Larry Herman

This really isn't going to play out until qualifying. Even then, we may know who's quickest in a light car, but the extreme weight change over the course of the race will favor those cars and drivers who can manage their tires the best and extract the maximum performance over the course of the entire stint.

The pace of cars and drivers that tend to burn up their back tires will be slowing at the end of each stint, making for some unpredictable results. Also the number of tire changes will come into play, so I don't think that who ever wins this race will be running away with things like last year. The others will catch up quickly once all of the variables get sorted out.

WHB Porsche

Yeah - Hamilton came in during practice after 4 laps cause the rear tires were going out.

That being said, I think there's still a good bit of posturing going on. The "leaders" in practice weren't even close to each other.

JimB

Anyone else in favor of allowing a lot more practice time and a lot less in the wind tunnel? I'd love to see F1 go with much more mechanical grip and fairly limited aero. Aero grip is interesting but makes for crappy racing. Give them some great big tires and active suspension!

My predictions: Alonso will win the race and the WDC. Hopefully Vettle will be a close second. I'd love to see him have a big year. Ron Dennis is back in the garage. He'll find a way to screw the year for ML. He always does. Shumi was getting old and slow when he left and he'll be older and slower now. Still fast compared to mere mortals but no where close to a WDC.

TwentySix

FWIW in practice, great to see Nico doing well alongside MS

What did you guys think of the new replacement for Peter Windsor in the pit lane? I've never heard of him before...

Ray S

+ 911

As far as I'm concerned they can lose all external wings and only be allowed to use bodywork and underbody diffusers

JimB

NOW THAT'S A RACE CAR!!!!

toovo1985

really looking forward to see what happens tomorrow in quali... still a very close pack!!! great to see schumacher in the front pack...

Ferrari...getting behind...will they react tomorrow...or will Mercedes engines be fighting for first place in bahrain?

ilko

Here's what I got from the first two practices:

Because of the heavier cars this season might present more overtaking opportunities than before, especially earlier in the race. For instance the stopping distance in the main straight in Bahrain went from 120 to 140 meters. It would be fun to watch the game of chicken and who brakes first.

The other interesting part is the willingness of the teams and stewards to reinstate the 107% rule later in the season...

Schumacher apparently made a mess in the Mercedes garage by asking them to rearrange everything for a sponsor. And wasn't happy with his car's setup at all.

Button still has to learn the new steering wheel. Listening to the radio feed they told him to press the "big blue button" to release the oil from the secondary oil reservoir. He has ways to go with that car also.

Hamilton is eating tires like crazy, he has to adjust his driving style to the new rules.

I was thinking that Webber had a pretty good chance this weekend but he sat out most of the practice with a broken rear drive shaft that they were trying to fix. They had those issues last year as well. The reliability of the Red Bull is their Achilles' heel.

I think Massa will win it this weekend - he has a good car and has been with the team for a really long time. Just needs to watch that lead foot.

Ray S

Last chance for the Rennlist F1 championship (listed at the top of the Racing/DE forum).

direct link

http://www.pff1.net/MyPFF1.asp?MYD=32&LA=En

http://www.pff1.net

league name 2010 Rennlist F1 Championship

password: porsche

32 teams so far, come on in the waters fine!!

RajDatta

I doubt MS and FA will show their cards this early in the game. They both know what is important and when it's important. It will be interesting to see how they both do against their teammates tomorrow.
I expect both FA and MS on the front 2 rows along with LH. I think LH will start strong but will kill his tires and start going backwards as the race progresses.
My picks:
1. FA
2. MS
3. FM

944meister

i choose lewis hamilton and filipe and alonso and anyone with a wdc............ppppffffttt how typical . grand prix number three, kobayashi FTW!!!!

DAVISRILEY

For real. I don't know how they fit in those cars with the pair of brass ones required to drive them.

RajDatta

BTW, filipe has not won any wdc in case you didn't know.....

944meister

........

Ray S

Bahrain GP - Saturday - Qualifying Session Results


Saturday Qualifying Session
POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT TIME
1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1:54.101
2. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari 1:54.242
3. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari 1:54.608
4. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1:55.217
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes GP 1:55.241
6. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1:55.284
7. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes GP 1:55.524
8. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1:55.672
9. Robert Kubica Poland Renault 1:55.885
10. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1:56.309
Q2
11. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1:55.330
12. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes 1:55.653
13. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth 1:55.857
14. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:56.237
15. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:56.265
16. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:56.270
17. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault 1:56.619
Q1
18. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:57.071
19. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 1:59.728
20. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth 1:59.852
21. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth 2:00.313
22. Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth 2:00.587
23. Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth 2:03.240
24. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth 2:04.904

Congrats to Vettel!!

Alsono's thinking,,,,,"Hmmmm, Massa may be a little more of a challange than Piquet was. I wonder if he'll crash for me??????" "Me likey Ferrari, but missy Piquet"........"I wonder if Luca can steal Newey's drawings???"

Shumi is thinking,,,,,"I need to pick up my game over Nico?? WTF?"

Massa is thinking,,,,, "What crash?"