ONLINE AROUND THE WORLD ON F1 GP

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1 ONLINE AROUND THE WORLD ON F1 GP MONDAYs >> Issue 219 >> MONDAY APR Formula 1 WEEK.com hamilton hangs on Brake issues slow Mercedes as Vettel throws away a shot at victory follow us: 1

2 Bahrain Grand Prix April 18, 2015 Photographer: Patrick Lundin, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 200mm, 1/20 sec f/16 OPENING SHOT

3 Bahrain Grand Prix April 18, 2015 Photographer: Mirko Stange, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 200mm, 1/20 sec f/16 OPENING SHOT

4 Bahrain Grand Prix April 18, 2015 Photographer: Mark Sutton, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4S Shot at 500mm, 1/2000 sec f/4 OPENING SHOT

5 Bahrain Grand Prix April 19, 2015 Photographer: Mark Sutton, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4S Shot at 340mm, 1/1000 sec f/7.1 OPENING SHOT

6 Bahrain Grand Prix April 19, 2015 Photographer: Mirko Stange, Sutton Images Camera: Nikon D4 Shot at 200mm, 1/400 sec f/2.8 OPENING SHOT

7 F1 >>> news ecclestone wants more power Never one to shy away from an opinion, or a headline, Bernie Ecclestone has reveleaded he is pushing for revised engine regulations that will give teams 1000 horsepower for Ecclestone has been particularly vocal of his dislike of the current engine regulations, which he claims are hurting the show. He cites a lack of noise as a key issue, and thinks the sport is currently too easy for drivers, suggesting a return to the previous engine regulations would go a long way to solving those issues. "We need to go back to engines whose costs are more reasonable and we need to intervene with maximum urgency," Ecclestone said during the buildup to the weekend. "We d just need to take the old V8 engines and modify them by increasing displacement to bring power output near 1,000 horsepower. People would return, the show would return, sponsors would return." However following discussions with the teams during the course of the weekend Ecclestone's view changed slightly. Though he remains insistent that the power increases he conceded a return to V8s was probably not realistic. "The two things that have to happen are whoever supplies the engines to the teams have to supply the same engines as they currently use," he claimed. "If it s going to be the current engine upgraded to 1,000 horsepower, then good and they need to supply it at a price the team can afford to pay." Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed Ecclestone's request had been herd by the teams, though pleaded caution ahead of any change to the regulations. "By 2017 those engines, between all manufacturers, are going to have north of 900 horsepower," explained Wolff. "Then it's a question of how do you want to market that? "The discussion about a 1,000-horsepower engine has been around quite a while," he added. "Does it make a big difference between having 950 horsepower or 1,000? "I think there are pretty easy tools to increase the horsepower, and this is increasing fuel flow. If you want to increase the fuel flow by 10kgs an hour or 20kgs or whatever it is, then you are going to have more than 1,000 horsepower. "You need to redesign crucial components of the engine, you need to make them more reliable, and that again involves a lot of development costs. "There are various groups coming together in terms of how the 2017 rules can look like in terms of power unit, and in terms of the chassis side. Yesterday there was a very valuable meeting, Charlie [Whiting] was there, Bernie was there, and concepts have been put in place to make it a spectacular new formula in "I appreciate very well that it needs to be a spectacular formula, and if that's the way forward then we should continue to work on it." 7

8 F1 >>> news F1 >>> news double dutch Max Verstappen is Dutch. Or Belgian. Or maybe both. It's hard to really be certain since the son of former racers Jos Verstappen, who is Dutch, and Sophie Kumpen, a Belgian, has claims to be either nationality. Born in Hasselt, Belgium, Verstappen still lives in Maaseik, a town on the Belgian side of the border with the Netherlands. But despite that if you ask Max he'll tell you categorically he's Dutch. "I have lived in Belgium my entire life, but I consider myself more Dutch," the youngster said last year. "All through karting I spent more time with my father than with my mother. I m always surrounded by Dutchmen." Supporting Verstappen's claim is the fact he holds a Dutch racing license, meaning while his mother may say differently in the eyes of the FIA at least he's Dutch. Once Verstappen turns 18 (which isn't until September) he will legally be able to become Dutch but until then he's technically Belgian, making him the first to score a world championship point since Thierry Boutsen finished fifth at the 1992 Australian Grand Prix in Adeliade. Book covers not contractual 8

9 F1 >>> news MANAGING EDITOR Chris Lambden EDITOR Mat Coch WEEK.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Formula 1: Mike Doodson Paolo Filisetti (F1 Tech Editor) Sean Kelly F1 Business: Christian Sylt, Caroline Reid Social Media: Ernie Black Photography Sutton Motorsport Images Keith Sutton Mark Sutton, Daniel Kalisz, Mirko Stange, Dirk Klynsmith Published by Grand Prix Week Ltd 61 Watling Street, Towcester Northants NN12 6AG United Kingdom Publisher Chris Lambden ADVERTISING Richard Partridge Ph: Mob: Mark Sutton mark@sutton-images.com SE Asia, Australasia GPWEEK (Australia) publisher@gpweek.com italian gp under threat Accessible via the GPWEEK APP CLICK on the appropriate provider (right) It's a sad state of affairs when one talks about the prospect of no Italian Grand Prix at Monza, but that is the very real threat F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has laid out. Ecclestone has told the Italian media that the famous circuit, which has hosted every Italian Grand Prix with the exception of the 1980 event, that it won't be on the calendar next season if it doesn't stump up the cash. Ivan Capelli - who is now president of the ACI and therefore oversees the circuit - stated that it was poised to receive some $21million worth of investment from the regional government, and was attempting to secure tax breaks, to help secure the race until "It's a very simple situation," Ecclestone explained. "Two years ago I made a deal with one of the people who are no longer involved. "For Monza we applied the same economic conditions of the other European circuits. All done, all good, we shook hands, but after that meeting nothing happened. "There is a contract for the 2015 race, but not for future seasons. "Yes, Monza is a part of F1 history, but they must pay," Ecclestone asserted. Capelli admitted he would meet with Ecclestone over the Monaco Grand Prix weekend to discuss the future of the event in more detail, a deal that is expected to cost in the region of $25million per year. Should the Italian race disappear Ecclestone is in favour of replacing it with a race in Baku, Azebeijan. 9

10 Briefly F1 >>> news CRACKING UP Suggestions doing the rounds in Bahrain claimed cracks were found in both Ferrari engines following China, forcing the team to change engines for Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. The team meanwhile claimed the engine changes were simply part of a pre-defined scheduled. ONE MORE TIME It is expected Ferrari will exercise its option on Kimi Raikkonen, keeping the Finn in Formula 1 for at least one more year following a strong opening to the season. That is unless you believe paddock gossip which has Lewis Hamilton heading to Maranello alongside Sebastian Vettel next season. NO NUMBER ONE CLAUSE Those rumours have been given legs because Hamilton is still to sign a new deal with Mercedes. In Bahrain he denied the delays are a result of his insistence of any preferred driver clause in his new contract, stating he has never asked for preferential treatment and wants to do his talking on the track. KING AMONG MEN King Juan Carlos of Spain was a visitor to the Formula 1 paddock in Bahrain, taking time to pose with Spanish drivers Roberto Mehri, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz and Carmen Jorda. Lord March was also on hand, busy locking in teams for the Goodwood Festival of Speed. new honda for spanish gp Having made gradual progress in the opening four races of the season, McLaren has confirmed it will have an updated Honda engine from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards. Though still plagued with teething problems (Jenson Button stopping on track three times over the weekend with 'electrical' issues and failing to start the race), Honda has continued to gradually turn up the wick. Fernando Alonso's progress to the second phase of qualifying in Bahrain and an 11th place finish, having battled among the midfield throughout the race, underscored the headway the Japanese engine manufacturer has made. "We know which step we can still get out of this engine," McLaren's racing director Eric Boullier claimed. "In Barcelona we have another spec coming, so we will keep improving every race. "We know we can power up the engine and with the same base we know we have some potential we can unlock." Despite the difficult start to the championship, the worst in its history, the team has remained realistic but upbeat about its chances. "There will be a push for the European campaign and even on the car itself we have another strong aerodynamic package coming in Barcelona," Boullier asseted. "The target is we want to be competitive by the end of the season. "I'm not saying any dates because every race we bring improvements. The potential of the engine we know is quite high, they have been quite ambitious because we keep repeating it but if you want to beat Mercedes you have to be better than them." Ferrari too has a new engine package in the pipelines, using five of the tokens allowed by the FIA for a new power unit scheduled for the Canadian Grand Prix. It's been suggested the upgrade strengthens the engine block, among other tweaks which allegedly give it as many as 20 more prancing horses. 10

11 F1 >>> news F1 >>> news C M Y friends again CM MY CY The relationship between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton hit an all-time low after the Chinese Grand Prix with Rosberg accusing his teammate of sabotaging his race. It made for a lively post-race press conference and for some crisis management at Mercedes. While its two chargers had buried the hatchett - at least publicly, and not in the other's back - by the time they reached Bahrain, Rosberg clearly felt no remorse for the statements which ignited the public row. "I would do it again because I felt the need to state the facts. There was a need to discuss things after that race," he insisted "It's not an opinion, I was stating facts and I never stated an opinion. "That's it, I wouldn't do anything different. It's a thing of the past and I'm in Bahrain now and I'm here just to attack in a race car again. That's the best answer I can give, on the race track. I'm looking forward to it and that opportunity." Hamilton too acknowledged the incident but was rather looking to forget the matter. " That is something we spoke about after the race," he admitted. " There are no issues between me and Nico," he insisted. "Everything is good. There are going to be times when we are unhappy about something, but we are grown-ups and we will move passed it." " You obviously know what my comments were after the race and some of you will have spun CMY those words in whatever way you wanted to spin them. We K are moving forward and we will re-unite as a team." But while the pair outwardly seem to have made up following the spat there remains an underlying tension between them, highlighted by Rosberg's belief that the situation could, and probably will happen again. It's so difficult because it's not a thing that's black or white and that's what makes all these scenarios difficult. The same as we had in Hungary last year, it's not black or white and that's why there are always different opinions. "Eventually, once the facts are analysed, there are still different opinions and it's going to be different from one race to the next. 11

12 F1 >>> news fifth engines still up for discussion Having quietly dropped off the radar since being first raised in Malaysia, relaxation to the power unit quota regulations have again become a hot topic within the paddock. With both Honda and Renault struggling with reliability, and teams sitting out large portions of practice sessions in an attempt to save mileage on their motors, Red Bull's Christian Horner suggested drivers be given an extra engine to help improve the show. However, since Horner raised the suggestion at a team principals meeting last month nothing had been heard of the notion, leading many to believe it had been quietly dropped. But, according to Toto Wolff, that's not the case. "We've submitted the proposal to the FIA," explained the Mercedes boss. "The proposal is with the FIA and I guess it's going to be discussed the next time around in a strategy meeting." Though it's believed the suggestion received unanimous support in Malaysia there remains some resistence as those not struggling with reliability prove reluctant to hand an advantage to those who are. "Some engine manufacturers do the job better, others don't and it's just different every season," Sauber's Monisha Kaltenborn pointed out. "We suffered that much last year, also with the engine we had." The discussion will surround how, or even if, a fifth engine could be introduced. There are suggestsions it could be used as a standalone engine for use exclusively in Friday practice, or added to the teams current quota. The latter suggestion raises questions for those already on the cusp of engine penalties, especially if they take a fifth engine now only for the regulations to change later in the season. "For the time being, we know what the sporting regulations say, that it's four engines," commented Renault's Rob White. "It's obvious that we're over-using engines and to some extent then the way to deal with that is one step at a time, one race at a time and the penalty regime is what it is. "If the regulations change along the way, then we will adapt our planning to take account of that. It will be the same for everybody the day that it happens if it happens." Manor's John Booth, a team which is using last years rather lethargic Ferrari engine, had the final say: "We're perfectly happy with the four engine rule but sometimes rules have to be changed for the good of the sport and this may be one of those." 12

13 OPINION OPINION MIKE DOODSON Watching the BBC's television coverage of the Bahrain GP from my sofa, as I have always done, it was exciting this year to be informed after qualifying that Bernie Ecclestone had been grilled by Eddie Jordan and that their interview would be broadcast before the 'off' on Sunday. As many readers here will have seen for themselves, it turned out to be an interesting but not particularly intense confrontation. I musn't be too hard on EJ here, partly because he's not a journalist but mainly because I know from my own experience that Bernie, like any politician, can be a slippery customer when faced with a tough question. On this occasion, though, he coped surprisingly well when quizzed about the complexities of the German GP and its disappearance from the calendar: "We made a contribution to help the race in Germany by accepting 50 percent of the price of the contract," insisted Bernie. "This was a one-year deal. 'Let's do that. Get yourself sorted out for next year,' we told them. It still left them in trouble." EJ, who isn't much good when it comes to follow-up questions, then raised the thorny subject of Manor/ Marussia and the supposed $2m 'fine' that was inflicted after the tail-end outfit rose from the dead in time to go to Melbourne, even though the cars didn't make it to the grid. "We didn't fine them anything," insisted Mr E. "That company had an amount of money which is attributed to them for this year, under certain conditions, and they unfortunately couldn't, or didn't, comply with all those conditions." In a later interview with EJ, Manor boss Graeme Lowdon declined even to discuss the 'fine.' "Have you been paid the money?" thundered Eddie. The unfortunate Lowdon, who clearly did not believe that national television is the right forum for continuing what he still regards as a live issue involving a couple of months' salaries, laughed slightly hysterically and insisted, "we fully expect to be paid what's due under the contract." One encouraging aspect of the Manor/Marussia imbroglio is that while Bernie is deeply (and publicly) unhappy that the lads from Yorkshire are still cluttering up the back of the grid, Lowdon and team boss John Booth are even more determined to prove that they've got the moxie to succeed in F1. Well, there was a time when a chap called Frank Williams was a bit of an embarrassment on the F1 grids. And look what happened to him. It goes without saying that what the journalist in Eddie Jordan really wanted to winkle out of Bernie was the magic solution to the woes of F1: "You've always promised that you'll leave F1 in a better condition than it is in at the moment," he reminded the little Big Man. "Where do you think we'll be in five and a half years' time?" Bernie responded instantly. "Better than we are now," he snapped. "I just think we're going through a little bit of BILLIONAIRE bernie offers to step down... sort of a dip at the moment, for two reasons. The most important is these engines, which cost a fortune, so a lot of these teams can't keep up with it. They're paying maybe five or six times more for an engine than they should." Well, we all knew that, didn't we? So EJ jumped in with both feet. "You used to fix that," he pointed out. "You would just tell the people what's going on. You know, you and Max [Mosley] would come in and that would be the decision. Why can't you do that now?" "Max isn't there [anymore]," responded Bernie. EJ: "Are you saying [FIA President Jean] Todt can't do that?" Ecclestone: "He doesn't act like Max. Max speaks a lot of languages, [he's] super-intelligent..." His voice tailed off, leaving us avid BBC listeners to draw our own conclusions about M Todt's willingness to sort out the sport's problems (and possibly even about the President's intelligence or lack thereof). And, since the interview was now straying into distinctly personal territory, EJ bravely ventured to bring up the subject of Bernie's own image, somewhat battered in last year's courtroom hearings, as viewed by some of Europe's major car manufacturers. "Let us suppose that Renault bought Toro Rosso and Audi bought... Red Bull. Um. Is that OK?" Adopting a high voice, and clearly way ahead of EJ about the question that was coming, Bernie responded, "Yeah, sure!" EJ (v serious): "What do they say to the stories that they won't come in if you're [still] there? What's the story behind all that? "I've no idea, nobody's told me that," said Bernie, most unconvincingly. "But if that is the case, I'll leave. I'd be happy to step down immediately, to bring those two people in. For sure." Alas, Eddie lacks the killer instinct which marks a true professional inquisitor. Instead of taking Bernie at his word and buttoning up the details of exactly how and when his interlocutor would be quitting if Renault and Audi were to put their putative F1 schemes into effect, he moved on to another subject. It would have been so much more interesting if he had asked Bernie to nominate the candidates he favours to step into his shoes when the time comes for him to depart. The trouble is, as we all know, that Mr E doesn't have anyone in mind. And as long as we pressmen fail to ask him that question, he is justified in believing that his reign will go on forever. 13

14 OPINION CAN THE R BE PUT BACK INTO FORMULA 1 RACING? OPINION CHRIS LAMBDEN The sight of Daniel Ricciardo s Renault engine exploding as his Red Bull exited the final corner in Bahrain brought back images of Formula 1 s past. Those were the days when technical pioneering was a bit more of a trial and error thing; when if it didn t break then it was probably okay; when running out of fuel, or brakes, was the result of a bit of a pre-race miscalculation. The outcome could be a big off or a driver heroically pushing his car across the line for the points. These days, with the sophistication of monitoring technology available, it just doesn t happen. But there on Sunday were the two Mercedes, with a couple of laps to go, both apparently afflicted by the same malaise BBW failure. Sounds like something my kids would text, but BBW equals Brake By Wire, the technology-assisted brake system now part of Formula 1. Fortunately, there is a failsafe back-up and neither suffered anything like complete failure, but it was enough to take away any concept of Nico Rosberg defending second place. A couple of hours earlier, having had its car fail during qualifying, McLaren had suffered the indignity of finding it couldn t actually get it running for the race. Jenson Button DNS. The commentary, and driver-pit conversations throughout the Bahrain GP were full of discussions on fuel saving, brake saving, tyre deg Excuse me, but was anyone actually racing? Formula 1 in its current guise isn t delivering (the racing is in GP2), and the now regular reporting of Bernie Ecclestone s latest brainstorm (1000hp V8s last week, V6s this week) shows that those at the coalface are starting to realise it. Above all, the Formula 1 World Championship, for me at least, should be primarily about the drivers, the human factor. Yet here we have the world s apparent best, some earning over half a million bucks a week, not racing, but pretty much operating like a flight deck captain on an international jet. In those early days, Formula 1 was clearly the place for technical innovation, but the result still very much depended upon the driver input. Now, with such high levels of development and sophistication, it is waning. And if you can t afford the technology, or you get it wrong, the cost is high. Currently, there are two ex-world champions droning around at the back (or not-starting), being shamed by a 17 year-old newcomer and pay drivers For me, the arena for such hightech vehicle development in the 21st century is not Formula 1, but the WEC. The fascination there is with the cars, with the technology being evolved by Porsche, Audi, Toyota and Co and tested over long, challenging races. That s where the emphasis on cars should be that, and the silent, and slightly strange world of Formula E Formula 1 should be about driverto-driver contest. That s what excites me and, I suspect, most fans. Radical innovation, one team dominating, may have been okay in previous decades, but that was before the minute-byminute television coverage and scrutiny there is today. In that modern under the microscope ratings environment, you can t keep serving up the same predictable top six, often in the same order, just in a different country each time. A whole lot of idealogically-driven chickens are coming home to roost. I hope the people who matter really are starting to see the problem and have the you-know-whats to make the big call, to re-focus Formula 1 as a serious driver contest, to put the R back in F1 racing. That means simpler engines; higher-powered engines; lower cost engines. And while we re at it, single or double-plane wings at most the ridiculous, flimsy, multi-storey creations at the front of current cars do nothing, nothing for the show. Significant change doesn t come fast in modern motorsport, especially at that level. Talk is of change for 2017 and any decision able to be implemented at that time has to be made soon. These are crucial times for those with the power in F1. 14

15 THE MOMENT... On his Formula One debut, Nico Rosberg set the fastest lap at the third Bahrain Grand Prix in 2006, en route to a seventh place finish for the Williams team. (Sutton Images archive Over 900,000 images available online for search and print order)

16 F1 >>> BAHRAIN One more lap... Brake problems almost open the door to a second Ferrari victory of the season as Mercedes just goes the distance in Bahrain.

17 It only needed another lap and Mercedes would have lost the Bahrain Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton may have won but Kimi Raikkonen was rather closer than was comfortable for the Silver Arrows team, which ran into brake problems on both cars in the final two laps. Second for Ferrari was a sound result, though it could have been better had Sebastian Vettel been more composed. His was an unusually scrappy race, twice running wide under brakes before finally running off the circuit at the exit of the final turn having just leapfrogged Rosberg in the pits. It forced another stop for a new front wing which effectively ended his race. If not for that misadventure it's perfectly reasonable to expect the German would have been more than a handful in the closing stages. Vettel's error was a let off for Mercedes and Rosberg, but also for Raikkonen who moved into third. The Finn had been particularly strong in the middle stint of the race which set him up for a late charge with fresher tyres. If anything Ferrari missed a trick by leaving him on track too long in the middle of the race. Though he was quick on the medium compound tyres and gained on those ahead there was perhaps more to be gained by an earlier final stop to maximise the time on the faster, soft compound tyres. A faultless performance under pressure from Valtteri Bottas saw the Williams driver nab fourth at the finish, resisting the advances of a recovering Vettel. The Ferrari had closed on the Williams quickly but once in the turbulent air Vettel was unable to continue his charge and find a way through - a problem which has become increasingly evident between cars this year. Overtaking is possible but is far more difficult than it was. Felipe Massa was able to pass cars almost at will early in the race as he charged through after starting from the pit lane only to eventually hit a metaphoric wall. The Brazilian was left stranded on the grid and the field pulled away on the warmup lap, putting in a solid early stint to make up for lost ground. The team switched from a three stop to a two stop strategy with a long final stint that left him vulnerable at the finish, allowing Daniil Kvyat through in the closing stages. But to pick up a point from the pit lane having battled through a particularly combative midfield should be viewed as a positive result. There was little more on offer ahead, anyway. There was nothing on offer for McLaren, which lost Jenson Button before the race even started. His electrical issues in qualifying ultimately turned into a weekend ending problem as though the team had rebuilt his car overnight when firing it up pre-race there was a problem with the ERS, forcing it to withdraw Button from the race. But while there was disappointment on one side of the garage there were further encouraging signs on Fernando Alonso's side. His 14th place in qualifying saw him in the middle of the excitement in the early laps. There were no points on offer but there was another complete race distance for a team still struggling to come on terms with its package. An elevent place finish - ahead of both Saubers - continues the teams trend of progressively making progress. With a new engine apparently coming for the next race it could be that the return to Europe also signals a return to the top ten for McLaren, a monumental feat if one considers the horrors of winter F1 >>> BAHRAIN 17

18 F1 >>> BAHRAIN testing and the openging race back in Australia. Daniil Kvyat recovered as well as could be expected from a lowly grid position. Ninth at the flag, pipping Massa in the final laps, was all that was really on offer at the start of the race, particularly in a car scarcely faster than those he was racing. Pastor Maldonado saw the finish for the first time this season though missed out on what should have been a points paying result when his final stop proved rather longer than planned. The Lotus driver had moved through the field well, despite a five-second penalty after starting in the wrong spot, using the pace inherint in the car. His hard work was undone though when a problem with the car's anti-stall delayed him as he stopped for fresh Pirelli's midway through the race. From eighth to 15th he dropped and was never in contention from then on. The midfield proved to be the mixed bag many had expected, perhaps with the exception of Daniel Ricciardo clearly heading it. With Mercedes, Ferrari and Williams already well established in their respective positions at the front of the pack the midfield pack has been more difficult to predict. It's emerging that Red Bull is next strongest but thereafter it remains anyone's guess. Sauber had shown good pace but neither car finished in the points in Bahrain while Lotus managed seventh with Romain Grosjean after struggling in the opening races. Force India too was in the hunt with Nico Hulkenberg qualifying inside the top ten, though faded to 13th in the race, while teammate Sergio Perez showed the car is faster than it appeared in China with a solid eighth place finish. The fly in the ointment will be the ever improving McLaren. With the leading three teams clear, and Red Bull looking increasingly comfortable as next best, there are only two or perhaps three points paying positions left for eight cars. It's a fact reflected in the constructors championship as there is a significant gap to Williams in third with fourth to eighth all within touching distance. It's likely to remain that wall all season too as, with so few points left to squabble over, there are no large gains to be made by one team or another unless something extraordinary happens. That of course works on the assumption that teams maximise their chances. Red Bull has shown that is no simple task and despite its car pace will likely start down the order as it incurs engine penalties. The Renault remains a significant problem, Ricciardo's engine billowing smoke as he crossed the line, it having expired just metres earlier. Grid penalties mean racing through the pack, and with overtaking more difficult this season and a well-matched midfield the battle for the final points paying positions is more ferocious than ever. Capitalising on the misfortune of others is just as important as making the most of one's own performance. 18

19 QUALIFYING F1 >>> BAHRAIN FORMULA 1 Round 4 BAHRAIN GP Qualifying Pos DriVER team Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS 1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1: : : Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1: : : Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1: : : Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1: : : Valtteri Bottas Williams 1: : : Felipe Massa Williams 1: : : Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1: : : Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1: : : Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1: : : Romain Grosjean Lotus 1: : : Sergio Perez Force India 1: : Felipe Nasr Sauber 1: : Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1: : Fernando Alonso McLaren 1: : Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1: : Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1: Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1: Will Stevens Manor 1: Roberto Mehri Manor 1: Jenson Button McLaren No Time 1 Q1 107% Time 1: Hamilton holds on Lewis Hamilton's fourth pole of the season, the first time he's achieved the feat in his grand prix career, belied the pressure applied by the fast Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel. Indeed Vettel's performance threatened to steal the headlines on Saturday afternoon as the German split the Mercedes to record his first front row start for Ferrari. He was still four tenths off the pace of Hamilton's best over a single lap but earlier in the weekend demonstrated the Maranello outfit has the race pace to caused headaches for those in silver. Hamilton's lap was also another psychological blow to teammate Nico Rosberg. Since the Chinese Grand Prix there had been extra niggle in the relationship after Rosberg accused Hamilton of driving unecessarily slowly, compromising his race. At the time the reigning world champion said he would do his talking on the track, and so he did to beat the sister car by close to six tenths of a second. Such was his pace that even his Qualifying 2 lap would have been good enough for pole, leaving us all to wonder where the new, rejunvenated Rosberg who'd arrived in Bahrain had got to. Rosberg's day wasn't as bad as Daniil Kvyat's, the Russian's disastorous start to his season continuing as he was the biggest casualty in Q1. He'd been regularly complaining of a lack of power, his time more than a second off the pace of teammate Daniel Ricciardo. The lack of speed followed on from an embarassing spin in final practice which saw him needlessly beached on a rare patch of gravel having turned it around on the apex of turn four. Not for the first time in 2015 it had been a below par weekend for Kvyat. It will be little consolation that Max Vertstappen failed to fire in the qualifying hour. Having impressed with his racing ability in the opening three races of the season, the Toro Rosso driver was the slowest qualifying in Q2, a tenth off even Fernando Alonso. Compounding things was the fact Carlos Sainz progressed to the final phase of the session, suggesting Verstappen left time on the table. The middle phase of qualifying was perhaps the most competitive of the season. Throughout practice it became clear both Ferrari and Mercedes were once again at the head of the table, with Williams in between the leaders and a particularly tight midfield which included everyone bar Manor. On raw pace McLaren was very much among that group, evidenced by Alonso becoming the first McLaren driver to escape Q1 this year and ultimately putting his car 14th on the grid. There are problems though, a lot of them. Jenson 19

20 QUALIFYING F1 >>> BAHRAIN Button had hardly completed a lap prior to Saturday morning practice and his car stopped again without setting a time in qualifying. When the car was running it had reasonable pace, potentially capable of a finish at the lower end of the top ten, but that required completing more than a handful of laps during practice. Force India showed improved form, Nico Hulkenberg eighth fastest with Sergio Perez only narrlowly missing out on a Q1 berth. It was a strong turnaround from a week ago in China where the Silverstone squad seemed rooted to the back end of the grid. However, there were no certainties the one lap pace from Saturday would translate on Sunday, especially with Kvyat and Pastor Maldonado starting out of position. By rights Maldonado should have been far higher on the grid - there was pace in the Lotus, that had been clear earlier in the weekend. The Venezuelan had complained of a loss of power and brake issues with his time less, than a tenth off the pace needed to escape the cut in Q1. Whether there is any validity in Maldonado's complaints is unclear, Grosjean was a little over half a second faster but such was the closeness of the midfield he escape the opening phase of the session with comfort. QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION 20

21 F1 >>> BAHRAIN Pressure Beginning To Mount Four races into his Red Bull career, Daniil Kvyat has thus far struggled with the weight of expectation. The young Russian was promoted to the senior team when news of Sebastian Vettel's defection to Ferrari broke during last year's Japanese Grand Prix, leaving him with big shoes to fill. Though there were others linked to the drive, Fernando Alonso for instance, Kvyat was the only driver in with a chance - to not choose one of its development drivers would have undermined it's driver programme, and with Kvyat having stood up well against Jean-Eric Vergne he was a shoe-in despite his inexperience. Fast forward to this season however and the story has thus far not proved a fairytale. The Red Bull has not been a particularly easy car to drive, with the Renault engine not helping things. Lump into that mix a smattering of unreliability and Kvyat's move into the team which dominated the sport not so long ago has been anything but smooth. Still, Kvyat hasn't performed at the level expected of a front running team. His spin in final practice was silly and compounded by his decision to let the car roll into the gravel where it became stuck. It was the sort of error that could have been forgiven last season but one Helmut Marko will not have looked on with much sympathy this time around. Meanwhile in the background both Toro Rosso drivers are showing well. Max Verstappen has stolen the headlines and Carlos Sainz is quietly getting on with the job and performing well. Though it's too early to speculate about what Red Bull might do with its abundance of drivers it will not have escaped Kvyat that the Austrian drinks company has a history of brutal and typically career endind decisions. The Red Bull heirarchy clearly believes in the 20-year-old. It's high time he began repaying that faith, but a 17th place in qualifying and ninth in the race still doesn't really cut it. ABOVE: Daniil Kvyat has failed to deliver the sorts of performances expected of a Red Bull driver so far in

22 F1 >>> BAHRAIN Pastor's Patience The 2015 season didn't get off to a great start for Pastor Maldonado. The Lotus driver punted out of the Australian Grand Prix at the first turn and since then things have hardly improved. Retirement in China was his third of the season, his fourth in a row if one goes back to the end of last season. Frustratingly the 2015 Lotus is far more competitive that its predecessor, though neither Maldonado nor Romain Grosjean have made the most of it. Take China for example where Maldonado ultimately retired with the team citing braking issues. He'd already had two incidents before clashing with Jenson Button, mistakes which had put the Venezuelan in that position and which probably cost him his first finish of the season. There was more of the same in Bahrain where Maldonado squandered an oppportunity to qualify in the top ten. Though he claimed there were problems with his Mercedes engine, and the brakes, his times were on par with those of teammate Grosjean which gave the impression Maldonado was getting in the escuses early. At least he saw the finish of the race, but well outside of the points in a car that should have easily been inside the top 10. For a team looking to move forward this season Maldonado is not helping Lotus' chances. 22

23 Not as tough as some It always knew 2015 was going to be a tough year, but even the most pessimistic observer can't have imagined McLaren would have it quite this hard. Four races in and the Woking squad is yet to score a point, while reliability issues plague the team's efforts to make progress. There was a slow start in Australia where Jenson Button finished eleventh and last, two laps adrift of race winner Lewis Hamilton while Kevin Magnussen didn't even see the start of the race before his engine gave up. In Bahrain it was Button's turn to sit the race out, though if the weekend up to that point is anything to go by it may not have been such a bad thing. Throughout practice Button barely ventured out on track. Electrical problems on Friday saw him spin rather pathetically in opening practice while a reoccurance forced him out of qualifying without having set a time. Things didn't improve as when the team fired up teh repaired McLaren ahead of the race - telemetry showing a problem with the Electronic Recovery System which forced the team to withdraw the car from the race. To make matters worse Bahrain is a pseudo home race for McLaren, courtesy of investment from Bahrain Mumtalakat. With its backers present the team fronted just one car for the start, for the second time in Still, the team is making progress. Fernando Alonso made it out of Q1 and finished eleventh ahead of two Saubers while in China he and Button had been competitive at the back of the midfield. The squad is slowing making strides, and according to Ron Dennis things still aren't as bad as 1980, when John Watson failed to qualify in Monaco. F1 >>> BAHRAIN 23

24 F1 >>> BAHRAIN Scrappy race costs Vettel potential victory Sebastian Vettel's scrappy drive in Bahrain probably cost him a shot at victory. The German had driven well to put his Ferrari on the front row of the grid, but as the race wore on he made some uncharacteristic errors. The first crack appeared when he sailed wide at turn one under braking, allow Nico Rosberg the opportunity to close. Not long after, once Rosberg had relegated him to third, Vettel was off the road at turn eleven. Though they were harmless incidents in themselves both cost time. Early in the race it was clear Ferrari in general, and Vettel in particular, struggled to match the pace of the Mercedes. Where he was expected to be fighting for the race win instead it looked more like Vettel would have to be happy with third. Good use of strategy though allowed him to gain track position and leapfrog Rosberg and at least make battle of things for second. At Vettel's first stop Mercedes reacted by bringing in Rosberg, who was second at the time, but it wasn't enough to stop Vettel getting ahead. Even still, Rosberg soon found a way by but had at least closed things at the head of the race. With the top three running closer than they had been, Ferrari repeated the trick at the second round of stops, this time Mercedes bringing race leader Hamilton in first with Rosberg a lap later. Hamilton maintained his lead, sandwiching Vettel between the two Mercedes as Rosberg rejoined slightly off the back of the Ferrari. A third mistake from Vettel was decisive. Running off the circuit at the exit of the final turn, he lost second place to Rosberg and damaged his front wing in the process. It necessitated a new front wing, and left Kimi Raikkonen as the leading Ferrari driver. While the Fin had been quick in the middle part of the race, and ultimately chased down Rosberg in the closing stages, Vettel had enjoyed better track position. Without running off the circuit or an unscheduled third stop it's probable Vettel would have been closer to the Mercedes than Raikkonen was, for a longer period. With brake problems at the end of the race seeing Rosberg run wide, and Hamilton slowing in the final lap, who's to say what Vettel could have done had he kept his car on the track. 24

25 Stat Wrap with Sean Kelly HAMILTON WoN FOR THE 36TH TIME IN HIS CAREER, SECOND IN A ROW IN BAHRAIN HAMILTON HAS CONVERTED 9 OF HIS LAST 10 POLES INTO WINS HE HAS 11 CONSECUTIVE TOP-2 FINISHES, TIED WITH VETTEL FOR THE SECOND LONGEST STREAK EVER (MICHAEL SCHUMACHER HAD 15 IN A ROW IN 2002) RAIKKONEN HAd NOT FINISHED ON THE PODIUM SINCE THE 2013 KOREAN GRAND PRIX, FOR LOTUS RAIKKONEN's 41ST FASTEST LAP, TYING ALAIN PROST FOR SECOND ON THE ALL-TIME LIST, BEHIND MICHAEL SCHUMACHER'S 77 also his SEVENTH PODIUM FINISH IN BAHRAIN WITHOUT WINNING, ONE SHORT OF THE RECORD AT ANY TRACK (ALONSO HAS 8 WITHOUT WINNING AT INTERLAGOS) ROSBERG WAS THIRD IN HIS 100TH GRAND PRIX START FOR MERCEDES AMG, AS HIS 100TH CAREER POINTS FINISH BOTTAS gave WILLIAMS its BEST-EVER FINISH IN A BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX BOTTAS is on A 16-RACE FINISHING STREAK, THE LONGEST ACTIVE STREAK VETTEL SCOREd FOR THE 15TH CONSECUTIVE RACE RICCIARDO HAS SCORED IN EVERY RACE THIS SEASON GROSJEAN WAS SEVENTH FOR THE SECOND Some facts you may have thought of, and most you certainly didn t know about the BAHRAIN GP! RACE RUNNING, AND THE LAST MAN ON THE LEAD LAP PEREZ SCOREd IN BAHRAIN FOR THE THIRD YEAR RUNNING, HIS BEST FINISH OF 2015 thus far KVYAT HAS BEEN NINTH IN BOTH RACES IN WHICH HE HAS FINISHED IN 2015 MASSA has STILL SCORED POINTS IN 10 OF THE LAST 11 GRANDS PRIX ALONSO MATCHEd MCLAREN'S BEST RESULT OF THE YEAR BUT it's STILL MCLAREN'S WORST-EVER START TO A SEASON HULKENBERG HAS ONLY SCORED ONCE IN FIVE STARTS IN BAHRAIN (5TH IN 2014) NASR HAS FINISHED 12TH OR HIGHER IN EVERY RACE THIS YEAR FOR THE SECOND RACE IN A ROW, BOTH MANOR MARUSSIAS FINISH THE RACE PASTOR MALDONADO HAd HIS FIRST FINISH OF THE YEAR IN 15TH BOTH TORO ROSSOS RETIRED FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE AUSTRIA 2014 MAX VERSTAPPEN HAS ONLY SEEN THE CHECKERED FLAG ONCE THIS YEAR JENSON BUTTON FAILED TO START WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS 100TH RACE FOR MCLAREN Points Drivers: Hamilton 93, Rosberg 66, Vettel 65, Raikkonen 42, Massa 31, Bottas 30, Ricciardo 19, Nasr 14, Grosjean 12, Hulkenberg 6, Verstappen 6, Sainz 6, Ericsson 5, Perez 5, Kvyat 4 FORMULA 1 Round 4 BAHRAIN GP Pos Driver COUNTRY Team TIME/LapS PTS 1 LEWIS HAMILTON GBR MERCEDES 1:35: KIMI RAIKKONEN FIN FERRARI s 18 3 NICO ROSBERG GER MERCEDES s 15 4 VALTTERI BOTTAS FIN WILLIAMS s 12 5 SEBASTIAN VETTEL GER FERRARI s 10 6 DANIEL RICCIARDO AUS RED BULL +1:01.751s 8 7 ROMAIN GROSJEAN FRA LOTUS +1:24.763s 6 8 SERGIO PEREZ MEX FORCE INDIA +1 lap 4 9 DANIIL KVYAT RUS RED BULL +1 lap 2 10 FELIPE MASSA BRA WILLIAMS +1 lap 1 11 FERNANDO ALONSO ESP MCLAREN +1 lap 0 12 FELIPE NASR BRA SAUBER +1 lap 0 13 NICO HULKENBERG GER FORCE INDIA +1 lap 0 14 MARCUS ERICSSON SWE SAUBER +1 lap 0 15 PASTOR MALDONADO VEN LOTUS +1 laps 0 16 WILL STEVENS GBR MANOR +2 laps 0 17 ROBERTO MEHRI ESP MANOR +3 laps 0 RT MAX VERSTAPPEN NED TORO ROSSO DNF 0 RT CARLOS SAINZ ESP TORO ROSSO DNF 0 DNS JENSON BUTTON GBR MCLAREN DNS 0 Constructors: Mercedes 159, Ferrari 107, Williams 61, Red Bull 23, Sauber 19, Toro Rosso 12, Lotus 12, Force India 11 F1 >>> BAHRAIN 25

26 THE NUMBERS 2000 Years Lewis Hamilton has now reached 2000 laps in the lead in his F1 career, only the sixth driver in the history of the sport to do so 2002 career s just Australia, the scene of Kimi Raikkonen s first of 41 career fastest laps. To put that in context, Felipe Massa, who has 214 starts, debuted that day. 29 more Ferrari were 1-2 in fastest laps in Bahrain the first such occurrence since the 2011 British GP. Unusually, Mercedes fastest lap wasn t within of the slower of the two Ferraris F1 >>> BAHRAIN Romain Grosjean celebrated his birthday in Bahrain, and took points for the second consecutive race. He has now scored points in 2015 than the entire 2014 Seconds Fernando Alonso was less than 0.4s away from reaching Q3 in Bahrain, and followed it up by finishing out of the points (11th) in the race Years Frank Williams age when he first entered F1 as a team owner, for Piers Courage, at the 1969 Spanish GP at Monjuich Park. Sir 27Frank turned 73 this week. 2 Hakkinen McLaren suffered its second failure to start in four races this year. Prior to 2015, they hadn t suffered a single DNS due to mechanical problems since Mika at the 2001 French GP slowest Seconds The gap between the fastest Marussia and the next runner in Q1 16 Races Force India last got a car into Q3 at last year s Italian GP, 10 races 10 ago In qualifying Pastor Maldonado was knocked out of Q1 after being seventh in final practice but it was still his best ever start at a Bahrain GP! 26

27 TECHNICAL F1 >>> BAHRAIN SECONDS HAMIL. SECONDS ROSBERG SECONDS RACE PACE ANALYSIS RAIK lap P GIRI lap Consistency the key in his race pace by the tyre wear, and effectively which compound, whether His team mate Rosberg, instead, due to his fighting approach to the race and the Prime or the Option one, was the multiple fights with the Ferraris, instead PAOLO most efficient on the track. By efficient delivered a very unsteady pace, with FILISETTI we don t necessarily want to mean the more peaky points both in positive and faster we mean the compound that negative terms. He dramatically put Technical allowed the relevant driver to show a his tyres and brakes under pressure, Editor consistent pace during each stint. causing a huge wear ratio on both, Sakhir s main features are its rough tarmac, very demanding in terms of rear tyre wear, and its toughness on brakes, due to the frequent usage. Both these features easily affected the result of the race, and in particular the tyres showed how dramatic the tyre wear was in terms of affecting the lap times in each stint. We decided then to analyse the race pace of the two Mercedes and of the two Ferraris, so as to have a clear picture of the real pecking order between the two leading teams. In particular it was interesting being able to make a direct comparison of each driver s stint, of course taking into account the tyre compound used in each period. This kind of comparison allows us to verify how each driver was affected It is interesting to note that the winner, Hamilton, was never the fastest driver on the track, irrespective of what compound was using. In particular, we can see that the use of Option tyres in the first two stints and Prime in the last one, allowed him to have a flat profile in terms of average time in each stint. That means that, considering the fact that the Option tyres were roughly two second faster than the Prime, having used them with full fuel load in the first stint, and with medium load in the second, balanced the potential increase in performance. So the time performance of the last stint, was instead negatively balanced by the use of the slower compound. In short, Hamilton maintained a sort-of steady pace, irrespective of temporary variations in each stint. visible especially at the end of each stint for the tyres, and at the very end of the race for the brakes. His team mate, seemingly suffered a brake-by-wire (BBW) problem too, but was able to put the system in default setting to avoid major drama in the last couple of laps. Focusing our attention on the two Ferraris, it appears clear that Vettel struggled throughout the race length with the tyres, irrespective of which compound he was using at that time. Compared to his team-mate, the German suffered huge tyre wear at the end of each stint plus he worsened the situation by committing two mistakes, one in the first stint, and the second, the worst of the two after the second pit stop. His off-track excursion damaged his font wing imposing a TECHNICAL SECONDS P lap further pit stop on him. Raikkonen instead was able to follow a very clever strategy chosen by the team, that split the two drivers strategies. In fact he mounted in the second stint a set of Prime tyres, that demonstrated more efficiency in terms of providing a steady pace, and reduced tyre wear as it is clearly visible in the graph. In the last stint, with low fuel, he took full advantage of the better performance of the Options, that allowed him to catch Rosberg in the last 10 laps and then setting after Hamilton VETTEL in the last couple of laps. Ferrari here demonstrated a top performance, comparable to the Mercedes, showing again only a slight gap in terms of power output of the Power Unit, compared to Mercedes. The SF15T is definitely the only real threat to the W06 Hybrid, and it will be likely more sooner than later. The pace of the two cars should generate an intriguing head-to-head fight in every race this season, in my view. Barcelona, in three weeks time, could become a turning point of the Championship. 27

28 Seen at Sakhir F1 >>> BAHRAIN 28

29 Pastor Maldonado on his way to taking his maiden grand prix victory in Spain in 2012 Williams' last win. PARTING SHOT