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Bahraini GP: Ferrari Sweeps, Kubica Stumbles, Hamilton Falls
Written by George Katinger · April 6, 2008
Felipe Massa converted his P2 starting position into a dominating win, followed by teammate Kimi Raikkonen and BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica.
The only on track passes for the podium occurred within the first two laps as Massa claimed first place, and Kimi moved up to third and ultimately to second. And that’s the way the race finished. Except for the action behind the leaders.
As for Hamilton, he suffered what may be his worst effort in F1 to date, with no mechanical gremlins at fault. A piss poor start which immediately dropped him to 12th place before turn 1! His mental lapse on the second lap caused him to run over the rear tire of Fernando Alonso which shattered the McLaren’s nose. After pitting Hamilton rejoined at 18th and finished in 13th.
Relative to the Alonso- Hamilton incident there was an immediate suspicion that Alonso may have brake tested his former teammate causing the contact. It didn’t appear that way from the replays and Renault have documented with telemetry that Alonso was on the gas and never applied brakes nor lifted off the go pedal. And to Hamilton’s credit he has accepted responsibility for his miserable race performance.
And what of the lap 18 collision between Coulthard and Button? Button claims it was DC’s fault, but it did not appear that way in replays. Button attempted a late inside pass of the Red Bull at turn 8, locked up the brakes and was out of control as he slid into the turn in of DC at the Apex, and Button was all over the kerb. Jenson had a faster car but had no business attempting that pass at that time. His rough ride over the kerb no doubt contributed to his later DNF.
Question of the day, what happened to the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica? After dropping to third place it appeared that the car didn’t have the speed or the handling to catch or pass the Ferrari’s. His opening stint fuel load was competitive (pitting on lap 17) but it appears the team hasn’t figured out the race pace setup for the tires. Robert mentioned graining, but I suspect there are chassis setup issues as well.
Bonehead of the race award: Lewis Hamilton; fear not, ample time to recover and contend for the title.
Pass of the race: Raikkonen’s turn 1 outside pass of Kubica to claim second place.
Surprise of the race: Raikkonen pitting before Massa, as everyone assumed Felipe was on a lighter fuel load. Massa pits on lap 20, Massa on lap 23. Makes Massa’s Q effort and race pace all the more impressive.
Surprise results: Toyotas in 6th (Trulli) and 9th (Glock); Fisichella and his Force India car in 12th; Mark Webber taking his Red Bull from 11th place to finish in 7th.
Standings after three races: What could be more surprising than BMW Sauber leading the manufacturer’s chase, and Raikkonen the driver’s title; with Heidfeld second and a three way tie for third between Hamilton, Kubica and Kovaleinen.
We have been expecting ups and downs between the three leading teams this year and I can say I’m not disappointed. I fear that McLaren and BMW are not as strong as the first two races showed and that Ferrari, having over come their reliability issues, may still romp off with both titles. There is a big difference between the suspicion and the actuality; that’s why we run the races.
Unfortunately we now have a three week layoff until Barcelona on April 27. I guess that will leave time to speculate further on team/driver performances and rid ourselves of Max Mosley. More on the latest about Max to follow.
Comments
It was an enjoyable race, even if it wasn’t exciting. Well, enjoyable to Ferrari and BMW Sauber fans. How about former and current Sauber drivers in the top four? Three of which were hand picked by Peter Sauber. That man knows good drivers when he sees them. Even if Massa is a bit of a yo-yo in his performance.
Congrats go to Ferrari and BMW Sauber and their drivers.
I agree Tim, Massa and Ferrari were the class of the weekend. I can’t understand why Felipe was so strong and Kimi so lacklustre; in comparison to Massa’s performance that is.
I think it shows how important set-up is George.
Kimi was off just a bit, Massa and Kubica hit the valve on the head.
Which leads me to speculate as to how Mclaren made such a huge improvement last year with their set-ups.
The fact that Ferrari and Toyota were the only teams to test at the circut prior to the race shows the benefits of track knowledge.
But alas, it’s still the equilvalent of spring training in baseball, as the real season starts in 3 weeks. So maybe Mclaren can still “find” the right set-up.
P.S. I just missed my pre-race predictions by a slight reversal in the Ferrari, which I’m sure caught more than few people by surprise. Kubica’s performance wasn’t a huge surprise although Heidfield has impressed me more this season than any previous.
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