I can't imagine any possible scenario where Ferrari lets Massa to win unless Alonso retires from the race somehow. And even then he probably just destroys his race with his unstable race pace.
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The Formula 1 2013 Season |OT| End of the Webber Era
- Thread starter Leunam
- Start date
Massa only needs to have someone between him and Alonso and there is nothing the team would be able to do about it. Short of telling him to give up two places.
SunhiLegend
Member
brotkasten
Member
Anyone watching GP2? Looks interesting so far.
e: Webber wishes he could start like some of the rookies, goddamn.
e: Webber wishes he could start like some of the rookies, goddamn.
brotkasten
Member
Happy for Alexander Rossi. He finished 3rd, which is great. I hope to see him in F1 one day.
Also, Sky is showing the 2007 Bahrain GP. Massa is on pole. So weird to see.
Also, Sky is showing the 2007 Bahrain GP. Massa is on pole. So weird to see.
brotkasten
Member
Only the last 1:30 minutes of Q3 were really interesting, when all 10 cars were on track.And even then it wasn't a big shoot-out between the teams. Alonso didn't even bother to finish his last lap.
He wouldn't get any further up on the grid so he did a right thing. Also he locked his front left hard in that lap.
it will be interesting to watch a race, how will tires behave tomorrow. Time gap between medium and hard is not so big, so this will be interesting. But i think that Felipe will suffer in DRS zones in the first stint. If he survives FI assault in the first corner.
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
You didn't miss anything. It was the most boring quali this year.
Tomorrow I'm going to the race.. Hopefully it won't be as boring as the quali..
Again, I predict an Alonso victory unless something extremely unusual happens
Pirelli think Hamiltons tyre failure was caused by some metal debris on track
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106928
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106928
brotkasten
Member
Can't wait for Fernando to drive over his own front wing again.
A little, but I think they may have something up their sleeve in that regard. Is he starting 8th or does he get bumped up to 7th because his penalty counts before Hamiltons (as in, Webber drops 3 but because Hamilton drops 5, Webber jumps up one).Good showing from Rosberg. Not particularly noteworthy qualifying session aside from that. Webber is pretty disappointing.
Definitely happy with Nico getting pole, but I don't for one second think either of the Mercs have a chance of winning. Pretty confident with the prediction someone said earlier... Alonso first, with Vettel and Kimi jostling on the podium (unless Massa finds some of the pace Alonso has).
Hoping against hope Webber can pull something out for his 200th. Doubt it'll happen, but I'd at least like to see him improve his WDC position.
Surprised with the Williams as well. When they showed Frank rolling around the pits, he just looked so dejected
At least McLaren will be keeping them company soon.Sure it was, Pirelli.
Adam Scott Aukerman
Member
Bloody Rosberg, jazzing up my predictions.
They will soon blame weather or terrorists for tire malfunctions. Or even aliens, Opus Dei or Illuminati.
Evolution_1ne
Banned
ok F1 GAF, what's all this bullshit about Vettel going to Ferrari, now they're starting to talk about it here across the pond, why would he leave Red Bull, it makes no sense
oh, good pole Nico
oh, good pole Nico
brotkasten
Member
Because it's his dream to drive for Ferrari and once Alonso ended his career there, Vettel is probably going to fill his seat.
It was Conan O'Brien's dream to host the Tonight Show. Look how that worked out.
brotkasten
Member
Once Alonso is gone in 2016 or whenever, Ferrari needs to fill his seat. Who's going to do that? Perez? Bianchi? Webber will be in retirement by then, so he couldn't even replace Massa as #2. Unless Vettel's performance takes a huge nosedive, there's no reason why they wouldn't take him either.
Psychotext
Member
It's strange, I find myself not looking forward to the race tomorrow. I can't help feeling that it's going to be another one decided by ability to take care of the tyres... plus of course Bahrain isn't exactly one of the special ones.
I'll feel better about it if Alonso is still third (yes, I know, but still) by the end of the first lap. If he can pass Vettel then I think he'll make quick work of Rosberg and disappear up the road.
I'll feel better about it if Alonso is still third (yes, I know, but still) by the end of the first lap. If he can pass Vettel then I think he'll make quick work of Rosberg and disappear up the road.
Same goes for China which still managed to be fun. With Alonso, Vettel, and Rosberg being so close to each other, the tires might actually make things more interesting tomorrow. Most will go for three stops anyway, except for Button and maybe Massa (out of the top ten), I guess.
2012 Race Summary
The race was the first of 10 (including all the European races and Singapore) this season to begin at 12:00 UTC (15:00 local) in a much more European friendly viewing time. It started under warm cloudy conditions with an ambient temperature of 27 °C (81 °F) and a track temperature of 32 °C (90 °F). Since Fernando Alonso and Paul di Resta did not set a time in Q3 they, along with the 14 drivers behind them, could start on either the soft 'option' tyre or the medium 'prime' tyre. All but Kamui Kobayashi opted to start on the soft compound yellow banded tyre.
As the red lights went out it was the drivers on the 'clean' driving line of the grid that mostly got the better start, especially towards the front half of the grid. The top three drivers from qualifying all held their position as Sebastian Vettel led into the first corner. Mark Webber did not have KERS for the first lap and lost any opportunity to gain on Lewis Hamilton in second. Romain Grosjean, Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen all made great starts compared to the drivers on the dirty (and presumably sandy) side of the grid while Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who started from his best ever qualifying position (6th), made a terrible start as the big name teams overtook him and left him 11th after the first corner. Jenson Button slipped to 6th by turn one, Bruno Senna was up to 10th from 15th while his teammate Pastor Maldonado was 15th after lap 1 following his gearbox penalty which forced him to start from 21st position. The end of lap one saw the drivers move into single file while at the front Vettel led by more than two seconds. Heikki Kovalainen pitted after the first lap as he punctured his left rear tyre in an incident not clearly shown on television; there appeared to be some contact near turn 10 where Ricciardo hit Kovalainen perhaps puncturing his tyre while Ricciardo lost some bodywork from the car resulting in a damaged front wing.
On the start of lap 3 Felipe Massa made a move down the inside of Räikkönen for 7th. They were side-by-side through turn 1 and 2 when Räikkönen yielded the position. At the start of lap 4, Grosjean was the first to use the DRS successfully on Webber when he took 3rd place with ease through turn 1. During the fifth lap, Räikkönen re-took 7th as Massa went deep into turn 4 and this resulted in Räikkönen gaining better traction through the 'S' turns (turns 5-7) squeezing Massa behind him. In the early stages it was Romain Grosjean who had fast race pace and on lap 7 he again overtook using DRS, this time Hamilton was his victim. Lotus teammate Räikkönen was also putting in comparatively quick lap times and overtook Button around the outside prior to turn 4. Further down the field, Maldonado in the Williams was overtaken by a DRS assisted Toro Rosso's Jean-Éric Vergne only to grab Vergne's slipstream and retake the position while Vergne still had his DRS wing open.
Lap 8 confirmed that Ricciardo had damaged his front wing when he pitted to switch to the medium tyre and swap his damaged front wing for a new one. Button complained on the radio about his rear tyres losing performance while the Lotus looked very strong as Räikkönen again put the DRS to good use and claimed Alonso on the 9th lap for 5th position. Button, Massa and Nico Rosberg all pitted together with Button coming out into 'clean air' however Rosberg and Massa rejoined behind a Marussia. The next lap saw Hamilton, Webber, and Alonso all pit together in that order but Hamilton had a problem with the left rear and was stopped for nearly ten seconds forcing a slow pit time of 28.341 seconds, dropping him behind Alonso, Button and Rosberg. Compounding Hamilton's problems, on the straight before turn 4 Rosberg desperately forced Hamilton wide and off-road but could not hold Hamilton back from taking the position. The incident was to be looked at after the race. Replays showed Hamilton's disappointment as he shook his head while waiting to be released.
The leader, Vettel, pitted and left the Paul di Resta (who had not yet pitted) in the lead - the first time a Force India has lead a lap since the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix when Giancarlo Fisichella was driving for them. By lap 15 all the cars had made at least one stop. At this stage, Vettel led the Lotus cars followed by teammate Webber and the Button-led Mclarens. Alonso, Rosberg, Massa and Perez rounded out the top 10 while 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher was in 13th - still clawing his way back into points contention.
Lap 21 saw Räikkönen and Rosberg the only drivers in the top 9 on the soft compound after both saving a set during qualifying. During the same lap, Maldonando used DRS to put a move on Perez, however went deep and the two duelled to turn 4 when di Resta who was behind them pounced through the inside as they battled each wide of the apex. Crucially, Räikkönen on softs had caught his teammate and was right behind him but was not able to overtake him, even with the DRS. It appeared the Lotus' were equally matched and Räikkönen was starting to lose grip from either following the dirty air of his teammate or his tyres were hitting the 'cliff' (performance-wise) or both. Eventually Räikkönen passed his teammate using the DRS but "was it too late?" the commentators questioned.
Lap 23 saw Webber, Alonso and Hamilton all pit again and yet again Hamilton had a problem with his left rear leaving him stationary for a mammoth 12.2 seconds while his pit time hit 30.622 seconds. Hamilton had an identical problem from the first pit stop with his left rear wheel nut not working properly. For the second time in the race Rosberg forced someone wide and off-road in the straight before turn 4, this time Alonso was his victim. Alonso was very vocal on the radio on Rosberg's actions which saw the stewards again decide to look at the incident after the race and not during it. Lap 25 saw Maldonado behind the duelling Rosberg and Alonso obtain a left rear puncture which sent him into a 360 degree spin and forced him to retire.
Lap 31 saw Vettel lead from the two Lotus cars and Webber. By this stage it was clear that di Resta was on a two-stop strategy along with Sauber's Kobayshi. Räikkönen also started to catch leader Vettel and was within the DRS zone on lap 33. Vettel was told on his radio to dig deep and find some pace to defend with. Räikkönen moved ever closer to Vettel and on lap 36 attempted an overtake down the inside but then under braking switched to the outside unsuccessfully. Vettel was told "push to pass" meaning he was able to use his maximum 18,000rpm down the main straight to defend against Räikkönen and his DRS. Presumably Vettel had been shifting gear at under the permitted 18,000rpm limit in a bid to save fuel, as consequently Vettel stopped right after the completion of the race at the pit exit.
Lap 39 saw Hamilton set the fastest lap at the time from 10th position. It also saw the last round of pit stops from leader Vettel, Räikkönen and Red Bull driver Webber. Backmarkers were now starting to be lapped, some for the second occasion of the race. After the pit stops, where both Vettel and Räikkönen both chose medium tyres, the gap that between them was under a second was out to more than three seconds. All of the top 10 were now on the preferred medium compound.
Räikkönen was told on lap 46 that they expect to catch Vettel at the end because of Vettel's predicted higher tyre degradation. Kobayshi was in 11th on a two-stop strategy but was lapping nearly two-seconds slower than his rivals and thus pitted for a third time on lap 50. Räikkönen briefly fought back to trail the leader by less than three seconds, but then slipped back to the previous three-second plus margin. Rosberg caught di Resta in 5th as the Scotsman started to lose tyre performance. A desperate di Resta was told via team radio to use a double KERS boost on the start/finish straight, meaning to use his remaining KERS out of the final corner and also to use his new KERS that gets reset when crossing the start/finish line. Finally, the Mercedes of Rosberg managed to pass the Force India and quickly pushed ahead. Di Resta, now in 6th, now found himself under pressure from Button after losing four seconds in three laps. Amazingly lucky for di Resta, just as Button was in the DRS zone and would most likely pass the Scotsman, Button developed a left rear puncture and pitted immediately leaving di Resta in 6th place and Button out of points contention in 12th.
Senna retired with three laps to go making it a double retirement for the Williams team. Nico Rosberg had a broken exhaust for some time but was told not worry by the team during lap 56. On the same lap Button had a worrying sound come from his McLaren-Mercedes engine and was forced to retire from the race. Going into the final lap, the double world champion led with Räikkönen, Grosjean and Webber a cut above the other drivers. Crossing the line Vettel claimed his 17th victory starting from pole position and his 22nd overall. It was also the first win for both Vettel and Red Bull for the 2012 season. His engineer told him to stop at the pit exit instead of completing a victory lap most likely due to low fuel. The two Lotus cars were next to cross the line with Räikkönen (2nd) achieving his first podium since the 2009 Italian Grand Prix where he drove for Scuderia Ferrari.
Romain Grosjean finished third which was his best ever result in Formula One, surpassing his previous best of 6th place from last round. With his podium, Grosjean was also the first Frenchman to reach podium in almost 14 years (Jean Alesi in 1998 was the last time it occurred). Red Bull teammate Mark Webber finished 4th for the fourth consecutive time this season leaving him as clearly the most consistent driver of the 2012 championship so far.
Some 55 seconds from the lead was Nico Rosberg who was lucky not to get penalised by the stewards for dangerous driving. Di Resta managed to hold off the Ferrari of Alonso by less than 0.3 of a second and made his two-stop strategy work effectively to claim 6th place and equal his best ever Formula One result (2011 Singapore Grand Prix). Alonso later said that it was a "shame that I was missing one more straight to get past Di Resta in the end". Hamilton, who lost around fifteen seconds through wasted pit stop time, was a disappointing 8th; while behind him Felipe Massa picked up his first points of the year by finishing 9th. Further back was Schumacher who did well to claim the final point after starting from the 22nd grid position. Both Sauber and Scuderia Toro Rosso lacked race pace and were out of the points meanwhile at the back the Caterham F1 team performed the best of the bottom three teams.
In four races the 2012 Formula One championship has had four different points leaders and four different winners, highlighting the unpredictability of this year's field.
Omiee said:
Circuit InfoRomanticHeroX said:
[Click for Onboard Lap]
Laps
57
Circuit length5.412 km (3.363 mi)
Race length308.405 km (191.634 mi)
Lap RecordMichael Schumacher - Ferrari - 2004 - 1:30.252
Most Wins (Drivers)Fernando Alonso (3)
Most Wins (Constructors)Ferrari (4)
Previous Winners & Pole Positions
2012 - Winner: Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Renault
Pole: Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Renault - 1:32.422
2011 - Winner: Event Cancelled2010 - Winner: Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
Pole: Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Renault - 1:54.101
2009 - Winner: Jenson Button - Brawn-MercedesPole: Jarno Trulli - Toyoa - 1:33.431
2008 - Winner: Felipe Massa - FerrariPole: Robert Kubica - BMW-Sauber - 1:33.096
2007 - Winner: Felipe Massa - FerrariPole: Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 1:32.652
2006 - Winner: Fernando Alonso - RenaultPole: Michael Schumacher - Ferrari - 1:31.431
2005 - Winner: Fernando Alonso - RenaultPole: Fernando Alonso - Renault - 3:01.902 (Aggregate)
Videos highlighting the Bahrain GP
Highlights from the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix
Changes from 2012
-Uneven kerbstones on the exit of turn 12 have been replaced with a more uniform kerb.
GP Facts
-Fernando Alonso has scored the most wins of any driver at the Sakhir Circuit. The Spaniard has three victories for Renault in 2005/06 and for Ferrari in 2010. Every other time Alonso has raced here hes finished off the podium, finishing sixth in 2004, fifth in 07, 10th in 08, eighth in 09 and seventh last year.
-The Bahrain Grand Prix has never been won from beyond the first two rows but it hasnt been particularly favourable to drivers in pole position only four times in eight events has the pole-sitter gone on to win the race.
-The Bahrain International Circuit has two main pit buildings and six potential layouts. Alongside the Grand Prix and Endurance layouts, there is an Inner Circuit, Outer Circuit, Paddock Circuit and Flat Oval.
-Mercedes Nico Rosberg made his Formula One debut here in 2006, racing for Williams. He qualified 12th and drove to seventh position in the race to claim two points. The German also claimed the fastest lap of the grand prix.
-The 2006 Bahrain GP was that seasons opening race. It saw the debuts of Scott Speed for Toro Rosso and Yuji Ide for Super Aguri. Speed raced 28 grands prix, with his final event being the 2007 European Grand Prix. Ide raced just four times in F1 before a crash at the 2006 San Marino GP led to his Superlicence being revoked by the FIA.
Ark said:
Myoclonic Jerk said:
Drivers Championship Standings
Constructors Championship Standings
Fantasy Championship Standings
Psychotext
Member
/thumbs up on the preview
brotkasten
Member
This picture is really funny for some reason.
ClassyPenguin
Banned
Leunam needs a tag for his awesome previews.
RomanticHeroX
Member
Definitely, looks fantastic as always!
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
+1
Fantastic stuff..
I'll be heading to the circuit in 4-5 hours for the race. No GAFers in Bahrain?
Fuck the FIA and Bernie. Spend time chasing down videos on YT that are not available anywhere else, but let this shit slide?
http://www.formulaone.com/en/Default.aspx
http://www.formulaone.com/en/Default.aspx
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
Drivers parade started. They waited for Kimi i guess then they left without him..
Its extremely hot even in the sshade
Its extremely hot even in the sshade
Is it hotter than yesterday? Some teams were saying that Sunday will be the hottest day
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
Much much better. I even participated in an anti govt rally yesterday afternoon and it ended peacefully. Saw the odd road blocking and tyres burning but nothing compared to last year's
Yes. Yesterday there was some clouds and it drizzled a bit. Not today though
Lol, such a mess
brotkasten
Member
How hard can it be, triggering remote LED's...
Woow, embarrassing.
