Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

Well! Red bull woke up! I think that if nothing will happen - Sebastian can celebrate its first victory!

Here is the result of the Qualifying ....and nooooo i'm not amused with the result of Schumi and Massa

1. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing: 1:32.422 -
2. Lewis Hamilton : McLaren: 1:32.520 + 0.098
3. Mark Webber Red : Bull Racing: 1:32.637 + 0.215
4. Jenson Button: McLaren: 1:32.711 + 0.289
5. Nico Rosberg :Mercedes GP: 1:32.821 + 0.399
6. Daniel Ricciardo :Toro Rosso: 1:32.912 + 0.490
7. Romain Grosjean: Lotus: 1:33.008 + 0.586
8. Sergio Perez :Sauber: 1:33.394 + 0.972
9. Fernando Alonso: Ferrari: no time -
10. Paul di Resta: Force India: no time -
Q2
11. Kimi Räikkönen: Lotus: 1:33.789 + 1.367
12. Kamui Kobayashi: Sauber: 1:33.806 + 1.384
13. Nico Hulkenberg: Force India: 1:33.807 + 1.385
14. Felipe Massa: Ferrari: 1:33.912 + 1.490
15. Bruno Senna: Williams: 1:34.017 + 1.595
16. Heikki Kovalainen: Caterham: 1:36.132 + 3.710
17. Pastor Maldonado: William no time -
Q1
18. Michael Schumacher: Mercedes GP: 1:34.865 -
19. Jean-Eric Vergne: Toro Rosso: 1:35.014 + 2.592
20. Vitaly Petrov: Caterham: 1:35.823 + 3.401
21. Charles Pic: Marussia F1 Team: 1:37.683 + 5.261
22. Pedro de la Rosa: HRT F1 Team: 1:37.883 + 5.461
23. Timo Glock: Marussia F1 Team: 1:37.905 + 5.483
24. Narain Karthikeyan: HRT F1 Team: 1:38.314 + 5.892

Sebastian Vettel returned Red Bull to pole position as the world champion rediscovered his qualifying form and took the top spot on the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Red Bull briefly looked set for a front row sweep until points leader Lewis Hamilton got between Vettel and Webber. Despite its practice pace, Shanghai winner Mercedes had a disappointing session. Nico Rosberg could only qualify fifth, and his team-mate Michael Schumacher did not even get beyond Q1.
McLaren had been quickest early in Q3, but Red Bull had more speed in hand, and a 1m32.422s lap from Vettel gave him pole by just under a tenth of a second, as Hamilton slipped through to demote Webber to third. Jenson Button completes row two in the second McLaren. Rosberg only made one Q3 run and was 0.4 seconds off the pace in fifth.
Daniel Ricciardo gave Toro Rosso huge encouragement as he stormed to a career-best sixth on the grid, in front of Romain Grosjean's Lotus and Sergio Perez's Sauber. Fernando Alonso got Ferrari into the top 10, then elected not to do a Q3 flying lap, as did Paul di Resta - who got Force India into the pole shoot-out despite having missed out on Friday afternoon practice. The pair will share row five, with Alonso five places ahead of Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa.
Schumacher's exit in Q1 was the shock of the session, and was down to both a problem with the Mercedes and a supreme lap from Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen. With track conditions rapidly improving, early Q1 times did not prove sufficient. Both Red Bulls flirted with elimination, as did Perez, but in the end it was Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne - for a third straight race - and Schumacher who ended up on the wrong side of the cut-off. A DRS problem compromised Schumacher's session, and he did not get out for a final run. Vergne may face further trouble after the session as replays suggested he missed a call to the weighbridge in Q1.
Schumacher had still looked safe for Q2 until Kovalainen made a massive improvement on his final Q1 lap, putting in a time that not only got him ahead of the Toro Rosso and Mercedes, but to within a tenth of McLaren and Ferrari, as he outpaced team-mate Vitaly Petrov by a second.
Schumacher was not the only world champion making an early departure from qualifying, as Grosjean's progress into Q3 came at the expense of Lotus team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who will start 11th. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) and Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) could not match their team-mates' form and were 12th and 13th. It was a tough session for Williams too, with Bruno Senna only 15th and a KERS issue preventing Pastor Maldonado - who was already facing a five-place gearbox change penalty - from running in Q2. At the back, Marussia was nearly three seconds off Kovalainen's pace, as Charles Pic outqualified team-mate Timo Glock for the first time - the German ending up behind Pedro de la Rosa's HRT as well in 23rd place.

Maldonado will get a 5 place penalty grid because of changing his gearbox on friday ! so he will start from 22th place !

Qual: 1:32.422
Pole: Vettel
Rain: no

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

may be tomorrow will be a strange gp.

i fear that because many of the teams decided to do a worst lap time for the grid qualification to save a set of tires.
Save the tires from a great consumption could be the key to win this GP.

good luck anyone.

The Champ is back on pole !

But Schumi !
Out in Q1 !!! What a bad joke !
Poor Schumi ! Next sabotage from his team !?
What is going on ???

piggy wrote:to be in bahrain at any costs ??

it doesn't look a good idea to me.

what do you think about it guys ?

I think the FIA should have cancelled the Bahrain GP, because the situation in this Country doesn`t deserve a GP. But Money rules the World...

Here are the time of the 3rd free practice session that's just bin driven :

1. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes GP : 1:33.254 -
2. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing : 1:33.401 + 0.147
3. Mark Webber : Red Bull Racing : 1:33.663 + 0.409
4. Lewis Hamilton : McLaren : 1:33.782 + 0.528
5. Michael Schumacher : Mercedes GP : 1:33.796 + 0.542
6. Jenson Button : McLaren : 1:33.899 + 0.645
7. Kimi Räikkönen : Lotus : 1:33.976 + 0.722
8. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso : 1:34.197 + 0.943
9. Romain Grosjean : Lotus : 1:34.401 + 1.147
10. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari : 1:34.895 + 1.641
11. Pastor Maldonado : Williams : 1:34.918 + 1.664
12. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso : 1:34.977 + 1.723
13. Sergio Perez : Sauber : 1:35.067 + 1.813
14. Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber : 1:35.128 + 1.874
15. Paul di Resta : Force India : 1:35.336 + 2.082
16. Felipe Massa : Ferrari : 1:35.536 + 2.282
17. Bruno Senna : Williams : 1:35.623 + 2.369
18. Heikki Kovalainen : Caterham : 1:35.694 + 2.440
19. Nico Hulkenberg : Force India : 1:35.773 + 2.519
20. Vitaly Petrov : Caterham : 1:36.532 + 3.278
21. Charles Pic : Marussia F1 Team : 1:37.267 + 4.013
22. Timo Glock : Marussia F1 Team : 1:37.654 + 4.400
23. Pedro de la Rosa : HRT F1 Team : 1:38.973 + 5.719
24. Narain Karthikeyan : HRT F1 Team : 1:39.221 + 5.967

Nico Rosberg emphasised his and Mercedes' potential in Bahrain by going quickest in a second consecutive practice session on Saturday morning at Sakhir. The German, fresh from his maiden pole and victory in China a week ago, lapped in 1m33.254s to beat the two Red Bulls to the fastest time in final practice. The McLarens were fourth and sixth, sandwiching the second Mercedes of Michael Schumacher. When the serious running commenced after a quiet start, it was Lotus that held a one-two for some time, before Sebastian Vettel put his Red Bull on top just after the session's halfway point. But then Mercedes showed its pace, moving onto soft tyres and seeing first Schumacher, then Rosberg hit the front. The Shanghai winner's 1m33.254s put him half a second clear of his team-mate, and was as fast as he needed to go to end the morning on top. Vettel got within 0.147 seconds in the final moments, but had to settle for second, just ahead of team-mate Mark Webber. Lewis Hamilton was the top McLaren runner in fourth, pushing Schumacher back to fifth place, followed by the second McLaren of Jenson Button. Lotus ended up seventh and ninth with Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean, the pair split by the resurgent Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo. Fernando Alonso completed the top 10 for Ferrari.
After missing Friday's second practice session, Force India returned and went 15th (Paul di Resta) and 19th quickest (Nico Hulkenberg).

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Ps : at 13.00u Cet will be the Qualification !

Short News :

Force India backs decision to go ahead with the Bahrain Grand Prix :
Force India still believes it was right for the Bahrain Grand Prix to go ahead, despite the safety concerns that are overshadowing its weekend. The Silverstone-based team is considering withdrawing from second free practice in Bahrain so its personnel can return to their hotels early - to avoid the possibility of trouble on the journey home.
Four members of its staff were caught up in a clash between protestors and police on Wednesday night – with a Molotov cocktail landing near their car. That incident has resulted in two team members returning home because they no longer wished to stay in Bahrain. Although the situation has heightened concerns in the paddock about safety, Fernley says he feels the FIA was still correct to stick to its guns that the Bahrain GP should go ahead. When asked if he was disappointed about the way events had panned out with talk in the build-up to the event that safety was good enough, he said: "With all due respect, I don't think the FIA nor the Bahrain authorities have said that safety is 100 per cent guaranteed.

Ecclestone unmoved by safety concerns in Bahrain as Force India pulls out of practice
Bernie Ecclestone remained unmoved about safety concerns in Bahrain on Friday - despite Force India's withdrawal from second free practice because of worries from its personnel about leaving the Sakhir track after dark.
Amid concerns in the paddock about the situation outside the circuit – with Sauber now also confirming that some of its personnel witnessed an incident involving masked protestors on Thursday night as they returned to Manama – Ecclestone said it was not in his power to cancel the race. "I can't call this race off. It is nothing to do with us, the race," he told reporters in the Bahrain paddock.
"We are here, we have an agreement to be here and we are here. The national sporting authority in this country can ask the FIA if they want to call the race off." Ecclestone said he did not understand why Force India was so worried about safety – and that he had personally offered to drive with the team from the circuit if they wanted reassurance.
"They have asked and been told they can have security if they want it," he said. "I don't know if people are targeting them for some reason, I don't know – I hope not because none of the other teams seem to have a problem.
"So maybe they have had a message and are being targeted for something – it may be nothing to do with being in this country, maybe it is something else." A Brazilian journalist confirmed that he too had witnessed police firing tear gas at protestors on the main road between the circuit and Manama on Thursday evening.
Ecclestone also reckons the huge media coverage the safety situation at the Bahrain event was generating was the result of journalists stirring things up.

Leading politicians urge Bahrain Grand Prix to be called off
Leading British politicians have put more pressure on the Bahrain Grand Prix by adding to calls for the race to be cancelled.
Opposition leader Ed Miliband of the Labour party also believes Prime Minister David Cameron should get involved in the issue."Given the human rights issues in Bahrain, I don't think the grand prix should go ahead," Miliband was quoted as saying by the Press Association. "I do not think the government should remain silent on this."
Miliband is one of several leading politicians to speak out against the race since the F1 paddock arrived earlier this week.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told that she didn't think British drivers should be in Bahrain, while Respect MP George Galloway and Conservative former shadow home secretary David Davis have also criticised the decision to race this weekend. So far the only comment from the government has come via a spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron.
"It is not for us to dictate what sporting events happen in other countries," said the spokeswoman.

Bahrain's Crown Prince rules out cancelling grand prix
Bahrain's Crown Prince has ruled out any talk of cancelling this weekend's grand prix, after suggesting that such a move would be a victory for protestors. Despite rising concerns in the paddock about safety, and calls from British politicians for the race to be called off, Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa insisted it was vital the event went ahead.
"I think cancelling just empowers extremists," he said, during a press conference in the Bahrain paddock. "I think for those of us who are trying to navigate a way out of this political problem, having the race allows us to build bridges across communities, and get people working together. "It allows us to celebrate our nation as an idea that is positive, not one that is divisive. So I actually think that having the race has prevented extremists from doing what they think they need to do out of the world's attention." The Crown Prince acknowledged the safety concerns expressed by some F1 personnel, in light of Wednesday night's incident involving Force India mechanics, but insisted that protestors were not targeting F1.
$"I absolutely can guarantee that any problems that may or may not happen are not directed at F1," he said. "It goes to show that there are people who are out to cause chaos.

Ferrari won't chase track - Alonso
Fernando Alonso said that Ferrari won't base its setup on its findings from Friday's practice sessions because the track will evolve significantly over the weekend. With the current track layout not having been used since 2010 and the circuit's desert location leading to sand finding its way on to the surface, grip levels were extremely low on Friday. Having finished the second session in eighth place, Alonso said that it was difficult to read in to the data gathered as it may not prove relevant on Sunday. "The first day of the Bahrain Grand Prix is always very difficult, because the track conditions are never at their best, mainly because of the sand and wind," Alonso said. "On top of that, this track is used only very rarely, which adds to making Friday hard to interpret, maybe more so than other places. That is why basing all your choices in terms of set-up on what one has seen today is not always the right move, because we need to bear in mind that the track will change a lot between now and Sunday." Alonso added that the rear end of the F2012 was where the team would be focusing its attentions on Saturday.
"We tried as best we could to check the tyre behaviour: we have the same ones as in Shanghai, but the temperature is very different. There is still a lot to do, especially on the rear end, to try and find more grip."


Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

And ofcourse the times of the 2nd session :

1. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes GP : 1:32.816 - laps 35
2. Mark Webber : Red Bull Racing : 1:33.262 + 0.446 laps 26
3. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing : 1:33.525 + 0.709 laps 28
4. Lewis Hamilton : McLaren : 1:33.747 + 0.931 laps 26
5. Michael Schumacher : Mercedes GP : 1:33.862 + 1.046 laps 31
6. Jenson Button : McLaren : 1:34.246 + 1.430 laps 28
7. Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber : 1:34.411 + 1.595 laps 34
8. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari : 1:34.449 + 1.633 laps 31
9. Romain Grosjean : Lotus : 1:34.615 + 1.799 laps 32
10. Sergio Perez : Sauber : 1:34.893 + 2.077 laps 34
11. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso : 1:34.895 + 2.079 laps 29
12. Felipe Massa : Ferrari : 1:34.941 + 2.125 laps 29
13. Kimi Räikkönen : Lotus : 1:35.183 + 2.367 laps 33
14. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso : 1:35.229 + 2.413 laps 26
15. Pastor Maldonado : Williams : 1:35.459 + 2.643 laps 38
16. Vitaly Petrov : Caterham : 1:35.913 + 3.097 laps 32
17. Heikki Kovalainen : Caterham : 1:35.968 + 3.152 laps 35
18. Bruno Senna : Williams : 1:36.169 + 3.353 laps 30
19. Timo Glock : Marussia F1 Team : 1:36.587 + 3.771 laps 32
20. Charles Pic : Marussia F1 Team : 1:37.803 + 4.987 laps 33
21. Pedro de la Rosa : HRT F1 Team : 1:37.812 + 4.996 laps 28
22. Narain Karthikeyan : HRT F1 Team : 1:39.649 + 6.833 laps 27

Comment of the 2nd session :
Nico Rosberg followed up his Shanghai victory with another commanding performance in the second free practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix. As off-track controversy escalated amid news that Force India would miss the session because of concerns about its personnel travelling back from the circuit after dark, Rosberg emphasised Mercedes' Sakhir speed with a pacesetting 1m32.816s. The German set that time just over half an hour into the afternoon, ending a busy spell in which the two Mercedes and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel had been swapping the top spot. When he set that lap, Rosberg went a full 0.8 seconds quicker than anyone else, and although that margin reduced, no one was able to topple the Mercedes. Mark Webber ended up second for Red Bull, 0.446s down on Rosberg, and 0.263s ahead of his team-mate Vettel, who had a near-miss with compatriot Michael Schumacher near the end of the session.
Neither car was damaged, and Schumacher completed the day in fifth, a second off his pacesetting Mercedes team-mate.
The seven-time champion was sandwiched between the two McLarens, with Lewis Hamilton fourth and Jenson Button sixth - 0.9s and 1.4s off Rosberg respectively. Sauber had an encouraging session, as Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez took seventh and 10th, split by Fernando Alonso's Ferrari and Romain Grosjean's Lotus. Force India's decision not to take part meant only 22 cars ran, with the Silverstone squad's crew instead getting an early start on preparing the cars for Saturday and qualifying before leaving the circuit. There were myriad minor excursions over kerbs and run-off areas on the still-dusty track, but no major dramas, incidents or problems, with all the cars that ran completing between 25 and 35 laps.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

The times of the 1st free practice session :

1: Lewis Hamilton : MCLAREN : 1:33.572 laps 11
2: Sebastian Vettel : RED BULL : 1:33.877 +00.305 laps 21
3: Paul Di Resta : FORCE INDIA : 1:34.150 +00.578 laps 26
4: Nico Rosberg : MERCEDES : 1:34.249 +00.677 laps 23
5: Jenson Button MCLAREN : 1:34.277 +00.705 laps 14
6: Nico Hulkenberg : FORCE INDIA : 1:34.344 +00.772 laps 26
7: Michael Schumacher : MERCEDES : 1:34.483 +00.911 laps 17
8: Mark Webber : RED BULL : 1:34.552 +00.980 laps 22
9: Kimi Raikkonen : LOTUS : 1:34.609 +01.037 laps 18
10: Romain Grosjean : LOTUS : 1:34.847 +01.275 laps 20
11: Sergio Perez : SAUBER : 1:35.024 +01.452 laps 22
12: Pastor Maldonado : WILLIAMS : 1:35.268 +01.696 laps 25
13: Fernando Alonso : FERRARI : 1:35.436 +01.864 laps 21
14: Valtteri Bottas : WILLIAMS : 1:35.497 +01.925 laps 24
15: Felipe Massa : FERRARI : 1:35.719 +02.147 laps 19
16: Kamui Kobayashi : SAUBER : 1:35.929 +02.357 laps 24
17: Jean-Eric Vergne : TORO ROSSO : 1:36.195 +02.623 laps 20
18: Heikki Kovalainen : CATERHAM : 1:36.330 +02.758 laps 11
19: Vitaly Petrov : CATERHAM : 1:36.484 +02.912 laps 18
20: Daniel Ricciardo : TORO ROSSO : 1:36.591 +03.019 laps 20
21: Charles Pic: MARUSSIA : 1:37.467 +03.895 laps 18
22: Timo Glock : MARUSSIA : 1:38.006 +04.434 laps 18
23: Pedro De La Rosa : HRT : 1:38.877 +05.305 laps 19
24: Narain Karthikeyan : HRT : 1:39.996 +06.424 laps 23

Comment of the 1st session :
Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in the opening free practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of world champion Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull and Paul di Resta's Force India. In a fairly uneventful 90 minutes of running, the McLaren driver set a time of 1m33.572s in the middle of the session and remained unchallenged thereafter.
As expected, the teams were greeted with warm track temperatures - 27 degrees C and rising – but just as predictable was the surface layer of sand on the asphalt that prompted one team to dismissively say the morning's runs as nothing more than 'dust surveys'. It led to a slow start to the morning. Nico Hulkenberg was the first driver to set a time, a 1m35.544s lap, 20 minutes in. Dicing with his Force India team-mate di Resta, who also moved to the top during this period, the German then improved that to a 1m34.859s.
Other early runners were Romain Grosjean and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi, who like Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen before him, ran too hot into the tightening Turn 10 left-hander and ran over the sand-coloured painted run-off. There would be several more cases of this through the field.
By one third's distance Grosjean's Lotus, complete with a new front wing for this race, had moved to the top of the times with a 1m34.847s. The Frenchman looked fairly wild though as he explored the limits of the track.
Not long after that, Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen set a new benchmark, the Finn lowering the target to a 1m34.609s on the revised-back-to-its-original Sakhir layout.Just before half distance the Red Bulls emerged from the pits for their first runs on the Pirelli medium primes and immediately Vettel went fastest with a 1m34.311s – the German now using the newer exhaust layout that Mark Webber chose to run in Shanghai. But if his first lap was impressive, he followed it up with a much faster 1m33.877s, setting three purple sector times as he did so. His team-mate on the hand could only manage third fastest, having locked up on his early quick lap.
The two Mercedes were also out at the same time for their early runs on the prime tyres, but neither Nico Rosberg nor Michael Schumacher could match that Vettel time at this stage and went second and third quickest, while Jenson Button in the McLaren, went fourth. Just before the hour mark world championship leader Hamilton moved to the top with a 1m33.572s – three tenths up on Vettel - as Rosberg and Button also improved to third and fourth, ahead of Schumacher.
Things settled down for a while after that as teams continued working through their programmes on the prime sets they'd hand back after the morning session was over. During this period di Resta's KERS went intermittent and he was forced to switch it off, running wide at the final corner not long after that. Despite the track being less dusty, to the surprise of the teams, few of them seemed keen to chase times massively.
But in the last 10 minutes of the session both the Force Indias made the surprising decision to make an early switch to the option tyre, which explained why di Resta jumped up to third late on and Hulkenberg ended up sixth.
Neither Ferrari made it into the top ten after a low profile session that ended with Fernando Alonso 13th and Felipe Massa 15th - split by Valtteri Bottas's Williams.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

News Round Up :

Bahrain Grand Prix boss expects no problems at all for Formula 1 :
Bahrain's grand prix boss is totally confident that Formula 1 will not experience any problems at the event this weekend, despite fears in recent weeks about trouble from protestors. F1 personnel began arriving in Bahrain on Monday ahead of its return to the calendar. And race chief Zayed Alzayani said in an exclusive interview that any concerns the teams have will be eased as soon as people see the situation on the ground.
"Some are still sceptical but I think seeing is believing and when they come down and see how things are they will feel different," he explained.
"I just talked to [Red Bull team boss] Christian Horner and he has a team [of people] there already, and things are normal. They went out for dinner last night and everything is okay. Bernie [Ecclestone] said everything is fine.

Christian Horner: “It’s going to be a fascinating championship…”
Christian Horner says that Red Bull learned a lot in China by fielding its cars with two different exhaust configurations.
Sebastian Vettel ran the older spec, with which he felt more comfortable, while Mark Webber had the newer version.
The latter obviously proved more effective in qualifying, then in the race matters were confused by Vettel making a bad start and running two stops while Webber was on three. In the end the Aussie snuck ahead as his team mate’s tyres went past their best.
“There were some characteristics about the upgraded car which weren’t particularly suited to Seb’s style of driving, which is to carry a lot of speed into the corner,” said Horner after the race. “The decision to come here [with two specs] was very much Adrian and a technical decision, because we want to make sure we get a direction and a clear comparison.
“We’ve had that, it’s been a really useful exercise this weekend. The drivers were happy to go the routes that they did. Now we’ve got an awful lot of information from three days of running to settle on a direction moving forward.
“Ideally you want the characteristics from both solutions, so that’s now the challenge.”
Horner said that there was no firm verdict yet on what specs it would field in Bahrain this weekend

Domenicali expecting quick reaction to Ferrari's slow start to 2012
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali says he expects a quick reaction from the Italian squad on the back of the disappointing form shown at the start of the season.Although Fernando Alonso arrived in last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix as championship leader following his win in Malaysia, the team struggled for pace in Shanghai, with the Spaniard finishing in ninth position and team-mate Felipe Massa down in 13th. Ferrari is expecting another difficult weekend in Bahrain as the circuit will highlight the problems the car has at the moment.
Domenicali made it clear he is not happy with the current situation, and expects his technical team to react quickly to make the car stronger. "It's clear I'm absolutely not happy with the way it was born, that's a fact," said Domenicali, "because it's easy to manage things with a quick car. "So I expect to see a quick reaction on this aspect from our technicians, because we need to give our drivers a car that is a lot more competitive."
The team boss insisted he is staying calm about the situation despite the team being nearly a second off the pace.

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone unsure of 2013 Grand Prix of America race
Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has cast doubt on whether the new Grand Prix of America in New Jersey will take place in 2013 as planned. The event on public roads alongside the Hudson River overlooking New York City had been expected to join the calendar in June next year. But Ecclestone told that there was some doubt about whether the track would be ready in time. "Maybe the New York race will be 2013," he said. "It's a when - 2013 or 2014."
It is the first time any doubts have been expressed about the much-anticipated event, which is the second new Formula 1 race scheduled to take place in the USA in the next 14 months. The first is the United States Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place on a new track being built in Austin, Texas, as the penultimate race of this season on 18 November. Texan circuit bosses insist the race will go ahead, but there have been continuing reports in the US of legal problems and doubts that the track will be ready in time.
The Texas race has had a troubled development. The initial promoter fell out with the track's bosses and had his contract ripped up by Ecclestone. The race was only included on this year's calendar after the new promoter agreed to pay the sanctioning fee at the 11th hour before Ecclestone submitted a final calendar to governing body the FIA in December last year. Recently, there have been reports in the US of delays in building the track as well as ongoing issues surrounding the management of the track and event. Bosses have continued to insist that the race will take place as planned.
Ecclestone also said that a proposed deal that would see the French Grand Prix return to the calendar and alternate year-to-year with the Belgian event at Spa-Francorchamps was a real possibility.
The arrangement is expected to start in 2013, with the French race at the Paul Ricard track near Marseille rather than at Magny-Cours near Nevers, which last hosted the race in 2008.
Ecclestone said: "We don't want any more races. They're quite close and they're French-speaking. Spa have agreed; apparently they're going to do it in Ricard."
Ecclestone is the former promoter of the Belgian Grand Prix and his family trust owns the Paul Ricard track, which has been used for occasional F1 testing in recent years.
The French event remains in some doubt, however.
It depends on raising the required funding and although the current government, which is facing an imminent general election, has made it clear it supports the race, it has said it will not provide any state funding.
And if President Nicolas Sarkozy's party loses the election, it is not clear whether the new government would back the race, and if they did whether they would be happy for it to take place at Paul Ricard rather than Magny-Cours, which has long links with their party.

Ross Brawn says it's too early to predict repeat wins for Mercedes
Ross Brawn thinks it is too early to say whether Mercedes can deliver more victories this season, despite the nature of Nico Rosberg's dominant performance in the Chinese Grand Prix. Rosberg was in a class of his own in Shanghai, as he finished well clear of his opposition for his maiden Formula 1 win. But despite the performance, Mercedes team principal Brawn thinks the uncertainty caused by tyre characteristics this year means he has to be cautious about his outfit's chances going forward.When asked if he felt the Mercedes W03 had the speed to produce a series of wins in 2012, Brawn said: "It is so difficult to judge because of the sensitivity of the tyres. Did everyone else get it wrong and we got it right? Or did everyone get it right and this is a fair measure of where we are? I don't know.
"The fact that we have been close in qualifying in the first two races gives me encouragement, but it was just a perfect race for us here and I expect it wasn't for others. We have to turn as many races as we can into perfect races."
Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug added that the team would maintain a realistic approach to the remainder of the season, as he was not sure just how good its car was.

Fernando Alonso predicts damage limitation for Ferrari at Bahrain Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso says there is no reason to expect anything but another weekend of damage limitation for Ferrari at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Spaniard lost his Formula 1 points lead in China last weekend, when he could only finish ninth as Ferrari's lack of pace proved insurmountable in dry conditions - preventing a repeat of Alonso's surprise Sepang win.
In his diary column for Ferrari's website, Alonso warned the team's supporters to expect more of the same at Sakhir, both due to the nature of the track and the lack of time to make progress between the back-to-back races.
"I am well aware that in Sakhir, we can expect another difficult weekend, which is only natural, partly because of the track characteristics and also because the car is the same one we had in Shanghai," Alonso wrote.
"Both the Scuderia and I have a good record in Bahrain: the team has four victories here and I've got three, the last of which was also my debut race for the Prancing Horse. But the past counts for nothing in this sport and this weekend will be all about damage limitation for us."
Alonso, who is now third in the championship, eight points behind leader Lewis Hamilton, remains unwilling to rule Ferrari out of title contention, but admits it needs to find a significant step forward in pace with some urgency if it is to stand a chance.

Hamilton and Button to sit out F1's mid-season Mugello test
McLaren's racing drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button will not participate in next month's test at Mugello, the team has announced. Test drivers Olivier Turvey and Gary Paffett will be in action at the Italian track instead.
Britons Turvey and Paffett last drove F1 machinery during last year's young driver test at Abu Dhabi.
The Mugello session, the only in-season test that allows any driver to take part in it, will take place on 1-3 May.

Ben Agathangelou joins Ferrari's aerodynamic department
Ferrari has boosted its aerodynamic department with the signing of Ben Agathangelou, who has worked for a number of teams including McLaren, Benetton and Red Bull Racing in his career. Agathangelou originally left F1 at the end of 2007, when he departed Red Bull Racing - having been there since the Jaguar days, but he returned to the sport in 2010 when he joined the Hispania team. Most recently he has worked with Marussia.
Ferrari has been looking at bolstering its technical structure under the leadership of Pat Fry, and has been recruiting in areas where it feels it can be improved. At the Chinese Grand Prix, Fry said that the team was leaving no stone unturned in looking at areas it can improve. "The biggest performance differentiator is aerodynamics. We've got some issues there that we're trying to resolve," he said.
"We're actually trying to review and revise our methodologies through the whole process and that carries on into the design office for trying to get weight out of various parts, make other bits more durable.
"So there's work going on absolutely everywhere within the company, on the basic fundamental methodology as well as just trying to upgrade the car."

Single DRS zone for Bahrain Grand Prix
Drivers will be allowed to use DRS once per lap around the Bahrain International Circuit during this weekend’s Grand Prix.
DRS may be activated on the pit straight, 270m after the exit of the final corner. The detection point is on the entry to the last turn on the track.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

8° GP Bahrain Grand Prix – Sakhir circuit (first edition 2004)
After a year's absence unfortunately returns the Grand Prix of Bahrain. This is another track designed by Hermann Tilke and for me is one of the worst circuit of the championship. There are long straights followed by tight corners. This circuit does not host a large number of events during the year, and so sand and dust are often a problem. High temperatures are a challenge for engines and brake cooling, After the negative experience of 2010, this year, the Grand Prix will be held back on the original configuration. The track will be shorter and the number of the curves will drop from 23 to 15. We return to the original layout, used between 2004 and 2009; therefore the timing references for the pole position would be those of 2009 (less o more), but three years ago there were different rules in Q3(Each car had enough fuel on board to do the first stint of the race; thankfully this rule has been removed from 2010). The only good thing about the last one edition(2010) was the victory of Alonso and Massa's second place. This year, only one podium for Red Bull in the first three races. But above all, last week, Rosberg has used the tyres in the best way with those temperatures. If the silver arrows have definitively solved their tyres problems (overheated or on the contrary did not get them warm enough) the W03 will be fast on several track. For me, will be decisive the coming two Grand Prix. In Bahrain the temperatures are high, and Barcelona is a circuit very demanding for tires. If Schumacher and Rosberg will be competitive on both circuits, anything could happen. At this moment seems that Mercedes and Sauber prefer the colder temperatures, while for Red Bull, Lotus and McLaren are better higher temperatures.
Soft (option, yellow) and medium(prime, white) will be the tyres used in Bahrain. A single drag reduction zone for this Grand Prix, on the main straight. Brake demand: high – tyre wear: medium – grip level: low/medium
Podium 2010: Fernando Alonso – Felipe Massa – Lewis Hamilton– fastest lap on race: Fernando Alonso – pole position : Vettel
Podium 2009: Jenson Button – Sebastian Vettel – Jarno Trulli – fastest lap on race: Jarno Trulli – pole position : Jarno Trulli
Bahrain GP: victories for current pilots: Alonso(3) Massa(2) Schumacher and Button (1).
Raikkonen, Hamilton and Vettel : best finish 2°place at Sakhir circuit. Never on podium Webber.
Bahrain GP: pole position for current pilots: Schumacher(2) Vettel, Alonso and Massa(1)
Raikkonen, Hamilton, Button, and Webber: never in pole position here

piggy wrote:to be in bahrain at any costs ??

it doesn't look a good idea to me.

what do you think about it guys ?

The idea is good, but only change the avatar!

to be in bahrain at any costs ??

it doesn't look a good idea to me.

what do you think about it guys ?

brudgon wrote:[hidden link - please register]

The Red Leg End ...

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standings after three races
1 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 45
2 Jenson Button British McLaren-Mercedes 43
3 Fernando Alonso Spanish Ferrari 37
4 Mark Webber Australian Red Bull Racing-Renault 36
5 Sebastian Vettel German Red Bull Racing-Renault 28
6 Nico Rosberg German Mercedes 25
7 Sergio Perez Mexican Sauber-Ferrari 22
8 Kimi Räikkönen Finnish Lotus-Renault 16
9 Bruno Senna Brazilian Williams-Renault 14
10 Kamui Kobayashi Japanese Sauber-Ferrari 9
11 Romain Grosjean French Lotus-Renault 8
12 Paul di Resta British Force India-Mercedes 7
13 Jean-Eric Vergne French STR-Ferrari 4
14 Pastor Maldonado Venezuelan Williams-Renault 4
15 Daniel Ricciardo Australian STR-Ferrari 2
16 Nico Hulkenberg German Force India-Mercedes 2
17 Michael Schumacher German Mercedes 1
18 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 0
19 Timo Glock German Marussia-Cosworth 0
20 Charles Pic French Marussia-Cosworth 0
21 Vitaly Petrov Russian Caterham-Renault 0
22 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish Caterham-Renault 0
23 Pedro de la Rosa Spanish HRT-Cosworth 0
24 Narain Karthikeyan Indian HRT-Cosworth 0