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I said after China that Merc wouldn't be spraying the bubbly in Bahrain. (i know, it's carbonated rose water instead. But you know what I mean)
Welcome Back Kimi. I sooooo wanted him to pass Vettel, who was average all weekend, then uses Webbers set up for qualy and gets pole, then wins. Go figure. I don't get it. In the practice runs Webber was the fastest and most consistent, yet was well behind in the race. Must have used up his tyre allocation.
Maybe this is the secret to winning. If you have a fast car, don't bother getting into the last qualy period. Save your tyre bank, and overtake them on the track. Or if your name is Nico try to run them off the track. Why not, you won't get penalised or anything silly like that.
Have RB finally got their Shit together? or was it more the other teams shooting themselves in the foot.
Are Macca giving Clewlis a cryptic message?
Have Lotus got their act together?
Does one swallow make a summer for RB?
About the only consistent top team out there was Ferrari!
I don't know what happened in the last round of pit stops but Kimi was so close coming in, then was nowhere coming out and stayed there.
Well done DiResta. Two stopping on these tyres and getting a result was a great effort.
Speaking of great efforts, good to see Ricciardo top the class at Mark Webbers "How to start a Grand Prix" school. 6-17 in one lap. Impressive. Or as the kids say...epic fail.
Off to Barca next, and I think a Vettel Pole and Win is on the cards again...
Comments
With the tyre degradation I think you are spot on, Roo, about saving the them for the race. Though I am guessing that Kimi had nothing left for Vettel after his last stop because of his tyre situation, even though Vettel's was probably not much better.
Macca did shoot themselves in the foot, I expected more from them and Button was nowhere. Lotus is a good question, is this a one off or flashes of what is to come, they have been quick but not smart at times.
I thought Webbo had a decent start this time, a rarity, but not as bad as Ricciardo. Toro must be putting all into qualify high due to a lack of race pace, or put it down to young drivers wasting a golden opportunity.
With the upcoming Mugello test will the order become clear or be less predictable for Barca...
Just exactly where did the Lotus' race pace come from, and is it about time that TOIT's starts got a little official attention???
It was certainly exciting watching Kimi track down Seb, and equally exciting watching Seb defend (I think he did an outstanding job, but nothing else made any sense.
According to the Channel Ten guys, Webber had been kindest to his tyres throughout the weekend, and right up to Q3 was the fastest Bull, yet not only did he start P4, but had nowhere near Seb's pace during the race. most of the time, he was tooling round a second off the pace.
Poor Danny Ricciardo got a bit of a 101 on F1 methinks. He had a bad start, then compounded that by being very tentative into the first corner, and got hung out to dry on the rest of the first lap. Given that he ruined his tyres for some fleeting Q3 glory, he pretty much got what he deserved. I was watching the lap times for this one, and noted that he spent a long time bhind Petrov during the race. Let's see if that is lesson learned.
Great race by Di Resta. If he can get more of those in the bank, he'll become hot property.
Macca; were they actually in the race??? Horrible luck for Lewis with the pitstops, but they just mittigated what was really a disastrous result from the off.
Catterham making progress, but not enough for the people and money going into that team.
TOIT were pretty much embarassing, and whilst Massa drve like a man possessed, it won't be enough at this stage. Just shows that his input is irregular.
Merc were always going to struggle. The Shanghai result was very much about some great luck during qualifying with the wind, and the very low temperatures helping in the tyre department. More work to do for those guys, though the faster tracks will still be kind.
All up, I though this was one for the bin. Too much bullshit in the result for me, and the FIA needs to understand that their policy of musical stewards chairs is leading to unevan application of policy. Anyone with a pulse knows that Rosberg was naughty in a way that the Swervemaker would have drawn breath before committing to. No penalty will reverberate later in the season, and that is for certain.
Unconvinced about Lotus: remember the sam outfit, as Renault, also had a great start to last season. BTW the naming nonsense continues - Group Lotus cars is going through a periodic crisis and its possible the F1 team may buy the road car division ...
RBR look ominous again.