Race Recap: A Season All Mixed Up

Five races. Five different winners. Five different teams. Not since 1983 has a season started like this. With Pastor Maldonado's win in Spain the 2012 season has started off (almost) like no other. Going forward into the  rest of the European season just about any of the five winning teams look set to take their second win of the season. Much like previous races in Spain, starting on pole lead to victory although strategy played a key role for Williams in their victory.

Alonso had a blinding start off the line and beat Maldonado into turn one and held that lead through the first two stints of the race. It was the absolutely charging pace from Lewis Hamilton, at the back of the pack due to penalty, which was the highlight of the first half of the race. Hamilton had to fight through the pack and while it appeared he might be fighting for a podium at some point, but the need to hold onto the tires for a two-stop race pushed him back.

Pastor Maldonado celebrates his first victory
Photo by ALBERT GEA/REUTERS

The real excitement of the race came following the final pit stops. Williams took the risk to bring Maldonado in with 24 laps to go, hoping that the tires could not only last but also not reach the cliff. Alonso and finally Raikkonen pitted with 17 laps remaining. It appeared that Alonso not only had the pace but the tires left to get him past Maldonado but in the last laps he just couldn't keep pace with the Williams. Maldonado managed his tires flawlessly in his final stint and brought home the first victory since another South American won for Williams in 2004. (That driver was Juan Pablo Montoya of Columbia, coincidentally in Brazil) The real shocker was the absolutely blistering pace that Raikkonen showed during the final stint. He was able to put at least one second per lap on the leaders and it could be asked that had he pitted a lap earlier if he could have passed a slowing Alonso.

Winners: Lotus has again shown that, as a team, they are going to be the ones to beat heading into Europe. Grabbing another podium through Raikkonen, and more points than any other team in the last three races (and by far in the last two races) the team has more momentum than their foes. Though Monaco may not be the best place for the fast cars of Lotus, later races at Montreal, Silverstone and Hockenheim could prove a place for them to gain their first win of the year. Runners-up in this category are obviously Williams who have proven that at least one of their drivers can put them in the mix of things. A Team Championship might be out of the question, but no doubt they can give themselves a shot at a top five.


Losers: Michael Schumacher has posted his third DNF in five races this season. He is not only having the worst start to a season of his career, but it is also in a car which is clearly competitive after a win in China and fantastic qualifying all season. Here in Spain much of the blame could be placed directly on his shoulders, but I hesitate to do so. His collision with Senna, while at first glace appears to be solely Schumacher's fault is at least partly Senna's. The Williams driver moved to the inside and as Schumacher moved to the outside to pass Senna cut back into his line. Schumacher tried to cut back to the inside but the different braking pace on different tires left no room and drew the collision. Schumacher got the penalty for it, but I believe it was wrongfully given. In any case his third DNF gives little hope to him getting a podium or win before his season ends, especially painful as Kimi Raikkonen has earned two podiums in just five races.


Look Ahead: The glitz and glamour of Monaco are on showcase in two weeks. The tight and twisty track will obviously put a premium on qualifying and downforce two areas that Red Bull have excelled at in prior years. With a safety car almost assured of happening tire strategy will likely play a diminished role as teams will get one or two brief respites. I'd lean on McLaren and Mercedes continuing their strong qualifying performances this season and translate those into good race performances.

Race Recap: Vettel Shows Resurgence

Bahrain again proved why it gives fans some of the most exciting and boring racing of the season. Though there were some exciting passes and battles, it is still very much another cookie cutter Tilke track with long straights ending in tight hairpins. It provided us the same strategy and battles that we witnessed already this season in China, and which we will witness over and over again this season. Fortunately all of the action in Bahrain occurred on track and not off with no hint of protest or disturbance of the race.

Vettel celebrates his victory with Raikkonen
Photo by Reuters

For the first time since 2003 we have four different winners of the first four grand prix. Fans could only hope that we get another battle like the 2010 championship fight, especially here in the United States with our Grand Prix being the penultimate race. It was a dominant drive by Sebastian Vettel which truly started with Q3 and just extended into the race on Sunday. Though Grosjean and then Raikkonen challenged him until the final stint Vettel never seemed phased and held his cool to claim the first win of the season. 

Mark Webber drove a quiet race and brought his Red Bull home in its usual fourth place this season. Rosberg followed up his win with a very respectable fifth place finish, though it was not a spectacular run by any means. The only points scoring driver to stick with a two-stop strategy, Paul di Resta, pulled home the Force India in sixth place which is a great finish for that team. Ferrari had both drivers in the points for the first time this season. Michael Schumacher earned another point for himself this season, though one can not underestimate the twelve positions he had to make up during the race to gain that tenth place.

Now for the Winners, Losers and a Look Ahead

Winners: Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus. While Vettel and Red Bull stole the show during qualifying, it was the outstanding performance by Raikkonen and his Lotus teammate Grosjean which gave the best performance during the race. The extremely tight battle between Raikkonen and Vettel proved the some of the best racing so far this season. The advantage of fresh option tires for the race provided just the push that Raikkonen needed to get through the field early and allow their three-stop strategy to work. A double podium for Lotus is an absolutely fantastic finish for them and clearly places them into the top teams this season.

Losers: Lewis Hamilton and the McLaren pit crew. For the third race of the season Hamilton was cost points not through poor driving but mistakes by his crew. Here in Bahrain over 17 seconds were lost in the pits, a loss which could have cost him up to xx points. Though Button had no issues pitting today, one could wonder just what is going on with Hamilton's car. McLaren have plenty of time to straighten out their issues before Spain but if they want to keep pace with Red Bull and now Lotus they will need to step up their game.

Look Ahead: Spanish Grand Prix. The teams will get to return home again and with a three week gap until Spain all will have ample chances to improve their cars. McLaren has some ground to make up to Red Bull in race pace and I'd expect them to fully rectify their pit issues during the break. Lotus have given themselves quite a bit to build on heading into the European leg of the calendar and I'd expect that Kimi Raikkonen could become the fifth different winner in as many races; the first time since 1983 that has happened. Ferrari and Mercedes both need to make strides or else they will be left behind by the top three and caught by the likes of Sauber and Williams.

Next week I'll take a look at the progression of the Circuit of the Americas as well as a bit of coverage of the WTCC races in Slovakia and Hungary in the next two weekends.

Bahrain Race Preview

With qualifying done and only the race left to come all of the turmoil and unrest will be overshadowed for at least a few more hours. Fears of additional violence around the track have yet to play out since the incident with Force India and it is extremely unlikely that the race will be disrupted in any way with the tight security around the circuit.

Coming into qualifying today Nico Rosberg appeared to have the pace to duplicate his pole performance in China by leading the time sheets in P2 and P3. Unfortunately for him and teammate Michael Schumacher they couldn't replicate that speed during qualifying. Schumacher even failed to get out of Q1, though that has been attributed more to a failed DRS than lack of speed for the Mercedes squad. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull made a strong charge for pole. They appeared to have found their old form again in Bahrain while McLaren are not far off of the lead pace.

With the high heat in Bahrain it will be interesting to see just how well the tires hold up. Many of the lower qualifiers will have ample options available to them in strategy. With teams battling the heat and only around a second difference between the soft and medium tire the two and three stop strategies we witnessed in China will be in play again. It will be especially interesting to see what strategy Schumacher and Raikkonen attempt with both of their team mates starting on soft tires from Q3. I'd expect to see both of them attempt two-stop strategies starting on the medium tire and saving the soft tires for the final stint when they will be able to squeeze the most life from them.

Up at the front of the field it will be a fantastic start. With Vettel, Hamilton, Webber and Button all within three-tenths during qualifying and all being fantastic off the line in recent weeks. The winner into turn one may very well be the victor in this race, especially with the difficult passing zones and a DRS zone which is slightly shorter than the one at Shanghai. With the very tight turn one, high tire degradation (and thus more debris off line), and less room to recover from bad braking it will be difficult to make good use of the DRS zone to pass. The race would have better served with two linked DRS zones similar to Montreal last year, allowing drivers to close down the gap in the first (shorter) zone and make the pass down the longer second zone.

While Daniel Riccardo had a fantastic qualifying for Toro Rosso, they should temper their enthusiasm. They have used all three of their option tires, and they will almost certainly not be able to match the race pace of the top teams. Smart tire and pit strategy will be key for them to turn in a points performance. Other drivers to watch out for would be Sergio Perez and Paul di Resta. Both have turned in top ten performances and both cars are at the top of the speed trap this week a key statistic at a track like Bahrain.

China Recap: Rosberg Finally Victorius

The Chinese Grand Prix once again gave Formula One fans a great race. Like in so many other races the crucial aspect was not flat out speed, but tire management and pit performance. Nico Rosberg and Mercedes executed both of these flawlessly during the race (with the exception of Schumacher's first pit) and finally got both Mercedes and Rosberg a victory. Coming in his 111th race, the win was much deserved for Rosberg who combined not only a blistering qualifying lap to take pole but also a beautifully driven race where he managed his tire wear and was able to pull of the two-stop race that caught Sebastian Vettel out last year here. Many could point to Button's final stop as helping Rosberg win, but Formula One is more than just a single driver sport and the pit crews often are the reason for victory or defeat.

Nico Rosburg Celebrates Victory with his Crew
Photo by Reuters

The true battle during the race, however, was the fantastic fight for the podium in the closing laps. Fillipe Massa, on his own two-stop strategy, created a long que of cars before he finally came in. The fights between Raikkonen, Vettel, Button, Hamilton, Alonso and Webber were clearly the highlight. Raikkonen clearly showed just what happens when the tires "fall off the cliff" as he lost eight places in a single lap and eventually finished way down in 14th. The fantastic pack racing is not something that Formula One fans get to see every race, and China highlighted just how exciting it can be. The different tire strategies managed to put all those cars together and give us the best battle for position we have seen so far this year. The fight between Webber and Vettel on the final two laps clearly show that while Vettel may be reigning champion, Webber still has a great deal of talent and fight left in him. There were also some great passes and individual fights due to the long final straight in China. Perez and Kobayashi almost got into each other on the back straight during one of their fights. Button made a fantastic move to get past Vettel going into Turn 14. Hamilton took advantage of the hard breaking into Turn 6 and made a number of drivers pay with passes up the inside. Even the Turn 1-3 complex offered great side-by-side action during the race.

Looking forward from China to Bahrain we get another track where tire management and speed will be key. Mercedes clearly showed that their wing was the clear way forward for pace this season. It was strongly highlighted on the massively long back straight at China, and Bahrain will be no different. The key for Mercedes going forward is to really replicate what they had here in China. Not every track will give them this advantage and the other teams will soon catch up as well, but the tracks which do provide them this platform should see them right up front. McLaren have clearly been the lead team this year and with Hamilton and Button 1-2 in the points they should have very few issues going forward. Red Bull have ground to make up, but they are still well within the fight for the top. Ferrari have a decidedly different future than the other top teams and they won't remain in the fight long living off just points from Alonso. Sauber, Lotus and Williams all have had fantastic performances this season and will eagerly be fighting to replace Ferrari in the top group.

Later this week we will have a greater preview of Bahrain as well as a look forward to the European leg of the Championship fight.

Ferrari: Fluke or Future?

Ferrari Driver Fernando Alonso at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix
Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images

     With the surprising victory of Ferrari driver Fernando Alsono at the rain-soaked Malaysian Grand Prix, many have begun to wonder if we could soon see more of the boys in red at the front. Was this race just a fluke due to crazy weather or is this the start of a resurgence? Can Alsono push the car to achieve more than any one thinks possible? While I don't doubt Alonso's skill as a driver, I do seriously doubt the ability of the Ferrari to drive up front.
   
     The biggest factor holding back the car is the terrible qualifying positions relative to their rivals. Although we are only two races into this young season, Ferrari is one for four getting drivers into Q3 (Alonso at Malaysia) while their rivals at Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren are four for four (with McLaren locking out the front row in each race). Lotus has almost matched the top three at going three for four, and even the mid-pack is doing as well as Ferrari. Poor qualifying usually translates into being in a poor position during the race and poor results. The changing conditions in Malaysia obviously mixes things up quite a bit, but even in these conditions the Ferrari was no match even for the Sauber of Sergio Perez who was consistently lapping close to a second faster during parts of the race even though Perez wasn't able to close out the race due to team and driver mistakes.
   
     If Ferrari is going to turn this result into something other than a fluke of the weather they will need to push hard developing it over the next three weeks. The upcoming race in Shanghai will be a key test for the car, especially if it is a dry race. They have benefited from failures by other drivers and the weather to get where they are now. A good performance in Shanghai from Alonso will give the team greater confidence, but in truth the team needs to see a better race out of Fillipe Massa. As Massa stuggles, so does Ferrari. He needs to be able to not only turn in a good result, but show that he can match Alonso in pace even if the car isn't up to standards. Should Massa improve over the next three weeks and lodge a good result in China, Ferrari as a whole will have shown some good progress. They may not challenge the top three teams for a manufacturers championship but at least the season won't be a total disaster. Ferrari has many challenges ahead and little time to fix them. So was Malaysia a fluke or the true future of Ferrari? Only time will truly tell.