F1 teams want FIA to postpone Bahrain Grand Prix Full Article: F1 teams want FIA to postpone Bahrain Grand Prix | Sport | guardian.co.uk
Here's the dilemma for the teams. Like that article says "Until now the teams and sponsors have kept quiet, maintaining a united front and leaving the big decision to the men who rule the sport." But Bernie the Muppet head is not willing to call it off. He claims it isn't about money but no surprise there, that's not the first lie he's ever told. He now says it's up to the teams, and it is. Trouble is, the teams know if they don't go they're in breach of contract which has more than monetary implications. They also know if they decide not to go that they are making a political statement. This last bit may seem like a good thing to many, let the teams show themselves to be more socially responsible than Bernie and the FIA, but it's very unfamiliar ground for them and they're uncomfortable to say the least. A number of teams also have big gulf area sponsors which further complicates their decisions. Ecclestone: Teams will decide if Bahrain happens (GPUpdate.net) Another article claims: "All teams are now believed to be planning a Saturday meeting in Shanghai, in which they will decide whether or not to travel to Bahrain. It is being reported by a number of newspapers that some of the larger, wealthier outfits have already purchased two sets of airline tickets for staff in order to bypass the country if the race is cancelled."
China practice starts in about 9 hours. Remember this from 2 years ago in China? Looks like he pushed a front wheel ejection button: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aUvp48Qmp0]F1 China 2010 - Buemi Practice Crash + Interview - YouTube[/ame]
It's raining on first practice in Shanghai. Dry weather predicted for tomorrow but more rain expected Sunday...
This is reported to be Bob Kubica out playing with his Renault Clio. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd8ztXgyR1c]Robert Kubica returns after his accident at Ronde di Andora! Clio S1600 - YouTube[/ame]
Latest from Muppet Head Bernie on Bahrain: Ecclestone Says Bahrain Still On After Meeting Team Bosses (formula-one.speedtv.com)
1. Only race three, but I'm already loving the 2012 season. 2. Really wished they had more than one tire supplier 3. Kimi is proving the thing he never had to prove 4. Really wish Lotus/Kimi were not sponsored by Microsoft, but that's just an IT guy speaking 5. Good on MB for the 1-2. Pretty sure Hammi's 5 grid penalty was a part of their strategy. 6. Gongrats to Nico on the first pole and MB for the first one in 55 (?) years. 7. Does anyone think Seb will be sitting on his time again in any of the upcoming races? And thank you F1 what what already is an exciting year. Despite all of the Monday quarterbacking and second guessing.
What I found particularly interesting in the post qualifying press conference is that Schmi, ever the consummate professional, had his driver suit top around his waist. Back when he first started out he was always the one that showed at press events looking prim and proper. Now he's going for the relaxed look.
I know the Mercs benefit greatly from their f-duct or "double DRS" during qualifying since they can use it as much as they like, but I just noticed an interesting statistic. Given their quali form hasn't held up in the races so far I assumed their great quali performance(s) might come from blistering top speed but it doesn't quite translate into top speed through the speed trap. Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Pos No Driver Speed 1 15 Sergio Perez 322.4 2 14 Kamui Kobayashi 319.6 3 17 Jean-Eric Vergne 319.4 4 10 Romain Grosjean 318.4 5 16 Daniel Ricciardo 316.8 6 21 Vitaly Petrov 315.9 7 20 Heikki Kovalainen 315.8 8 9 Kimi Räikkönen 314.9 9 19 Bruno Senna 314.5 10 7 Michael Schumacher 314.1 11 18 Pastor Maldonado 313.9 12 12 Nico Hulkenberg 313.8 13 8 Nico Rosberg 313.8 14 11 Paul di Resta 313.5 15 3 Jenson Button 313.4 16 4 Lewis Hamilton 313.2 17 5 Fernando Alonso 312.7 18 6 Felipe Massa 312.6 19 1 Sebastian Vettel 311.5 20 2 Mark Webber 311.3 21 23 Narain Karthikeyan 311.0 22 22 Pedro de la Rosa 310.3 23 24 Timo Glock 307.8 24 25 Charles Pic 307.7
Kimi has high standards. He qualified 5th and starts 4th but he's disappointed with the pace. He's looking at Rosberg's pole time and worried about being almost 7 tenths slower but that's a Merc double DRS quali time. Is it sustainable in the race? If you delete the Merc times he would have qualified 3rd, only a quarter second slower than Hamilton -- that's probably the better watermark -- and he'd start the race on the front row next to Kobayashi after Hamilton's penalty. Räikkönen: I’m disappointed with this pace (GPUpdate.net)
Could this just be typical Findlandic "glass is half empty" perspective? Truth be told, the car looks good under him, solid, stable and relatively easy to drive and that translates to good race pace and finishes. I fully expect him to podium this race, if it doesn't rain and assuming the front runners get thru turn one without any shenanigans. Rosberg and Shumi both have taken maximum advantage of their tech, but with a short DRS zone it won't be of much help in the race - can they hold on? To their credit, due to their qually speed in Q1 and Q2 they each have an extra set of the fast tires in reserve....... And what about the two Saubers in 3rd and 8th? Fast yes, but both had real problems with lockup, if they do that in the race they will be shuffled to mid pack at best. I'm beginning to wonder if going to Ferrari would be Pez's best move at this point? It's going to be an interesting race if it doesn't rain, and even more interesting if it does!
No rain forecast, it's expected to be slightly overcast, high of 70F during the race at 81% humidity.
No kidding, you could barely see the cars at times - it looked like they were in a typical London fog!