Jump to content


Photo
* * * - - 2 votes

It's the 2015 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX thread.


  • Please log in to reply
934 replies to this topic

#901 Hyatt

Hyatt
  • Member

  • 1,561 posts
  • Joined: July 04

Posted 19 April 2015 - 17:52

Vettel let him through by falling off the track on two occasions and every other overtake was a simple DRS job. Nico didn't actually do a straight fight overtake all race.

 simple DRS, huh? tell that Vettel when we still didn't manage to overtake Bottas ...



Advertisement

#902 SCUDmissile

SCUDmissile
  • Member

  • 8,727 posts
  • Joined: May 11

Posted 19 April 2015 - 17:53

haha Ted stuffing his face there in the end.



#903 Atreiu

Atreiu
  • Member

  • 17,232 posts
  • Joined: May 07

Posted 19 April 2015 - 17:55

I liked the race. Hamilton did his work but the rest of it was far from obvious.

#904 quaint

quaint
  • Member

  • 831 posts
  • Joined: June 13

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:03

Well I have some cider and beer. But I'll leave the hard liquor towards the end of the week.

 

It doesn't get much more an end of a week than today!



#905 superdelphinus

superdelphinus
  • Member

  • 3,175 posts
  • Joined: July 12

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:05

Poor race by Seb -I really hope it wasn't the wrong choice of setup, because the Williams was quick enough to make an overtake impossible.

Great race by Kimi; one more lap and that would have been win number two for Ferrari. :up:

Brake trouble for the Mercs at least goes to show they aren't invincible. Somehow, I've more hope for a Vettel vs Hamilton title fight this season than I did before this race.


I've got less hope after this race, funnily enough :(

#906 SouthF1

SouthF1
  • Member

  • 297 posts
  • Joined: December 13

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:07

:lol:

 

You might want to search the dictionary for the word sarcasm. 

 

Take a chill pill man, it was a joke. 

 

Apologies brotta! Just sick of all the hate from people.



#907 Dalin80

Dalin80
  • Member

  • 729 posts
  • Joined: July 10

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:07

 simple DRS, huh? tell that Vettel when we still didn't manage to overtake Bottas ...

 

Vettel was too busy flailing around and driving like a maldonado to even get into DRS range most of the time.



#908 Massa

Massa
  • Member

  • 9,971 posts
  • Joined: February 10

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:10

Vettel was too busy flailing around and driving like a maldonado to even get into DRS range most of the time.

 

 

smh

 

Vettel was in DRS range all the time. The Williams had way better traction out of corner.



#909 Hyatt

Hyatt
  • Member

  • 1,561 posts
  • Joined: July 04

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:10

Vettel was too busy flailing around and driving like a maldonado to even get into DRS range most of the time.

excuses excuses ...  :drunk:  :stoned:  :kiss:



#910 Diablobb81

Diablobb81
  • Member

  • 8,719 posts
  • Joined: August 09

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:11

Vettel was too busy flailing around and driving like a maldonado to even get into DRS range most of the time.


He was in DRS for plenty of laps. Better traction by the Williams and no mistakes by Bottas sealed the deal.

Edited by Diablobb81, 19 April 2015 - 18:11.


#911 Denaris

Denaris
  • Member

  • 317 posts
  • Joined: December 14

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:11

haha Ted stuffing his face there in the end.

Is it just me? or does anyone else find Ted highly annoying! He is always drifting off topic like anyone is interested. 2% of everything he says is highly informative, the remaining 98% is complete b*****ks!



#912 MikeV1987

MikeV1987
  • Member

  • 6,371 posts
  • Joined: July 12

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:14

I like Ted tbh, I really enjoy watching his notebook segment. 


Edited by MikeV1987, 19 April 2015 - 18:14.


#913 OvDrone

OvDrone
  • Member

  • 16,115 posts
  • Joined: January 13

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:16

Is it just me? or does anyone else find Ted highly annoying! He is always drifting off topic like anyone is interested. 2% of everything he says is highly informative, the remaining 98% is complete b*****ks!

 

Let's just say his sense of humor leaves a lot to be desired for me. But it could be a lot worse. And it's like most of the Paddock can't stand the dude and the rest of the Sky Sports crew with the exception of Brundle and Hill.


Edited by OvDrone, 19 April 2015 - 18:17.


#914 Nigol

Nigol
  • Member

  • 2,740 posts
  • Joined: September 10

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:18

I like Ted and I think he's doing good work.



#915 anti

anti
  • Member

  • 513 posts
  • Joined: March 11

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:20

Race:  :: Pit :: Best lap :: Lap Chart :: History graph
 



#916 Arion

Arion
  • Member

  • 2,444 posts
  • Joined: December 07

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:28

good race. Mercedes was lucky the double brake issues didn't cost them more. Pretty good damage control from Nico if not for the brake problem. 



#917 OO7

OO7
  • Member

  • 23,378 posts
  • Joined: November 04

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:30

Is it just me? or does anyone else find Ted highly annoying! He is always drifting off topic like anyone is interested. 2% of everything he says is highly informative, the remaining 98% is complete b*****ks!

He can labour a point like no other, run out of time and then wonder where it all went! :lol:   He does provide so insight however, but one must be weary of hyperbole.



#918 Dalton007

Dalton007
  • Member

  • 6,769 posts
  • Joined: April 04

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:40

I recorded the race and the fast forwarded through most of the action. I'm quite bored with F1 at the moment.  :yawnface:



#919 Zesus

Zesus
  • Member

  • 958 posts
  • Joined: March 13

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:40

Is it just me? or does anyone else find Ted highly annoying! He is always drifting off topic like anyone is interested. 2% of everything he says is highly informative, the remaining 98% is complete b*****ks!

 

I don't find him annoying at all. It's actually opposite.



Advertisement

#920 P123

P123
  • Member

  • 23,842 posts
  • Joined: February 09

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:42

I recorded the race and the fast forwarded through most of the action. I'm quite bored with F1 at the moment.  :yawnface:


Well at least you managed to wade through your boredom to log on and let us all know.

#921 HoldenRT

HoldenRT
  • Member

  • 6,773 posts
  • Joined: May 05

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:50

The race was ok but the actual racing wasn't that good in this race.  Was it the tyre compounds?

 

There'd be overtakes but not much actual battles.  Or counter battles.

 

Lewis managed the race well and deserved to win.  Kimi did great to get up to 2nd.  :up:

 

The race was ok but not great.



#922 Alfisti

Alfisti
  • Member

  • 39,658 posts
  • Joined: December 99

Posted 19 April 2015 - 18:53

DRS was waaaaaay too strong. Could have been some battles but instead,......blaaaast past.

#923 jcpower13

jcpower13
  • Member

  • 891 posts
  • Joined: March 14

Posted 19 April 2015 - 19:00

DRS was waaaaaay too strong. Could have been some battles but instead,......blaaaast past.

Didn't help Vettel much though, did it?



#924 SCUDmissile

SCUDmissile
  • Member

  • 8,727 posts
  • Joined: May 11

Posted 19 April 2015 - 19:01

Is it just me? or does anyone else find Ted highly annoying! He is always drifting off topic like anyone is interested. 2% of everything he says is highly informative, the remaining 98% is complete b*****ks!

 

I hated him the ITV dys but you have got to kind of factor his quirks in  :lol:. In context you will appreciate his little nuggets! I only pay attention for the Ferrari bit though to be fair.



#925 MortenF1

MortenF1
  • Member

  • 23,711 posts
  • Joined: June 01

Posted 19 April 2015 - 19:41

Lewis Hamilton, he's just so in control of things now. Great race, great GP-weekend.

Rosberg very aggressive today, but his pass on Räikkönen was bordering on being a dive-bomb. 

 

Good to see Räikkönen on the podium, in a very good second. Vettel made a couple of mistakes in the race, but the third may have been because the car wasn't the same anymore.

 

Bottas fourth, and that's good, but Williams are once again in a bit of a vacuum pace-wise.

 

Ricciardo, I feel sorry for him, but he's been really good this weekend! (I've said he's looked un-inspired earlier). Wild engine blow-up at the end.

 

Hülkenberg brilliant yesterday, Perez almost as much so, but today he was really impressive.  :up:

 

I feel for Ericsson today - he was so strong, but got his advantage on the pack behind wiped out by that faulty wheel nut. Probably took too much out of his tires chasing back up into the pack.



#926 F1Champion

F1Champion
  • Member

  • 3,268 posts
  • Joined: September 01

Posted 19 April 2015 - 19:46

There is nothing in it really between the Mercedes and Ferrari. I reckon a decent development push and Ferrari will be level or ahead of Mercedes. A few tenths translates to about 10-15 seconds which would be about enough.



#927 turssi

turssi
  • Member

  • 3,368 posts
  • Joined: October 10

Posted 19 April 2015 - 19:51

There is nothing in it really between the Mercedes and Ferrari. I reckon a decent development push and Ferrari will be level or ahead of Mercedes. A few tenths translates to about 10-15 seconds which would be about enough.


Who has the pole has the advantage :-)

#928 Newbrray

Newbrray
  • Member

  • 2,750 posts
  • Joined: December 13

Posted 19 April 2015 - 19:58

Who has the pole has the advantage :-)

 

not judging by last year though :)



#929 ardbeg

ardbeg
  • Member

  • 2,876 posts
  • Joined: March 13

Posted 19 April 2015 - 20:30

Thanks! 

 

How did he end up so far behind Nasr at the end? Awful driver that Ericsson. 

They failed to fit one of the tires. I don't think it is allowed for the driver to step out of the car and help them, but it seems that you have made up your mind long before your question was answered.



#930 Hamandeggs

Hamandeggs
  • Member

  • 360 posts
  • Joined: October 14

Posted 20 April 2015 - 03:38

Press conference

http://www.crash.net...tm_campaign=rss


Q:
Many congratulations Lewis, your 36th career victory, two years in a row here in Bahrain and ninth win in the last 11 grands prix. Obviously all weekend a sustained, competitive challenge from Ferrari. Does it mean more to beat Ferrari in a close fight than it does to win an in-house, inter-team battle within Mercedes?

Lewis Hamilton:
I think winning is winning so it doesn't particularly matter who it's against. You're trying to beat everyone out there. Naturally it's great to be having a fight with the Ferraris. I think for us as a team, and I think still today that Mercedes are still the best and we are working as hard as we can to keep up with this momentum that we have – but they are pushing very hard to close up. A huge thank-you to all the guys back at the factory and also the guys that are here because the car was really nice to drive this weekend. In the race I was really able to manage it and… yeah… really, really happy, really proud of everyone for all the hard work they put in.

Q:
Kimi, fourth on the grid, second at the finish, first podium since Korea 2013. Alternative strategy for you. Obviously the middle stint was the key to your grand prix. Tell us about that and the pace that you were able to maintain against everybody else on the softer tyre. But also, you questioned at the end the decision to go onto the soft tyre – how did that work out, was it the right thing to do in the end?

Kimi Raikkonen:
I think we had a few different plans. How to run the race and obviously this one was one of them. It all really depended where we are after a few laps. But I think we did a very good job out of it and the medium tyres worked very well for me in the second stint and I could pretty much… quite easily keep up with them, even catch them. They were working fine so obviously I was wondering if it's the right choice to go on the soft at the end – but obviously it was the correct choice, they were much faster still. So, I was able to catch Nico and got past him. We did more or less the maximum that we could do today and obviously if you think that we were ahead of Nico earlier, he got past me on lap two or three or something, so we lost some time but I think we had a pretty good race and hopefully we can have many more.

Q:
Nico, you finished where you started but obviously the story is not quite as simple as that. Obviously you were on the attack today, particularly the overtakes with Sebastian. Maybe you could tell us a bit about that and how much you enjoyed those, and also could you just drill down a bit more into the problem with the brakes at the end.

Nico Rosberg:
So, started off on a disappointing note for me after the start with losing the position to Kimi. I just did the wrong… well, got caught out. But then immediately I felt that the car was awesome, so went full on the attack straight away and was happy to get by Kimi and Sebastian. Great fight with those, that was very exciting at that point in time. Then always dropped back again behind Sebastian after a pitstop so had to get him over and over again. After that, yeah, trying to catch Lewis but that wasn't possible. Unfortunately struggling with brakes a little bit throughout the whole race and just lost them. Two laps from the end I lost the brakes, so went straight on and had to carry the car home for the last two laps.


Questions from the floor


Q: (Kate Walker – motorsport.com).
I've got a question for both Lewis and Nico. One of the more visually dramatic moments in the race was when you were leaving the pits, Lewis, and coming up behind we had Nico and Sebastian fighting. I wanted to know: could you see that in your mirrors? Was it something you were aware of. And Nico, did you have any seat of your pants moments, wondering how close it was all going to get.

Lewis Hamilton:
I definitely saw it because I wasn't expecting… I went in the pits quite far… I think I had a decent gap and then all of a sudden I was coming out of the pits and they were right there. So I think I had a fairly slow pitstop and naturally that's really why, I guess, the gap closed up. I came out of the pits, braking into Turn One and I saw them in my left mirror and I'm like : “Oh my God, this is close!” But it was so much fun. Really good fun.

Q:
Nico – you saw an opportunity there clearly because Sebastian was looking at Lewis coming out of the pits I guess?

Nico Rosberg:
Yeah. I just went for the aggressive inside because he didn't close up the door. He left a bit of a gap and a bit of a possibility and I was hoping Lewis was far enough ahead. It wasn't obvious but I was hoping he would be out of the way by the time we got to Turn One and it worked out – but for sure it was quite hairy, especially looking from outside I suppose. Inside it was OK.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat).
Kimi, after being fourth in Malaysia and China and being out of top three for 18 months, how much do you appreciate this comeback to the podium?

Kimi Raikkonen:
Obviously it's much nicer than being out of it but, you know, you come second and obviously we got quite close to the Mercedes today but it's a bit disappointing after that always – but I'd rather take this one than something else. You cannot feel happy. We are happy to be second but it's still disappointing. It's not what we want to do. Big thanks to the team. I had a pretty hard time last year. This year in the beginning, just some bad luck in the races but, you know, the team has done a great job over the winter and everybody is pushing together, in the same direction and I'm sure we are only going to get stronger and better as a team and improve the car. So, it's a great place to be.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speedsport magazines).
Lewis, was there ever a time you were concerned the Ferraris could actually challenge you for the win? During the race?

Lewis Hamilton:
Well, I was only ever… I could only really see Nico most of the time. Obviously at the beginning of the race it wasn't that easy to drop any of the guys behind – but then it got a bit better towards the end of the stint. And then later on obviously Nico was the one behind. And then I was made aware that Kimi was going long so he was going to be very quick in the last stint – but I think I had it pretty much under control. But I had a very similar situation to Nico, obviously it didn't cost me anywhere near as much, but brakes were getting quite warm, particularly in traffic. So, the last few laps I had to slow down a little bit – otherwise I don't think we would have had a problem.

Q: (Khodr Rawi – F1Zone.net).
Kimi, do you think the only possibility to beat Mercedes is by trying a different strategy, trying to undercut them because beating them on track seems a bit difficult now?

Kimi Raikkonen:
Well, I don't think it's the only way. Obviously on some circuits we can get closer, some not, but I think obviously the first step is to improve our package, that will happen in the future and hopefully get closer. One step is to qualify more higher up, make better starts and go from there. I think we had a pretty decent speed today but obviously if you're behind any cars and you lose any seconds, you will pay a price for it in the end. I think we just have to keep working and improving the whole package and how we do things. I'm sure we will get there and we can fight for wins every weekend after that.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport).
Kimi, you were flying in the second and third stints on both type of tyre but you struggled in the first stint. Have you any idea why?

Kimi Raikkonen:
I wasn't struggling really. I didn't feel that it was much problem. I got passed by Nico, I passed him at the start and I got passed by him and obviously you lose quite a bit of time and then he passed Seb and we were pretty close to each other. I felt I was faster but obviously it's pretty hard to pass. I think that we did the maximum, more or less. Yesterday we lost a place to Nico, but after that, once we got the mediums and the new set of softs at the end, the car was very good, so I could keep up good speed and everything was running smoothly, but already at that point we were a bit too far off first place.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat).
Lewis, are you happy that Kimi took some points away from Nico?

Lewis Hamilton:
Are you feeling OK today? Normally... Kimi's right here, you know that, right? Normally you always ask... I wasn't expecting that question. I don't know. I think ultimately we're trying to win both championships so I guess the team won't be 100 percent happy and we're not 100 percent happy because we want to finish one-two. And so Kimi's taken some points away from us as a team which ultimately isn't the best but then on the positive side, of course, I got good points today, so we'll take it but we'll work as hard as we can to kind of rectify that and try and see if we can get some more one-twos moving forwards.

Q: (Matt Youson – Racetech).
Kimi, can you tell us how this year's car is an improvement on last season's. Everybody talks about the power unit but is it just that or is there a lot more?

Kimi Raikkonen:
Obviously a big chunk of it is the engine itself. It's a big improvement on horsepower plus reliability but you cannot just give all the credit to them. The car has improved a lot: much more downforce, the car is handling much better because of that, and obviously how the whole package has been done and put together. I think the big key is that all areas have improved quite a bit plus the people have been working more closely, as one team putting it together more nicely, so obviously the end result is what we have now and then as I said earlier, I'm very happy how things are going, very happy with the team and I think not many people expected after last year that we can be in this kind of position this early and now we are going in the right direction, so I'm sure we will get there but we want to start winning races more often and we just have to have some patience and do the work that we've done so far and we will get there.

Q: (Khodr Rawi – F1Zone.net).
To all three of you: is the challenge of the championship against the rival teams more difficult than against your teammate, because you don't know what others have or what others are planning in terms of strategy and that sort of thing?

Lewis Hamilton:
It's all hard. It's difficult to say which one is harder. When you're fighting the guy in your team with the same car you've got the data. Sure it's more on the limit when you're fighting another team. There's pros and cons, there are advantages and disadvantages on each side. You just try to do your best job, that's what motor racing is all about, to be fighting other teams, that's what we're here to do.

Nico Rosberg:
It's both different but both tough. It's difficult to go into the details but it's tough to battle Lewis last year and this year and it's tough now to battle the Ferraris now that they're in the mix.

Kimi Raikkonen:
I think it doesn't make a lot of difference. Obviously with your teammate you more or less know what he's doing and in the race when he's going to stop but you have to beat all of them so it's really the same end result.

Edited by Hamandeggs, 20 April 2015 - 03:39.


#931 HoldenRT

HoldenRT
  • Member

  • 6,773 posts
  • Joined: May 05

Posted 20 April 2015 - 04:11

Very happy to see the old Kimi, and Lewis has things under control at the moment.   Very fast but also calm and everything is going right for him. He's driving like a true champion.

 

Everything else was a bit stale.  It was strange that Vettel could be so quick in clear air, yet not get past Bottas.  Williams are in a weird position, Redbull are in a weird position.  McLaren made a bit of progress but still a long way to go.  Williams seem like they have already peaked last year and will slide backwards.  But the future is always unpredictable.

 

There is potential for Ferrari to make a real fight later in the season but by then Lewis should have a big lead in the championship.  It's lucky for Merc that Lewis is dominating and gives them a bit of breathing room.

 

You can see that Merc isn't so strong when they are actually pushed and so far this season it's been great to see a proper battle out there.  Even if they win, if feels like they earn it more this season.  It's not so easy or "comfortable".

 

Was great how well Kimi managed his tyres in this race, especially that middle stint on the mediums, that was a great stint that put him in the hunt later on.



#932 noikeee

noikeee
  • Member

  • 23,156 posts
  • Joined: February 06

Posted 20 April 2015 - 09:41

That was a fun race. This together with the 2 GP2 races made for a pretty fun weekend of motorsport at Bahrain - I reckon DRS just about opens up the full potential of this track for racing, as it compensates for the concertina effect you get in the whole hairpin->long straight->hairpin format, but once that's removed the track is actually really well designed for overtaking particularly the first few corners. It wasn't unusual to see cars almost side-by-side through the whole first 5 or 6 corners this weekend.

 

Hamilton looks like the strongest I've ever seen him, maybe he doesn't really have any extra pace over his rookie days, but he's way way more consistent and collected. Just... in control, as other posters have said.

 

Quite happy to see Raikkonen back into contention, the alternate strategy was absolutely spot on (credit to Ferrari!) and made for the most entertaining element of the race, however I'd like to see Ferrari in the mix without the need for an adge with creative strategies. They're still lacking that last 2 or 3 tenths - but getting closer at a scary rate.

 

Speaking of another team improving at a scary rate, Alonso beat a couple midfield cars on merit this time, great effort. Someone posted a graph of how much time McLaren is winning each qualifying session and it's insane. It's still unacceptable that they're finishing outside of the points, but it seems clear to me that won't be a thing for long.

 

Renault's reliability is embarassing for this stage, they're getting shown up pretty badly. More fuel to the fire with Red Bull..

 

Can't think of any other random thoughts to add now.  :p



#933 OO7

OO7
  • Member

  • 23,378 posts
  • Joined: November 04

Posted 20 April 2015 - 13:06

DRS was waaaaaay too strong. Could have been some battles but instead,......blaaaast past.

The only blast pasts I recall were again Alonso, which is unsurprising given the lack of hp from the Honda PU.



#934 hodgy21

hodgy21
  • Member

  • 1,207 posts
  • Joined: February 14

Posted 20 April 2015 - 14:44

My wishlist for the race:
 
1.  Rosberg to "catch" Lewis on the track with his car, not necessarily in terms of lap times ;) . 
 
2.  Safety car to destroy Mercedes' strategy :clap: .  
 
3.  Rising temperature and more abrasive track as the race progresses :D .
 
4.  Engine BOOM and SMOKE for BOTH Mercedes works cars :up: .


So then...

#935 SCUDmissile

SCUDmissile
  • Member

  • 8,727 posts
  • Joined: May 11

Posted 20 April 2015 - 16:31

Yeah I think this was a good, fun race. Not as good as last year or Malaysia, but better than China or Australia.

The night race aspect and the sparks make Bahrain come alive and I agree about the DRS, it makes the first sector in general a great place for overtaking with cars side by side.