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...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/266...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

[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

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

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_spo...4301129.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]

[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]

[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.

[tifosi1993]

[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/bah...-we-bit-faster