Taking nothing away from Jenson Button’s excellent drive and victory in Bahrain, I am still wondering how Toyota as well as Sebastien Vettel lost the race!
I say this because Toyota had the front row locked out and Vettel who was 3rd had the heaviest fuel load after qualifying.
Well, it is this simple. Toyota mucked up badly. They chose the wrong tyres for the middle stint of the race. It is that simple. Note to Toyota: use the quickest tyres for the MAJORITY of the race and not the other way around.
For Vettel it was a little more complicated. He didn’t get the ideal track position after the start and had to play a long waiting game which thwarted his progress.
For the rest it was a pretty ordinary race which should have been a cracker but Toyota messed it up to be honest.
The first “normal” race of the season and without a doubt it must be said that the Brawn GP cars have a significant advantage over the rest of the field. What must worry the rest of the teams is that in two weeks time Brawn will introduce their FIRST updates on their car. I would be concerned if I were the other teams.
The Bahrain GP saw Button extend his lead in the championship and you have to believe that both he and the team are now seriously thinking about this championship. For Barrichello he might already have to fulfil a role he plays so well, that being second.
Button made a crucial pass on Hamilton at the end of the first lap after Hamilton bulleted off the line at the start with the help of KERS. This set him up for the race. The Toyota pair were well in the lead but the wrong strategy saw them fall behind although Trulli finished a great 3rd but it SHOULD have been a win. Trulli also managed his first ever fastest lap of the race.
Vettel was held up behind Lewis Hamilton and his race was marginalised after an average start. Hamilton did his best and showed his class finishing a great 4th. I expect McLaren to strongly improve over the next 2 races however it all depends what kind of penalty they receive on Wed at the WMSC meeting. I predict a slap on the wrists and a little fine. Although nothing is little in F1.
Rubens Barrichello fought back bravely and finished 5th with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen scoring his first points and the first points for Ferrari this season. Ferrari is struggling with everything but it is mainly their Aero package which doesn’t give them enough grip in the corners. This then spills over and ruins their tyres. Perhaps they will improve in Spain but I don’t expect anything too dramatic to be honest.
Glock fought back hard but only managed to finish 7th. Alonso drove hard and nearly fainted after the race. His 8th place and one point is not enough for him or Renault and they too have a mountain to climb.
The disappointment of the race has to be the performance of BMW. What has gone wrong? Even though both drivers had problems early on, watching them during the race showed that their race pace was below what we have come to expect from this team.
One last thing: what race were Jonathan Legard and Martin Brundle watching? The commentary was so off the pace. These guys are meant to keep us informed about how the race is panning out? I was in the studio with Gary and Vic and we were screaming at the TV because the two BBc’ers were getting it completely wrong. Maybe I am just too much of a perfectionist when it comes to F1 but I believe the average F1 punter could have been better informed about what was going on during the race.
I will let you know what happens on Wed with McLaren and of course any other major F1 news.
Bring on Europe and the Spanish GP.
Take care
Ciao Ciao
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