Bahrain GP 2013 - Race thread

[Alonsomaniac]

Why not to wait until right before planned pit stop?

Now that's a good question!
That they tried it seems logical to me, but why indeed not just before a planned stop? Were they afraid to lose too much ground by waiting?

[joalma]

Race Bahrain

Alonso DRS problem





regards

[Kyss4k]

There are engineers in Ferrari that have knowledge more than you and me. They did what was right. There is no possibility to question their DRS reuse

And still, their decission was wrong. Why is it so hard to admit, that even Ferrari can make a wrong decission? I am a die hard fan, but saying that that immediate DRS reuse were good choice is driving me crazy.

[Kyss4k]

Then if we waited, and it worked you would say why not use it beforehand to make up places. No win for the team.

Nope. I was screaming into the tv when I saw how is Alonso opening his DRS again. And I think I was even writting it here, but not sure about that. There was more to lose than gain from that.

[Greig]

And still, their decission was wrong. Why is it so hard to admit, that even Ferrari can make a wrong decission? I am a die hard fan, but saying that that immediate DRS reuse were good choice is driving me crazy.

Why not run the engine at 90% in case it breaks, would that be a right decision? It's racing we go racing and sometimes things go wrong.

[Nero Horse]

Nothing more to do now, but to put this race behind us and look positively forward to next races and hope that all the bad luck is over now. Keep calm and love Ferrari.

Bring on Spain!

Forza Ferrari!!!

[Kyss4k]

Why not run the engine at 90% in case it breaks, would that be a right decision? It's racing we go racing and sometimes things go wrong.

I am sorry but you are now exaggerating. You were one of those who had a problem with Canada strategy. That was risking. With what we have done today we had more to lose (as I said earlier) than there was to gain.

[Greig]

I am sorry but you are now exaggerating. You were one of those who had a problem with Canada strategy. That was risking. With what we have done today we had more to lose (as I said earlier) than there was to gain.

I did have a problem with the Canada strategy so it shows you I can say when I think the team makes a mistake, they pitted and thought the DRS was fixed so why would they not used it again?

[Hornet]

We'll have to see how it goes in EU.

I'm still somewhat optimistic that we are in a better position to quickly take points away from Vettel this year. Last year, Alonso had 50 points lead at one point, but RB started to consistently do well. Putting bad luck aside, if Ferrari can consistently do well we should be able to close the gap to Vettel.

[Kyss4k]

I did have a problem with the Canada strategy so it shows you I can say when I think the team makes a mistake, they pitted and thought the DRS was fixed so why would they not used it again?

And this is with what I have a problem. What could possibly led them to think they had fixed it? They just hammered it back in place with force! I just don't get that. If that's how we are repairing our F1 car... oh dear god.

[Hornet]

Now that's a good question!
That they tried it seems logical to me, but why indeed not just before a planned stop? Were they afraid to lose too much ground by waiting?

Even after the first stop, I think the plan was still trying to win. The first stop gave Ferrari a chance to put Alonso on hards, get the medium tires out of the way. If Alonso continue to push, he might be able to quickly get up the grid again as everyone else medium starts to degrade.

There was no time to lose and Alonso had to take the risk to quickly climb up again.

[stefa]

Stefa,I think your a bit happy now,maybe after nole winning

Yes I am. But todays bad result still hurts...

[Jose-Lorca Fan]

It's a shame that despite having the fastest car on Race day we are unable to consistently score good points because of issues here and there. No one can be blamed for the DRS issue but it just leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when you know that you have the car to take the fight to Red Bull only for a technical glitch to rule you out of contention. This season can catastrophically become like McLaren's last year if we're not too careful.
We should be aiming to rake up as many points possible before Red Bull apply their super upgrade which they usually do after the summer break. One can only look back on the last four races and think of what could have been...

[Greig]

And this is with what I have a problem. What could possibly led them to think they had fixed it? They just hammered it back in place with force! I just don't get that. If that's how we are repairing our F1 car... oh dear god.

I have no idea why they would think it was fixed which is probably why I am not working at Ferrari, I trust the team know more about the DRS than me so if they thought it was fixed then so be it. There was no other way to fix the problem other than replace the rear wing.

[FA fan]

Yes I am. But todays bad result still hurts...

It hurts a lot..
We have to shake it off,and hope for better weekends...

[blaney1977]

Nothing more to do now, but to put this race behind us and look positively forward to next races and hope that all the bad luck is over now. Keep calm and love Ferrari.

Bring on Spain!

Forza Ferrari!!!

[blaney1977]

Still all too play for

[FA fan]

http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/...hed-Bahrain-GP

[Dino]

I have no idea why they would think it was fixed which is probably why I am not working at Ferrari, I trust the team know more about the DRS than me so if they thought it was fixed then so be it. There was no other way to fix the problem other than replace the rear wing.

The Team did the right thing to give the wing another go.
From the photos above it seems the DRS wing somehow went over the stoppers and could not return to the closed position.
A very cheap thing to fix but proved very costly in the race.
A very unfortunate race indeed.
As all of us have seen it has become very hard to pass,and impossible if you are running with a group of cars all using DRS on each other.
Reminded me of the race we got stuck behind Petrov and could do nothing about it !

[FerrariF60]

Alonso has 4 more points than he did at this stage last season, but Vettel has 24 more.

you're right greig, but this time last season there were 4 different winners in 4 races; that ALSO helped alonso
this year Pettel already has 2 wins....we desperately need pettel to have a DNF or TWO....

let's hope ALO wins his home GP and possibly Monaco....and pettel DNF's at least one of them....pretty unlikley, but you never know....

[tifosi1993]

Fernando Alonso (Lap chart)

Alonsolapchart.JPG Alonsolapchart2.JPG

[wisepie]

What a nightmare race, no real blame can be apportioned to anyone, just crap luck and it was a miracle that Fernando managed to salvage his 4pts with no DRS. And Felipe was doing a great job until his first stop but being on the hard tyre hadn't worked in his favour and then it all went from bad to worse. Then having to do 20-odd laps on the mediums after his punctures he fell way back at the end, so damn frustrating for everyone and no fault of Felipe's. Bad day, another 3 weeks of despair before we can hope to fight back. And as for that finger, I know where I'd like to stick it. Enough disappointment this year already.

[Suzie]

The Team did the right thing to give the wing another go.

Agreed - if they hadn't, some would be moaning about THAT as well.

Crappy race, especially with what could have been achieved today.
Be good if frustrations weren't taken out on our other driver every time things go bad as well.

[tifosi1993]

Felipe Massa (Lap chart)

Massalapchart1.JPG massalapchart2.JPG

[Greig]

Stefano Domenicali: “This is definitely not the outcome we expected after showing all weekend long that we were capable of fighting for the top places. Today’s result needs to be put behind us in a hurry, although there is a feeling of great disappointment that we were unable to bring home the hoped for result. Despite his problem with the DRS, Fernando produced a blistering drive, pulling off overtaking moves and setting lap times that were absolutely incredible. Felipe’s race was also very complicated: first of all he was involved in a collision at the start of the race, which damaged the front wing on his F138, then he had tyre problems which compromised his race still further. An initial analysis after the first four races indicates that we did not pick up as many points as we should have done. In just over three weeks, we will be back on track in Europe and it will be important to turn this trend around immediately. Until then, we will knuckle down and continue with the development of a car that still has plenty of potential to offer”.

Fernando Alonso: “We definitely didn’t have much luck today and that’s a real shame, at the end of what had been such a positive weekend for me and Felipe up until this afternoon. We had been competitive in free practice and qualifying and we were both expecting to have a good race. After the opening laps, when I thought the rear tyres had gone off, the pit wall informed that the DRS was stuck. It wasn’t fixed properly at the first stop and so I had to come in for another one. From then on, the clear instruction from the pit wall not to use it affected my race. I tried to recover but it was really difficult finding places to overtake without DRS. When you are far back, in the middle of a group, tyre degradation is even harder to manage. I am sure that without the problems me and Felipe had, we would have finished higher up, because the car responds very well and it is definitely our best of the last four years. But having a good race involves a lot of factors, including a bit of luck. Let’s hope it balances out very soon, maybe even starting in Barcelona, my home race. There, it will be even more important to have a good qualifying, because it’s not easy to overtake on that track and so starting from the front is vital”.

Felipe Massa: “I was really unlucky in this race and even if it’s true that many things can happen in this sport, I can’t find an explanation for why so many of them have to be negative. At the start, I lost ground after the collision with Sutil and then I lost even more time coming back to the pits to change tyres and that wiped out any chance of having a good race. At the start, I suffered a bit with understeer, but I don’t believe that was the cause of my problems, while we still need to check what happened to my tyres that failed in this way. In the first instance it was probably delamination on the right rear and in the second it might have been due to a puncture. Now we must try and understand exactly what happened and immediately turn our attention to the next race”.

Pat Fry: “This was a very complicated Sunday for both drivers. On lap 6, a problem occurred with the DRS on Fernando’s car which forced us to bring forward his first stop to try and fix the rear wing which literally turned upside down. The first attempt from the mechanics was not enough to fix the problem and a second stop to try and fix it further cost valuable time. It’s a real shame because even with a damaged car, his race pace was among the best and it should have been enough to see us finish second or even fight for the win. Massa didn’t have an easy time either and after the collision immediately after the start came problems with his tyres: it’s not yet clear what provoked the first incident, while the second was almost certainly a puncture. It’s very probable that in part, this can be attributed to debris on the track. Even though we missed out on a good result we leave Bahrain in the knowledge that we can fight at the front and so we are even more motivated to keep improving”.

[Senna4Ever]

What happened today is close to a disaster and thats for following reason:

- the way Vettel was able to overtake Fernando & Rosberg in the midfield of the track ... for me it looked like Vettel was accelerating while the others (Fernando and Nico) where fully on breaks
&
- the speed of Vettel on straight, where he was able to follow and nearly overtake our car as well as Merc. Normally cars known to be very quick. And where RBs where always struggling.

The last Achilles heel of RBs was to be slow on straight because of this massive downforce in the corners. But it seems now that they have explored something to be now top on both ...
If this wasn't a one-hit-wonder than say goodbye WDC.

Funny that Vettel today nothing found to complain about tires like he did last race. Really funny. Seems suddenly that everything is okay again if he can win again. No one complains either from RB after Vettel demonstration cruising ...

Our credit is over for this year in terms of reliability issues. From now on we can not afford further DNFs and technical issues as the team and man to beat are very fast an reliable.
I wouldn't mind about todays result in normal situation. But for what I've seen: RBs fast like hell in corners & fast on straight -> that's like nightmare and Waterloo together... (really: as I saw how easily Vettel overtook Fernando ... my first thought was that Fernando lost a gear or had no more impulsion ... and then the same with Nico. Same place ... It looked like Vettel had an extra turbo ... )

.... And it seems that if we have a promising Saturday ... the day after becomes a pain

[tifosi1993]

[anuragiyer8989]

What I don't like is Fernando hoping for others misfortunes. Just concentrate on our car development and our own race rather than praying for bad luck for others Fernando! We know we have a good car(excluding today's reliability issues)...best drivers....even better team....with some luck we can take it to the end. Please don't make such statements. Let your driving do the talking.

[71dino]

I think it will be difficult for us to overcome the points deficit that now separates us from RB.
the RB car seems to have gained a great deal of pace since China. i don't care much about the WDC because drivers come and they go
but the Constructors is important and we haven't won one in a very long time. there is a point where, at Scuderia, patience will begin to wane.
call it bad luck or whatever term fits but the truth is for the last few seasons we have gone backwards. I am not being pessimistic, I am just being honest.

[REDARMYSOJA]

Man, it is going to be a long three weeks.