In spite of the Ferrari Sweep for the front row in the final qualifying round, I am not sure that the race will be that easy for the red team.
At the end of the first session, it was an all-Williams front row. Neither of the Williams drivers failed to materialize a front row position -Ralf being the fastest of the pair with a scorching 1:29:968 (under the 1:30 mark by a hair) and Raikkonen in third spot, relegating Michael to the fourth spot.
Surprisingly, the Toyota drivers had good sessions; in fact Panis was faster than Alonso, Trulli, Sato, Buttton, Barrichello, Fischichella, and team mate Da Matta.
Evidently, Barrichello keeps experimenting new things and in the second session managed to out-qualified both Williams drivers... while, Michael Schumacher had to take things to the extreme, making a small mistake by locking up one of the front wheels and at some point looking as though he was about to lose the car... in spite of that, he managed to be fastest by a mere .191 of a second over Rubens.
Behind the Ferraris, a battle is looming for tomorrow, in my perception, of great intensity. I believe that the sand along the edge of the track is going to play an important part. Much like Monte Carlo, no mistakes will be allowed; the sand, combined with the new track and the extreme heat will play on the tires, drivers and possibly engines.
If any of the drivers -star or not- gets a little (and I mean 'a little') off the racing line, the sand will throw them further than usual, and/or they will lift enough of it that could mean an added hazard for the other drivers... not to mention the possibility that a combination of the asphalt being new, under heat and stress, for a possible effect on the tires (and track itself) of creating small debris, (otherwise known as "marbles")... that will add to the hazards creating an off line excursion and possibly even a spin.
It appears that Takuma Sato is coming through with his promise as he qualified in fifth spot AND ahead of team mate and fast gaining 'star' status Jenson Button. Alonso had a couple of moments that threw away his chances for a podium (now two on a row, after Malaysia... perhaps time to regroup?)... Trulli, the last driver under the 1.30' lap time mark, qualified in 7th spot and keeping his chances alive for an improved performance, and not necessarily outside a podium possibility.
Toyota managed an 8th and 9th qualifying, so evidently, something is working although much is still needed, given the size of their budget. Increasingly, both drivers are under pressure to perform or else.... next year may mean new drivers... still early....
The rest of the drivers beyond this point will be difficult for them to get ahead as their times are off by more than 1.5 seconds from the lead drivers... The exception being Alonso and Raikkonen who had errors (Alonso) and mechanical failures (Raikkonen) and both are starting from the back of the pack...
Now... let's take the front part of the grid....
Michael and Rubens do qualified fastest, but only just... and it will be a long race. Heat will favor the Williamses (and any Michelin shod car, which is most of the rest). Sato MUST refrain from any crazy ideas; this does not mean he should not push, just do it intelligently... (Something his team mate Button is becoming an expert at. So if he has a good start, he should watch the Williamses pair, who will not hesitate at blocking the young Japanese, (yes, I really think so, particularly Ralf). Montoya is no pansy and he is not going to repeat the mistake in Australia, in fact I bet he will attempt to get between Rubens and Michael, if not outright in front of them. Of course, for the sake of the event, I hope that neither Michael nor JP do not think like Ayrton in regards to his arch-rival le professeur Prost... (*) more on this later.
For now.... i.e. Senna was not shy to go for the kill and take Prost out (as he did in Susuka in 1990 over an argument with the race officials as to "what side of the track should pole position be")
ayrtondasilva.net
And earlier in 1989, same venue... (Both drivers racing for Marlboro McLaren too) different argument... -g (*) more on this later...
web.tiscali.it
Anyway.... back to Bahrain and the start of the race...
Bar an accident at the start, the race is gong to be filled with action as I see it. The Ferraris might have a slight edge, however BOTH Michael and Rubens MUST make perfect starts AND must NOT squabble for the first corner, if they do, then this opens up a number of possibilities that will be looming throughput the race.
What this means is both drivers must make NO mistakes... as this will open up the challenge from a number of drivers the most possible will be... well, the usual suspects such as JP and Ralf, but this time they will be joined by Trulli, Button and Sato all these drivers are separated by less than .9 of a second... too bad that Alonso and Raikkonen are going to be stuck way out in the back of the grid...
The factors mentioned above will close the gap of those .9 of a second since a very small mistake will make such differential non-existent, and so the determinant factor will be discipline and intelligence at better than 180 mph...
Did I forget to say that this is a new circuit for all the drivers?
atlasf1.com
(*) notice the lack of information in this circuit... -g
We shall witness a true measure of a good driver, since this is a form of equalizer as there is very little data to base the race on... In my opinion, it will be the mental driver over the physical driver that will prevail...
Interesting to mention will be the efforts by Alonso and Raikkonen to come through the back of the grid, as well as David Coulthard to see what can he do to advance his position once the race is on... a task he is usually good at...
Looking forward to it... |
