The hits and flops of Bahrain

The tops

Fernando Alonso
Obviously! Victorious in his first Grand Prix with Ferrari, the Spaniard fulfilled the mission entrusted to him. It brings a smile back to Team and regained victory after 18 months of drought. Qualified in third position, he was able to get the best of Felipe Massa, author of a bad start, and keep up with the pace of Sebastian Vettel. The latter experiencing a drop in power on his RB6, Alonso was able to take the reins, assert himself and put Ferrari on the path to success. A success which provoked enthusiastic reactions in Spain and Italy.

Vitaly Petrov
Although he ended his race prematurely, Vitaly Petrov was convincing in Bahrain. Many observers expected to see the Russian fail but, with his experience in car and with great humility, the pilot Renault fulfilled its mission. Qualified in Q2 on Saturday, he was able to grab six places at the start of the race to ride in eleventh position for a long time. Unfortunately, passing a curb a little too sportily ruined its suspension, and its race at the same time. Promising.

Lotus Racing
If Lotus did no better than experience its race at the back of the peloton, the two drivers went to the end of the Grand Prix. A little bored at the very end of the race, Jarno Trulli still led his T127 to the checkered flag, while Heikki Kovalainen finished 15th, ahead of Sébastien Buemi, driver of a well-established team (Toro Rosso). Only six months after landing his place in F1, Lotus proved its competence in a minimum of time, largely winning the fight for the new teams.

The flops

bmw-sauber
What is going on within the team?Hinwil ? The pre-season tests seemed promising for a team which had managed fairly quickly to find a solution to the departure of BMW. However, the reduction in resources may have been fatal to Peter Sauber's team, which experienced the double retirement of its drivers, the experienced Pedro de la Rosa and the young Kamui Kobayashi, on hydraulic problems.

Red Bull Racing
The disappointment is legitimate for Sebastian Vettel supporters. Brilliantly qualified in pole position, the vice-World Champion set off perfectly to lead the race. But a spark plug problem suddenly caused him to lose 70 to 100 horsepower and, at the same time, any chance of winning the Grand Prix. As for Mark Webber, the release of smoke (too much oil?) from his RB6 blinded several drivers in the peloton and the Australian finished in eighth place which did not excite the crowds.

HRT & Virgin Racing
How could it be otherwise? Certainly, these two teams were competing in their first Grand Prix. Certainly, three of the four pilots were inexperienced. Certainly, they have Lilliputian budgets compared to those of the top teams. But how brief the illusions were for these two teams! Each of the two teams only recorded 18 laps in the race and left Bahrain with the image of cars lacking reliability. It will take a lot of work for these two teams to raise their heads.

The course
The effect of the new rules was expected and ultimately disappointed everyone: viewers, commentators, drivers, team bosses. The ban on refueling, the narrowing of the width of the front tires, the control of the aero and in particular of the double diffuser..., there is no shortage of reasons to explain the unfolding of a Grand Prix without spectacle, in the form of a procession at 300 km/h. Proposals are already coming in because no one wants to see 18 other races with so few overtakes.