Fun F1

There were 2 standout things about the Bahrain Grand Prix. First was the fantastic performance of Robert Kubica and BMW in general. Second was the fall of Lewis Hamilton (and McLaren in general too). While Ferrari continues to be a benchmark up the front, McLaren seems to be slowly slipping into reach of BMW.

Before we get to the points, a quick video from YouTube (be quick before the FIA take it down ) of the start of the race from the view of various drivers. You can clearly see Hamilton’s wing break up well before he rear-ended Alonso:

Felipe Massa – Well, the guy won the race so we have to put him first on the list of points I guess. He did a great job in qualifying and in the race. Bahrain is certainly a track he likes and when he likes a track he’s very hard to beat. For me, there was nothing spectacular about the performance though – but I think that’s because there were so many other highlights in the race and the points tally still leaves Felipe behind par in the champsionship. Still, full credit to him.

Robert Kubica – Very happy to see the Pole on pole. We saw pole position coming for Robert in the last round, but didn’t expect it so fast! His start was a bit poor but he still drove a brilliant race for BMW. Next box on the list is a race win…

Lewis Hamilton – 3 words – lots of mistakes. Crashing in free practice. Messing up the start. Crashing into Fernando Alonso (possibly crashing into someone earlier to dislodge his front wing?). The final result really was worthy of his race weekend (sorry Lewis fans).

Giancarlo Fisichella – Fisi has impressed so much at Force India. He looks like he’s driving better (more inspired) than he did at Renault and he’s certainly punching above his weight.

Jarno Trulli – Another ex-Renault driver doing fantastic work in an under-performing car. Although Toyota certainly does seem to be making some good progress.

Martin Brundle – I find it amazing that someone who has actually raced in F1 would jump up and down and accuse Fernando Alonso of brake-testing Lewis Hamilton when the fault was clearly with Lewis (or at least clear enough to not jump to conclusions without data). Alonso didn’t slow suddenly, Lewis just misjudged where to put his car. Martin is probably the best commentator I’ve heard, but sometimes he sinks down to James Allen’s level. 

Kimi Raikkonen – 2nd place is normally good in most peoples books, but Kimi didn’t look strong at all in Bahrain. It’s the reverse of his teammate. Felipe Massa performs great in Bahrain whereas Kimi always seems to struggle. Again though, 2nds and 3rds aren’t really bad but you just feel Kimi could perform better here.

Nick Heidfeld – Not so strong in qualifying but always strong in the races. A fantastic result for BMW.

Heikki Kovalainen – One minute this guy seems like he could improve to be a star, then the next minute he seems very average.

Jenson Button vs David Coulthard – Face it Jenson, the accident was completely your fault.