Bahrain 2009
Qualifying


Amidst talks of the Ferrari head honchos to not to panic, it was another forgettable day for the Ferrari’s even after making a few changes in the car. The two Ferrari’s only managed to finish 8th and 10th respectively with Massa leading. For the first time ever the two Toyota’s would be starting at the pole. Jarno Trulli led his team mate Timo Glock to the pole. The winner of the Chinese Grand Prix and the new kid on the block Sebastian Vettel finished 3rd. The reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton managed to finish 5th.


The temperature shot to 40 plus degree Celsius at the track, one of Narayan Karthikeyan’s favorite tracks made it difficult for the drivers. The car tyres also proved to be a big challenge at this track in the Qualifying sessions.


Race Day



There was a stark contrast between the races held last Sunday at Shanghai and today at Bahrain. It was pouring last week end and this one would be a dry race. The Brawn GP and the Red Bull were lanes ahead of others last week and the question is, can they still put their stamp of authority at the Sakhir circuit as well? The Brawn and Red Bull cars for sure are the teams to watch out for this season as they have been consistently present on the podium in the first three races. The performances of these cars especially Brawn GP have proved that they are going to give the erstwhile champion a run for their money. The champions have thus known that only change is permanent and winning is not ephemeral.


In the opening lap itself Jenson Button managed to place himself to 3rd position from 5th and eventually got hold of another podium finish but he paid a price. The temperatures in his cockpit were so high that he burnt his left buttock. Nevertheless the sweet smell of success would have lessened the pain to a large extent. The bumptious Button said at the press conference that this was the best race of his career so far. It is still early to predict the top driver this season but the propinquity of Brawn GP to the crown looks interesting as the tumultuous crowd at Sakhir proved this when Button jumped on the podium. Button has a championship lead of 22 points.


Sebastian Vettel was unlucky to finish second and has the tyres to blame. The tyres degraded quickly and while he was in the pit, he lost some precious seconds. A nice show in the end though. Jarno Trulli managed to finish 3rd and was close to Vettel.


It was a good race for Mclaren who also have other worries off the field (their peccadilloes at the Australian grand prix and its hearing being scheduled this week). Hamilton however drove nicely and most of the time was 4th and managed to bring his car home on the same position.


There was good news for Ferrari as they finally managed to score some vital points this season. Kimi who at one point was leading the race finished 6th and scored 3 points. Massa had a disappointing race after he broke the front wing. On the other hand, Alonso was 8th most of the time and finished on that position.


Vijay Mallya the owner of the Force India car said before the start of the season that his team would look for points this year but they have appeared somnolent so far. They finished 15th and 16th in Bahrain and appeared feckless.

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