/4/14473.html

[vcs316]

Fernando Alonso Q&A: Ferrari not yet the car to beat

After his dramatic early exit in Malaysia, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso fought back with a convincing win in China last weekend, and now lies third in the standings, nine points shy of leader Sebastian Vettel. So what has the former champion made of 2013’s opening rounds, are what are his and the Scuderia’s prospects for the Bahrain weekend and beyond? Alonso discussed these and other issues - including his friendship with Mark Webber - with the media in Sakhir on Thursday…

Q: After three races, would you have predicted the current championship standings?

Fernando Alonso: The first races are usually the ones where one can see the potential of the different teams, and where you have to learn how to deal with the new rules and regulations. This year it is very much the learning curve on how to deal with the tyres that we are all currently occupied with. In general I don’t think that the championship standings are very important yet, but they are also not a big surprise at the same time, as for example Lewis (Hamilton) is one of the best drivers on the grid, and he had put McLaren into a very competitive position last year, and is doing the same with Mercedes this year. So once more he has proved his talent. Also we all know that the Red Bulls are very strong and we will count with them again, and also Kimi (Raikkonen) had a fantastic start of the season - he is driving better than anyone else at the moment and also he clearly deserves to be there.

Q: How satisfied are you personally with the win at the last race, and how satisfying was it to not see your main competitor of recent years with you on the podium?

FA: Of course I was very happy, as not winning for some time is clearly a difficult matter for oneself and the team. It has been for sure 11 or 12 races that we haven’t properly won the race, although we have managed to be on the podium constantly. But also there have been a lot of other very good drivers with a competitive car that have not won either for 15 or 16 races. But what we have understood is that it is not only important to win a race, but to be consistently on the podium. Not to have had Sebastian (Vettel) on the podium is for sure good news at this stage of the championship, as he is leading it, but it would be the same with Lewis or Mark (Webber) if they were in the lead.

Q: Do you have the feeling that yours is the car to beat at the moment under race conditions?

FA: I don’t really think so, as I do not see the advantage that others see after one victory. In Australia we were obviously not the quickest, and in Malaysia we were even struggling a little bit, and Felipe (Massa) was only fifth, so he was not dominating the race. Also in China, if you look at the race pace I think Sebastian was the quickest. Maybe Red Bull has chosen a wrong qualifying strategy and therefore they compromised their race. For us it is clear that we need to keep improving, and be a little faster. We hope to achieve this with introducing new components here, in Barcelona and Monaco. So I hope that during the next few weeks we can close up to the level of the best cars.

Q: Do you see any effect on the Red Bull team because of the internal situation their drivers have?

FA: To be honest I don’t think that there is much effect, as once you arrive at the track you separate from your team mate and have your meetings with your own group of engineers and mechanics, and you really focus on your own work. So both of them concentrate on their own schedule. I just think that Mark needs to regain his luck again, as China was just bad luck, and then he will be as strong as ever.

Q: You were seen having dinner with Mark Webber this week. Was there a special reason for this?

FA: Mark and I have known each other now for almost 13 years and we have a very good relationship, and not only because we have been working both with Flavio Briatore. So there doesn’t need to be a special reason to have dinner together, as it is quite normal that friends have dinner together. And Mark is feeling quite good and confident at the moment, knowing that he has got a very competitive car and that there are still many races to come in this season.

[fratelliferrari]

Felipe Massa Thursday Press Conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhFwqkl5IUE

[Alonsomaniac]

Fernando Alonso Q&A: Ferrari not yet the car to beat

Q: Do you have the feeling that yours is the car to beat at the moment under race conditions?

FA: I don’t really think so, as I do not see the advantage that others see after one victory. In Australia we were obviously not the quickest, and in Malaysia we were even struggling a little bit, and Felipe (Massa) was only fifth, so he was not dominating the race. Also in China, if you look at the race pace I think Sebastian was the quickest. Maybe Red Bull has chosen a wrong qualifying strategy and therefore they compromised their race. For us it is clear that we need to keep improving, and be a little faster. We hope to achieve this with introducing new components here, in Barcelona and Monaco. So I hope that during the next few weeks we can close up to the level of the best cars.



Fernando may be right about the car, but the combination of the (almost perfect) Ferrari and Fernando Alonso is the one to beat...so I think Lewis was right when he said Alonso is the one to beat this year.

[Rob]

No thankyou, call me old fashioned but like Melbourne being the season opener...


BAHRAIN WANTS TO HOST 2014 SEASON OPENER
Friday 19 April at 16:35 : Apr.19 (GMM) Organisers of the Bahrain grand prix would like the event to return to the top of F1's annual schedule.

The Sakhir circuit opened the sport's world championship in 2006 and again in 2010, and was scheduled to be the season opener in 2011 until that event was cancelled due to civil unrest.

Still controversial, Bahrain is back on the calendar and now pushing to return to the coveted opening spot, which is currently occupied by Melbourne.

"It's a good start to the season," circuit chairman Zeyed Alzayani told reporters on Saturday.

"It gives us the chance to have the teams here longer, there is more anticipation, more unknowns, how the cars will react to the new tyres, the regulations, the drivers are just back into their rhythm.

"We are talking about 2014 onwards but it's a bit early to talk about the calendar for 2014," he added. "We're open to suggestion."

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, who on Saturday issued a joint statement with the FIA backing the decision to race in Bahrain this weekend amid controversy, admitted a change of scheduling for the race in future is possible.

"We could do, I suppose," the 82-year-old told Reuters. "We need to have a look at it."

Alzayani said one advantage of Bahrain being the first race is that teams could conduct pre-season testing at the circuit, in almost guaranteed dry weather, before returning for the start of the world championship shortly after.

"They can come to the last test and then leave most of their equipment here until race weekend," he said.

"This was the plan in 2011. So if we go after the first race, then we will go after a test as well but again that is not our decision."

http://www.onestopstrategy.com/dailyf1news/nieuw/article/19688-Bahrain+wants+to+host+2014+season+opener.html

[Tony]

Alonso predica calma: “La F138 non è la migliore”

18 aprile 2013 19:17 Scritto da: Davide Reinato 3 commenti



Il pilota spagnolo affronta il weekend in Bahrain con grande prudenza. E a chi gli chiede se può puntare dritto alla vittoria, risponde: “La F138 non è ancora la migliore”.



Occhi puntati su Fernando Alonso e la Ferrari al prossimo GP del Bahrain. Ma lo spagnolo predica calma e insiste nel dire che la F138, pur essendo molto migliorata, non può essere di certo considerata l’auto da battere. Lo scorso weekend, Fernando ha rotto un digiuno di vittorie che durava dal GP di Germania dello scorso anno. Una serie di 12 corse lontano dal gradino più alto del podio, un periodo fin troppo lungo per chi punta in alto.

Alonso sposta l’attenzione su Vettel, il cui passo gara a Shanghai è stato penalizzato dalla poca lucidità strategia della Red Bull. Secondo il ferrarista, Sebastian avrebbe potuto lottare tranquillamente per la pole e per la vittoria al GP di Cina. A questo poi si aggiunga che la Ferrari è ancora lontana dal poter vantare una superiorità netta sugli avversari: “Non abbiamo ancora vantaggio sugli altri come qualcuno cerca di dire dopo la vittoria di domenica scorsa. In Australia non eravamo certo i più veloci e in Malesia abbiamo faticato un po’, soprattutto in qualifica. In gara Felipe era quinto e Vettel ha dominato la gara”.

Nonostante il poco tempo a disposizione, dall’Italia sono arrivati nuovi aggiornamenti che faranno la propria apparizione sulla F138. Alonso conferma dicendo: “Abbiamo bisogno di migliorare ed essere più veloci. Ci sono alcuni pezzi nuovi per questa gara, mentre ne arriveranno altri per Barcellona e Monaco. Spero che nel prossimo mese, un mese e mezzo, possiamo essere allo stesso livello dei nostri avversari”.

La F138 non sarà più veloce degli altri, ma il grande equilibrio di questo inizio Mondiale lasciano ben sperare gli appassionati, sicuri di vedere un altro weekend infuocato.
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Alonso preaches calm: "The F138 is not the best"

18 April 2013 19:17 Written by: David Reinato 3 comments



The Spaniard faces the weekend in Bahrain with great caution. And who asks if he can go straight to victory, he replied: "The F138 is still not the best."



All eyes on Fernando Alonso and Ferrari to the next GP of Bahrain. But the Spaniard preaching calm and insists that the F138, although much improved, certainly can not be considered to be the car to beat. This past weekend, Fernando broke a fast victories that lasted from the GP of Germany the previous year. A series of 12 runs away from the top step of the podium, a period too long for those who aim high.

Alonso shifts attention Vettel, whose race pace in Shanghai was penalized by the lack of clarity strategy of Red Bull. According to Ferrari, Sebastian could easily fight for pole position and victory at the GP of China. To this is added then that Ferrari is still far from being able to boast a clear superiority over his rivals: "We have not advantage over the other as someone tries to say after the victory last Sunday. In Australia we were not certain of the fastest in Malaysia and we struggled a bit ', especially in qualifying. Felipe was fifth in the race and Vettel dominated the race. "

Despite the short time available, from Italy has received new updates that will make their appearance on the F138. Alonso confirms saying, "We need to improve and be faster. There are some new parts for this race, while more will come to Barcelona and Monaco. I hope that in the next month, a month and a half, we can be at the same level of our opponents. "

The F138 will not be faster than the other, but the great balance of this bodes well start World enthusiasts, sure to see another fiery weekend.

Wow, really don't like reading this... I hope he's just being humble or trying to keep his cards close to his chest....

[scuderiafan]

Wow, really don't like reading this... I hope he's just being humble or trying to keep his cards close to his chest....

You don't like reading Ferrari have upgrades? tbh, Alonso has played down the car a lot in recent years, so he manages expectations.

[Tony]

You don't like reading Ferrari have upgrades? tbh, Alonso has played down the car a lot in recent years, so he manages expectations.

I simply quoted the text without removing the part in bold, I was trying to say I don't like hearing that Alonso says Ferrari are not the fastest and that the Red Bull would have won in China....

[FrankAlfa]

Not so concerning. There is nothing new r egarding the balance of power and who is ahead. Not so concerning. Ferrari certainly has the Race Pace in the hands of Alonso.

Ciao,

Forza Ferrari!!!!

[Nero Horse]

I don't like hearing that Alonso says Ferrari are not the fastest and that the Red Bull would have won in China....

Agreed. But I think he's just trying to "keep his cards close to his chest" as you said. There's no need to start bragging that we have the outright fastest car. Let the others think that their car is the fastest. It's always better to be the "underdog". Alonso is a wiley old fox, he knows exactly how to keep a poker face. ;-)

[scuderiafan]

I simply quoted the text without removing the part in bold, I was trying to say I don't like hearing that Alonso says Ferrari are not the fastest and that the Red Bull would have won in China....

Oh. No, it never makes pleasant reading, but this has been going on for the past year. Even the much maligned F2012 was made to look a little worse in order to prepare us fans who expect a little too much from Ferrari at times to keep calm a little.
Then there is also the trolling Vettel fangirl dimension. They get very annoyed whenever Alonso says his car isn't the fastest. :-D

[anakin]

First of all, I don't like that Pirelli has so much influence on the performance of the cars!
However, it's still ridiculous if they even entertain Red Bull's "demand"!! Red Bull should
have done what other teams have done and taken the Pirelli tires into consideration when
they were designing their car!! It would be grievously UNFAIR to those teams that did!!

I think its not only redbull applying presure on pirelli, i think its also mercedes, lauda in particular.
it would be very very unfair for teams that get it right. if these tires will change, redbull and merc will be gentle with their tires t the same time, fast enough wile the likes of ferrari ang lotus will have a difficulty in getting their tires to working range. unfair. pirelli have some balls!!

[vcs316]

First of all, I don't like that Pirelli has so much influence on the performance of the cars!
However, it's still ridiculous if they even entertain Red Bull's "demand"!! Red Bull should
have done what other teams have done and taken the Pirelli tires into consideration when
they were designing their car!! It would be grievously UNFAIR to those teams that did!!

Ferrari used to have Bridgestone make/tweak tyres specifically to its cars liking and these changes took place almost every race. Other teams on bridgestone tyres struggled and complained but to no avail... It is nothing new for team to ask for tyres which are aligned to their own car.

[Ferris]

Ferrari used to have Bridgestone make/tweak tyres specifically to its cars liking and these changes took place almost every race. Other teams on bridgestone tyres struggled and complained but to no avail... It is nothing new for team to ask for tyres which are aligned to their own car.

I think the difference here is that there is one tyre supplier for the whole grid who is not in a tyre war with another tyre manufacturer as Bridgestone was against Michelin at the time.

So under these circumstances the team with the biggest budget is asking for favours because others have done a better job at adjusting to the tyres then they have.

I for one think Pirelli did a great thing in bringing it to the public's attention that RB has asked for changes to the rubber to suit them. This should shut RB up once and for all.

[eugene22n]

I think the difference here is that there is one tyre supplier for the whole grid who is not in a tyre war with another tyre manufacturer as Bridgestone was against Michelin at the time.

So under these circumstances the team with the biggest budget is asking for favours because others have done a better job at adjusting to the tyres then they have.

I for one think Pirelli did a great thing in bringing it to the public's attention that RB has asked for changes to the rubber to suit them. This should shut RB up once and for all.

This is correct. What was acceptable during the tire war is not anymore. The tires should change between season and during the season only if all the teams agree.