2015 Bahrain GP Thread

[steveaki13]

I have no time to do my intro's anymore :(, but still need to get this thread open.

So it seems as though the front of F1 will be quite predictable this season.

Mercedes 1-2 mostly with Lewis beating Nico

Then Ferrari's 3-4 with Seb largely beating Kimi

Then Williams not fast enough to catch ahead, but too fast for the rest.

Then unpredictable racing from 7th downwards.

Lets see if I am wrong

[jens]

Bahrain is a race held in hot conditions, so perhaps Ferrari has a better chance of toppling Mercedes than in China.

Other than that, yeah... Let's see if Renault engines last to the end. Verstappen has been running in top 8 positions in every race so far, but twice retired with a blown engine.

[AndyL]

No need to set the alarm clock for this one (not for us Europeans anyway)

Friday 17 April
Free practice 1 starts: BST 12:00 PM, CEST 1:00 PM, local 2:00 PM
Free practice 2 starts: BST 4:00 PM, CEST 5:00 PM, local 6:00 PM
Saturday 18 April
Free practice 3 starts: BST 1:00 PM, CEST 2:00 PM, local 3:00 PM
Qualifying starts: BST 4:00 PM, CEST 5:00 PM, local 6:00 PM
Sunday 19 April
Race starts: BST 4:00 PM, CEST 5:00 PM, local 6:00 PM

[Tazio]

Bahrain is a race held in hot conditions, so perhaps Ferrari has a better chance of toppling Mercedes than in China.

Other than that, yeah... Let's see if Renault engines last to the end. Verstappen has been running in top 8 positions in every race so far, but twice retired with a blown engine. Except this is a night race bro. I have a suspicion that the gap between Mercedes, and Ferrari will actually be larger here. One thing Mercedes has is great exit speed out of slower corners, and this track has a got a whole slug of them. Of course Seb excels at this track, and humbly suggest, that he may well continue to give Kimi a beat-down. :kiss:

[jens]

Except this is a night race bro. :

Ok, I forgot about that.:) So Merc for the win.

[DannyQ]

If last year was the platform then we should be in for a corker of a race between the mercs but I think that Rosberg crack under the pressure and Lewis will take the win but thats if the race is clean for either driver if not then the Ferraris will pounce.

[steveaki13]

Sadly can't see it being an epic like last year.

[airshifter]

The winning margins have been thin, and no driver or car has really dominated the track. Combined with still being a warm track, and Sebastian and Kimi in the Ferrari's, and I think we could have a real race on our hands. It's not a race where the pole to win ratio is really high, but I don't think anyone has won the race from very far back either.

Kimi is due. I think he has more podiums than any other at the track, but no wins..... yet. :)

[Tazio]

L Hamilton

S Vettel

N Rosberg

K Raikkonen

V Bottas

F Nasr

M Verstappen

F Alonso




Hey Annie' I see you have picked Fred to finish in the top 8 in the pick'ems contest. :eek:

Even though he ,managed to finish the race in China with massive data transfer failure, (fuel flow sensors) I don't really think it affected his race much. This is a little too optimistic. I don't think they have a chance to break into the top 8 until they have the B-spec engine that they are bringing to Spain, and then they are going to have to get the gremlins out of that unit. With some unexpectedly high attrition McZo could grab a point, but even that would take a minor miracle. At any rate good luck, and I may be able to benefit from your play, or vice versa in knocking aki' down a rung :arrows:

Kimi is due I agree, in fact I think he is overdue, but that may have more to do with his craft diminishing a tad in the last couple seasons. The car suits him, but Seb will beat him down again. I wonder who Kimi will go curmudgeon on this weekend, in venting his frustration???? Sorry! :alien:

[airshifter]

Hey Annie' I see you have picked Fred to finish in the top 8 in the pick'ems contest. :eek:

Even though he ,managed to finish the race in China with massive data transfer failure, (fuel flow sensors) I don't really think it affected his race much. This is a little too optimistic. I don't think they have a chance to break into the top 8 until they have the B-spec engine that they are bringing to Spain, and then they are going to have to get the gremlins out of that unit. With some unexpectedly high attrition McZo could grab a point, but even that would take a minor miracle. At any rate good luck, and I may be able to benefit from your play, or vice versa in knocking aki' down a rung :arrows:
I agree, in fact I think he is overdue, but that may have more to do with his craft diminishing a tad in the last couple seasons. The car suits him, but Seb will beat him down again. I wonder who Kimi will go curmudgeon on this weekend, in venting his frustration???? Sorry! :alien:

Seems that after all the smack talk, you are doubting someone trying to have faith in Alonso. But that's ok.... you keep beating the drum, but remind me....

Who is Ferrari's last WDC title holder? And where will he finish the race compared to the guy that didn't get one? :laugh:

[kfzmeister]

Engine update:

Merc to run with the original engines still.

Ferrari will replace both engines during the weekend (#2)

RB and STR will be on engines #3 of 4!

[Tazio]

Who is Ferrari's last WDC title holder? And where will he finish the race compared to the guy that didn't get one?
The same place he finished when he had Fred as a teammate at Ferrari,
a thoroughly beaten man! :rolleyes:

[Mia 01]

I hope Kimi will beat Seb this weekend, both in quali and race.

[steveaki13]

At any rate good luck, and I may be able to benefit from your play, or vice versa in knocking aki' down a rung :arrows:


So desperate you need other entrants help now Tazzie Bear? :cool:

[Tazio]

[QUOTE=steveaki13;1048523]So desperate you need other entrants help now Tazzie Bear? :cool:

Not desperate Alistair ,, just offering some friendly advice to one of my dawgz. Fred has said him self that he is not expecting to place any higher than 13th.
You remind me of Jessie in this episode, with me
being Fats Brown . Skip to 7:00 and watch to 12:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lihsKCzzxvI

[Storm]

So it seems as though the front of F1 will be quite predictable this season.
....

Lets see if I am wrong

I hope you and all of us are wrong and we get a Bahrain 2014 repeat....I really want the 2 Mercs to DNF or someone getting Ricciardo type win :p:

[DannyQ]

Im hoping that mcLaren get into Q2 this time, in FP1 the have shown that they have the potential pace to get there just not quite Q3

[Mia 01]

So far so good!

[driveace]

Maybe tighter between the Mercs this race,Kimi to beat Seb ? Maybe ,but i believe Seb will finish higher than Kimi .Hope the Manors both finish again ,would love to see them more competative though.
And hope that the "Red Mist" dosnt come down on Rosberg reverting to any more dirty tricks through frustration

[Vaggelis27]

No pickem????

[Tazio]

Freakin' Jense! WTF dawgz?

[Tazio]

At least Fred got through :)

[Tazio]

Britany is done. Great job by Seb.
The Boss :wave:

[Tazio]

I hope Kimi will beat Seb this weekend, both in quali and race.
Sorry! :kiss:

[The Black Knight]

There was no sense to that qualifying lap from Hamilton. It was absolutely unreal watching onboard Sky active. Millimetre perfect the entire lap around. Poor Nico totally outclassed get again. Hammy has raised his game no end this year.

Outstanding from Seb as well.

[longisland]

This is the best form I've seen in the boss. Web is dangerously close. The real fight will begin when the new parts are brought in in Europe

[Tazio]

Jense never had a chance, but prop's to him for staying positive in the face of so much adversity. I do believe that this trip to McLaren, Fred has a settling influence in JB, who's career was extended by Zo joining the team. Prop's to my dawgz in the Anglo Mafia, this is going to be a fun pairing when the car comes good, and I'm on a campaign to keep JB there next season as well. This time around Ron is doing things right, even if he is not sure why, and how, although I really think he does. I would just like to say to all of my brothers, and sistas' in the ".FA.M." keep the faith, we will get there, and when we do there is going to be a serious freakin' blood- letting. :devil:

[airshifter]

Great qually by Hamilton, he's on a charge.

Vettel splits the Mercedes again, and not much time at all between the 2-4 positions. I think with the race pace and the way the Ferrari's are with tires, we might see a race again today. There is a lot riding on the start too, with the way the dirty air affects tires.

But it does look like a race for the podium positions, with one driver from the Mercedes and Ferrari camps being left out, then a race for the "best of the rest". I hope the other teams make enough progress so that we have a chance of at least a few teams having an honest shot at a podium now and then.

Good to see a lot of positive from Ricciardo after making it up to 7th. Grosjean keeps the Lotus in the top 10 as well, a good showing all things considered. Sainz looked pretty good in the Toro Rosso as well. I suspect that the Williams will be in the same position as the last race, behind the frontrunners but leading the "best of the rest" again. But from Williams back it looks like it could be almost anyone that does well, and there should be some good battles.

Sucks to be driving a McLaren right now,and personally I think the problems go beyond the power units. The sound from JBs car on that practice failure sounded like a freaking turbine spinning down.

[journeyman racer]

Race is on at 1am here. No thanks.

[Tazio]

Sainz looked pretty good in the Toro Rosso as well.


I guess CS is as surprised as anyone that he put it there.


Carlos Sainz Jr 'shocked by Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying result'
http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/formula-1/toro-rosso/bahrain-grand-prix/news/sainz-jr-shocked-by-qualifying-result_218033.html
He told reporters: "It is probably our least expected Q3 of the year. Up until now our race pace was always a bit better than our qualifying pace, but here everything is up and down and weird things are happening from one session to another!


personally I think the problems go beyond the power units. The sound from JBs car on that practice failure sounded like a freaking turbine spinning down.
That is part of the power unit :confused:
But yes the problem is packaging of ancillary components that is affecting cooling of electronic components. It was an electric issue that kept Jense from participating in quali.

[Tazio]

'Sup Dawgz? Jense out, Now Felipe can't get going :eek:
5 sec penalty for CS!

[Tazio]

Britany spanks Kimi ;)

[Tazio]

Cracking start boyz!

[Tazio]

Dang, Felipe's bad luck is back! :angryfire

[steveaki13]

Hi Taz

[steveaki13]

Quiet in here again.

F1 or these forums still struggling.

Anyway good start. Poor Jenson. No luck this weekend.

Nico looking aggressive. Seb struggling to hold off Kimi

[Mark]

What a move from Rosberg wow!

[steveaki13]

Great stuff from Nico.

So close to Hamilton too.

[Tazio]

Hi Steve and Mark! :dork:
Nico is driving like a freakin' man possessed.

[Mark]

Maybe he isn't a broken man after all. I wonder who kicked him up the arse :D

[steveaki13]

Lewis trying to back him into Seb again?????

:p

Commentators thinking Kimi may be in good shape at the end.

[steveaki13]

Sounds like Ferrari are trying to spank Kimi :confused:

[Mark]

Kimi likes to whine tho

[Tazio]

Things could go pear shaped for Ferrari. I could see Kimi getting really pissed off by the end of this race if this strategy doesn't work ;)

[Mark]

Haha Vettel ahead again

[steveaki13]

Nico will be sick in that cockpit. :p

[Mark]

Haha. He drove Vettel clean off the road.

[steveaki13]

My Pickems are out the window today...... damn Taz. You gonna real me in. :mad:

[Tazio]

Mine are not looking too bad but nothing special :D

[Mark]

All the time we've been running pickems nobody has ever got 8 out of 8 and y'all don't look like changing that today!

[Tazio]

but I look like I'm getting all my picks in....I think :p:

[rjbetty]

Just woke up but need to be at work by 6pm so, ciao!

Woo look at Kimi, and Alonso doin alright too. Wonder how the FGP goes.

[Tazio]

I spoke too soon Felipe aint gonna make it!

[steveaki13]

Blimey

Seb is making so many errors today. Unlike him.

[Mark]

Rosberg is now again a broken man lol

[steveaki13]

Silly mistake by Nico

[Mark]

Well done Hammy and especially well done Kimi

[Mark]

Bit of luck for Ricciardo to cross the line with a lunched engine

[Tazio]

Great finish by Danny boy! :laugh:

[Tazio]

Well done Kimi, VB, The Boss, and .........Fred! ;)

[steveaki13]

Another Renault blowing up :confused:

[Tazio]

Seb forgot that there isn't an easy run-off area at every track ;)

[Tazio]

Boss does a Baseball reference! :cool:

[AndyL]

Another fun race here, whatever happened to "Bore-rain"? :D

Sounds like when Rosberg ran wide at the end there to allow Kimi through, it was a car issue, so doesn't detract from his good performance today... still not quite good enough though.

What is it they used to say... if the car falls apart as you take the chequered flag, you got the reliability exactly right. So good work from Renault from that point of view ;)

[Mark]

Not in these days of engines having to last several races of course.

[The Black Knight]

Podium interviews now - just waiting for Rosberg to blame Lewis for his braking issue at the end!

[Mark]

Jackie Stewart looking ridiculous as always :D

[truefan72]

Hamilton has no love for jackie stewart who thought he was wrong to leave mclaren, and then thought he wasn't going to win the WDC last year. lol

Anyway, its good to see a past winner on the podium doing the interviews. and jackie will always be the man for his safety efforts in F1

[Tazio]

Podium interviews now - just waiting for Rosberg to blame Lewis for his braking issue at the end!
Sorry! :angel:

[pino]

Jackie Stewart looking ridiculous as always :D

Love his looking haha ! :p:

[andyone]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04/19/ec019bd8670d5b58b50a6b7468e577bf.jpg

That look

[Mia 01]

Kimi spanks Nico and Seb:)

I´m so very happy tonight. It was a while since Kimi was on the podium and many many Moore will come this year!!!

[Tazio]

Nice Mia :kiss:, except Seb actually spanked himself. ;)

[Tazio]

Nice job Jens, and Mintie'...... helped me knock Steve down a rung.

[journeyman racer]

Having woken and just looking at the results at the top. Raikkonen in 2nd, and ahead of Vettel, is the nice surprise for me today. Perhaps a bit fortunate by reading this fred. But sometimes it doesn't matter how it's done, as along as it's done.

[airshifter]

Overall a good race IMO. Plenty of good drives today, and not many donkeys.

At least Ferrari seem fast enough to push the Mercedes a little, and that might have contributed to the brake issues. That and the split strategy from Ferrari seems to catch Mercedes off guard. I hope the reds can keep taking the fight to Mercedes!

Monster late brake moves by Nico, really the best on track moves he has made in quite a while. I think when he got Seb during Hamilton's pit exit Seb just thought they were too close and didn't continue moving over, but either way Rosberg dove in and made it stick. Of course those on track moves could have had a hand in the later problems overshooting the corners, but really we will never know.

Lewis lost the gap on that pit stop, but pulled back enough to give him some room even when he had his issues. He is back on form this year and might be hard to beat unless someone slows his momentum.

Kimi cut some killer times on the harder tires, and though he wasn't sure on the strategy it worked out.



Sucks for Tazzy bear, he lost face and pickems points thinking Kimi would get punked by Seb!


The same place he finished when he had Fred as a teammate at Ferrari,
a thoroughly beaten man! :rolleyes:



With all that blind faith smack talk about Fred, I'm waiting to see if he every makes it to your pickems list Taz!


Maybe me and Mia were the only two to see it coming? :laugh:

[Tazio]

With all blind faith

Maybe me and Mia coming? :pimp:
Cheers mate!

I wish you two all the happiness in the world, just don't get any of it on you :facelick: :uhoh:,

but

I'm still pick'ems champ ,
and currently still whippin' both your asses. :champion:

Sorry :angel:

[zako85]

It seems like Mercedes was shockingly close to losing the race. Both cars had issues with brakes in the end. This time around, fixing brake issues probably is more difficult than adjusting brake bias and such because the PUs have to harvest energy from the braking force.

[airshifter]

I'm still pick'ems champ ,
and currently still whippin' both your asses. :champion:

Sorry :angel:

I suck at Pickems as bad as you suck at FGP. No worries though, since I usually forget a race or two anyway I'll never have a decent pickems season. To be honest I've never really even figured out how the Pickems scores! :laugh: And I'll gladly accept a beat down in Pickems over the season, as that $1000 I'll be collecting for the McLaren never getting on the podium will make all the pain go away!


The beauty of it for me is that if you keep NOT picking Fred in Pickems and do well, I can screw with you regardless. :)


Forza Ferrari!

2011 FGP podium finisher and proud supporter of Ferrari's last WDC driver!




And really, though the race was still great to watch, I with the middle and back of the pack could catch up some. It's almost like two races going on at once now. Sixth place finisher Ricciardo was over a minute back from the lead, and everyone from 8th back was a lap down. It's great to see that they are still racing back there, but it sure would be better if they could at least get close enough that we think it's the same set of rules they are playing by.

[AndyL]

I'm confused about the radio rules after this weekend. One example I recall from the race was Perez being told to reduce pedal overlap, which sounds like coaching on driving technique to me. I'm sure there were some other examples in qualy and practice that I can't quite recall. But no-one has been penalised or warned. Are the radio rules quietly being dropped?

[Osella]

I wondered exactly that too - for the same reason. The drivers are allowed to be told about fuel targets, but direct instructions on how to drive including other drivers' sector times, gaps, tyres etc were supposed to be stopped.
I remember Rosberg's engineer told him the same thing in Sepang, so unless there's been a change since that time the 'driver coaching' should have been stopped according to the regs as far as I know. Perhaps it has been quietly permitted again, but there's been nothing in the reputable news outlets about it.

[Robinho]

I think they get away with these examples on the basis of it being something to assist the reliability of the car, eg a tip to do something different to avoid overheating, rather than something to aid performance (it might aid that also though)

Sent from my 0PJA10 using Tapatalk

[journeyman racer]

Hamilton has no love for jackie stewart who thought he was wrong to leave mclaren, and then thought he wasn't going to win the WDC last year. lol

Good to see you've gotten over it.