2012 Bahrain Grand Prix Discussion Thread

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 17 Apr 2012, 21:44

Here it is: the save harbor for those F1 fans like me who really couldn't care less about politics and stuff like that.

With Räikkönen claiming that he and his car are fast enough for the podium and Mercedes on the rise, we might see a very interesting battle for the podium spots.

Pamphlet · Post by **Pamphlet** » 17 Apr 2012, 21:50

I don't see Merc doing anywhere near as well as in China. Sure, they've had some time to work on their problems, but the temperature in Shanghai was just about perfect. It's gonna be much hotter in Bahrain.

Lotus, on the other hand...this could be their big chance.

Backmarker · Post by **Backmarker** » 17 Apr 2012, 22:10

I'm going to say McLaren will win.

Pamphlet · Post by **Pamphlet** » 17 Apr 2012, 22:21

Backmarker wrote:I'm going to say McLaren will win.

While I went with the surprise Vettel pick in the predictions thread, I'd say this is much more likely to happen. They have the best car on the grid, and Merc is highly unlikely to challenge them in much hotter conditions. Red Bull will be their only real rivals, but chances are Jenson and Lewis will leave them in the dust this time.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 17 Apr 2012, 22:46

I've noticed a few members predicting a sort of boycott in the predictions thread. Us there any rumours about a boycott or is it just wishful thinking?

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 18 Apr 2012, 01:11

AdrianSutil wrote:I've noticed a few members predicting a sort of boycott in the predictions thread. Us there any rumours about a boycott or is it just wishful thinking?

Wishful thinking, no team will risk a penalty for not partaking in a race. Contracts bind us all, including F1 teams.

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 18 Apr 2012, 01:14

Klon wrote:
AdrianSutil wrote:I've noticed a few members predicting a sort of boycott in the predictions thread. Us there any rumours about a boycott or is it just wishful thinking?

Wishful thinking, no team will risk a penalty for not partaking in a race. Contracts bind us all, including F1 teams.

Just a silly question but did the teams that pulled out of the '05 US GP get penalized?

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 18 Apr 2012, 01:16

JeremyMcClean wrote:Just a silly question but did the teams that pulled out of the '05 US GP get penalized?

It was on the table, but blame swiftly was moved to Michelin so it didn't happen. Furthermore, the fact that Williams recently released one of their catering staff for not being willing to go to Bahrain pretty much says how likely a boycott is.

Well, let's hope it's Friday soon and we get something that has to do with racing.

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 18 Apr 2012, 06:56

If the race goes ahead, I might say we could see the fourth different winner of the season: Hamilton or Räikkönen might win this.

Sublime_FA11C · Post by **Sublime_FA11C** » 18 Apr 2012, 09:03

AdrianSutil wrote:I've noticed a few members predicting a sort of boycott in the predictions thread. Us there any rumours about a boycott or is it just wishful thinking?

There's been no mention of any of the support races being cancelled in the last week. If they dont pull out what hope is there that F1 will? There no time now anyway.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 18 Apr 2012, 15:14

I predict that this race will be less interesting than last year's.

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 18 Apr 2012, 15:28

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:I predict that this race will be less interesting than last year's.

Now that is the least daring prediction I have heard in quite a while. :lol:

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 18 Apr 2012, 15:52

I think the Maccas have a good chance to pull of their first 1-2 of the season. Which order? I don't know, but for Bahrain I will say Button.

Post by **mario** » 18 Apr 2012, 17:45

Klon wrote:Here it is: the save harbor for those F1 fans like me who really couldn't care less about politics and stuff like that.

With Räikkönen claiming that he and his car are fast enough for the podium and Mercedes on the rise, we might see a very interesting battle for the podium spots.

Looking to the race itself - uncomfortable though that may be - I think that the pecking order may be different to what we saw last time out.

As Pamphlet says, this race will be a major test of whether Mercedes can manage its tyres in much more difficult conditions, given that the track is more abrasive here and the temperatures significantly higher. What will help Mercedes to some extent is that the track conditions should be relatively constant - Ross Brawn has admitted that part of their problems in the opening two races was that they misjudged the conditions, and right now the operating window for their car is quite narrow.
The low temperatures alone weren't the only factor - the track temperature in China was relatively low, at 22-25ºC, but in Malaysia the track temperature was only marginally higher, varying from 24-28ºC during the race, and in that race the team were struggling to build up enough heat into their tyres after setting their cars up based on data from the much warmer practise sessions. Overall, I think that McLaren and Red Bull might be more competitive here given that the warmer temperatures should favour them slightly, but I think that Mercedes will not fall back by a huge margin.

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 18 Apr 2012, 18:16

Does anyone expect red-flag on this race?

sswishbone · Post by **sswishbone** » 18 Apr 2012, 18:43

I don't want to be accused of beign morbid and I hope with every fibre of my being I am wrong, but I am really concerned we may see a repeat of the horrifying incident at South Africa in the 70's courtesy of a protestor. I really hope I am wrong, but I just have this horrible feeling in my gut.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 18 Apr 2012, 21:26

sswishbone wrote:I don't want to be accused of beign morbid and I hope with every fibre of my being I am wrong, but I am really concerned we may see a repeat of the horrifying incident at South Africa in the 70's courtesy of a protestor. I really hope I am wrong, but I just have this horrible feeling in my gut.

Sadly, I also had a horrible gut feeling between qualifying and the race during the San Marino GP of 1994. I hope sincerely that you are wrong.

Post by **mario** » 18 Apr 2012, 21:51

dr-baker wrote:
sswishbone wrote:I don't want to be accused of beign morbid and I hope with every fibre of my being I am wrong, but I am really concerned we may see a repeat of the horrifying incident at South Africa in the 70's courtesy of a protestor. I really hope I am wrong, but I just have this horrible feeling in my gut.

Sadly, I also had a horrible gut feeling between qualifying and the race during the San Marino GP of 1994. I hope sincerely that you are wrong.

I have a suspicion that we might not necessarily see anything occur within the circuit itself, because it is possible that we may have a situation close to the Grand Prix's that were held in Argentina during the time that the military junta was in charge, or, similarly, the Spanish GP's held under Franco, where the track is surrounded by soldiers. John Yates, the former Met. Police officer now working for the Bahraini government, has already confirmed that they will be deploying policemen equipped with firearms and live ammunition, with authorisation to use lethal force if they believe that they are being fired upon:

Yates also said police would retaliate with live rounds if necessary: "The police will have all the options you would expect. If the opposition started firing live ammunition, the police would respond with live," he said, adding: "But I don't think that's likely."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/ap ... tes-safety

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 18 Apr 2012, 22:06

mario wrote:
dr-baker wrote:
sswishbone wrote:I don't want to be accused of beign morbid and I hope with every fibre of my being I am wrong, but I am really concerned we may see a repeat of the horrifying incident at South Africa in the 70's courtesy of a protestor. I really hope I am wrong, but I just have this horrible feeling in my gut.

Sadly, I also had a horrible gut feeling between qualifying and the race during the San Marino GP of 1994. I hope sincerely that you are wrong.

I have a suspicion that we might not necessarily see anything occur within the circuit itself, because it is possible that we may have a situation close to the Grand Prix's that were held in Argentina during the time that the military junta was in charge, or, similarly, the Spanish GP's held under Franco, where the track is surrounded by soldiers. John Yates, the former Met. Police officer now working for the Bahraini government, has already confirmed that they will be deploying policemen equipped with firearms and live ammunition, with authorisation to use lethal force if they believe that they are being fired upon:
Yates also said police would retaliate with live rounds if necessary: "The police will have all the options you would expect. If the opposition started firing live ammunition, the police would respond with live," he said, adding: "But I don't think that's likely."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/ap ... tes-safety

I hope that this doesn't end up happening either. If there were these precautions whenever I attend Brands Hatch, or if it had been the case at Monza last year, I would not have been keen to attend...

Pamphlet · Post by **Pamphlet** » 18 Apr 2012, 22:13

dr-baker wrote:
sswishbone wrote:I don't want to be accused of beign morbid and I hope with every fibre of my being I am wrong, but I am really concerned we may see a repeat of the horrifying incident at South Africa in the 70's courtesy of a protestor. I really hope I am wrong, but I just have this horrible feeling in my gut.

Sadly, I also had a horrible gut feeling between qualifying and the race during the San Marino GP of 1994. I hope sincerely that you are wrong.

I've had 3 dreams where a driver's died on the track over the last 2 weeks. What the hell...

I'm genuinely afraid. I already predicted Massa's accident in 2009...

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 18 Apr 2012, 22:23

I'm more concerned about the staff rather than the race itself. I hope that staff members are not alloweD to leave the confines of the circuit during the entire weekend. Don't want mechanics going for a meal somewhere and getting shot at or kidnapped. There's always been trouble with stuff like this in Brazil but Bahrain is obviously much worse.

Sublime_FA11C · Post by **Sublime_FA11C** » 19 Apr 2012, 00:01

I belive the result will drift toward the ironic rather than the morbid. Having had three somewhat surprising winners in the first three races, a spectacularly difficult to predict pecking order in the start of the season and also the controversy surrounding this event, it would be quite ironic if the result was a dry dominant performance by either Mclaren or Red Bull. That's why i predicted Hamilton to win from pole, altough it could be Vettel as well.

The controversy will be played up but this is going to be one fairly boring race, as far as racing goes. The real excitement will come from Lotus if they sort themselves out, Mercedes if they pwn the field again (and both cars finish), or Ferrari if they substantialy improve the car. I'd happily eat Massa's racing socks if he wins this one.

please dont win

Also, a few drivers have mentioned that no one has raced here on Pirelis or with a DRS zone before, so some uncertainty exists.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 19 Apr 2012, 00:07

Sublime_FA11C wrote:Also, a few drivers have mentioned that no one has raced here on Pirelis or with a DRS zone before, so some uncertainty exists.

Nobody's done it at Hockenheim either for that matter.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 19 Apr 2012, 00:18

Wizzie wrote:
Sublime_FA11C wrote:Also, a few drivers have mentioned that no one has raced here on Pirelis or with a DRS zone before, so some uncertainty exists.

Nobody's done it at Hockenheim either for that matter.

And that zone will no doubt be on the curving back straight.

Any news where the DRS zone will be at Bahrain? I'm guessing either the pit straight or the one before the final corner.

Pamphlet · Post by **Pamphlet** » 19 Apr 2012, 00:33

Sublime_FA11C wrote:...or Ferrari if they substantialy improve the car. I'd happily eat Massa's racing socks if he wins this one.

please dont win

As much as I'd like him to win, and as good as he might be at Bahrain (it's one of his better tracks, oddly enough), I don't see him (or even 'nando) having any chance of taking this one.

please win

Chances are it'll be as you said - a dominant performance from either Macca or (unlikely) Red Bull. They're better in warmer conditions.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 19 Apr 2012, 10:42

I don't think that, come the end of the race, a Red Bull will be on the podium. They will be placed probably the fourth best behind McLaren, Mercedes and Lotus. From what I've seen right now Red Bull has a slightly poor qualifying pace and a not that great race pace. This, coupled with being Bahrain which doesn't do much for overtaking, will probably determine their chances altogether. I think Lotus fares better when its hotter and Mercedes might fare worst than Shanghai, but if they manage a 'no incidents weekend' they will definitely be ahead of Red Bull. Not to mention Sauber, which is a bit of a dark horse right now.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 19 Apr 2012, 10:54

DanielPT wrote:I don't think that, come the end of the race, a Red Bull will be on the podium. They will be placed probably the fourth best behind McLaren, Mercedes and Lotus. From what I've seen right now Red Bull has a slightly poor qualifying pace and a not that great race pace. This, coupled with being Bahrain which doesn't do much for overtaking, will probably determine their chances altogether. I think Lotus fares better when its hotter and Mercedes might fare worst than Shanghai, but if they manage a 'no incidents weekend' they will definitely be ahead of Red Bull. Not to mention Sauber, which is a bit of a dark horse right now.

I disagree because my Predicament Predictions for this weekend says otherwise.

Post by **mario** » 19 Apr 2012, 10:58

AdrianSutil wrote:I'm more concerned about the staff rather than the race itself. I hope that staff members are not alloweD to leave the confines of the circuit during the entire weekend. Don't want mechanics going for a meal somewhere and getting shot at or kidnapped. There's always been trouble with stuff like this in Brazil but Bahrain is obviously much worse.

Unfortunately it looks like that has already started happening, with reports that a hire car rented by some of the mechanics at Force India was hit by petrol bombs in a running street battle between a group of protesters and the police (with the mechanics also being partially affected by tear gas leaking into the car). Thankfully, nobody has been hurt - although one of the mechanics involved in the attack has reportedly asked if they can come home - but it is not a good sign of things to come. That is not to say that it hasn't been attempted before elsewhere - there have been several similar attempts against mechanics in Brazil over the past few years - but this time the chances of violent action seems worryingly high.

AdrianSutil wrote:Any news where the DRS zone will be at Bahrain? I'm guessing either the pit straight or the one before the final corner.

They will be using the start/finish straight for the DRS zone (with only one such zone being used).

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 19 Apr 2012, 11:00

mario wrote:
AdrianSutil wrote:Any news where the DRS zone will be at Bahrain? I'm guessing either the pit straight or the one before the final corner.

They will be using the start/finish straight for the DRS zone (with only one such zone being used).

That is good I guess.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 19 Apr 2012, 11:05

I find it somewhat hypocritical that everyone is cushty with Sao Paulo and treating Bahrain like the devil. Brazil is disgraceful for crime, a country where buses being robbed at gunpoint are literally an everyday occurance, theft is rife to incredible levels, kidnapping and extortion an accepted career of many. The track may be ok but the location is not. The government are not in control, evidenced by the fact that their solution is to fight people with guns by using bigger guns.
F1 should never have left Europe/North America/Australia, the sport is becoming overrun with countries with bad reputations and lots of cash to hand. It is a disgrace. I am becoming rather tired of hearing about tracks like Spa, Monza, Silverstone being threatened to be dropped while the F1 circus is fine going to the Middle East, Brazil, China...

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 19 Apr 2012, 11:11

I've never said it's cushty in Sao Paulo. But when you compare what's going on in Brazil to what's going on in Bahrain...

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 20 Apr 2012, 00:23

Ruby thinks you're all muppets for comparing Bahrain to Brazil

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 20 Apr 2012, 00:40

Wizzie wrote:Ruby thinks you're all muppets for comparing Bahrain to Brazil

Well no sh*t Rubens, there is no civil war in Brazil. But you're dressing it up slightly. What about the favela wars? The drug dealers that are so ridiculously well equipped that there are cases of police helicopters being taken down by missile launchers in the middle of cities, the massive cache of assault rifles and machine guns they all have. Almost once a year BOPE end up having to be called in when said 'war' eventually spills on to the streets of the more affluent areas where there are no slums. The favelas are adjacent to the 'normal' areas of the city, there isn't much way to avoid them. The area where the F1 staff stay in Sao Paulo is called Morumbi, generally considered the absolute best district in the whole city. And the view from this hotel? Paraisópolis, a rather large favela. This is not TV, this is reality.

Frentzen127 · Post by **Frentzen127** » 20 Apr 2012, 01:23

All while you post in in your cozy shack just off your Scottish swamp.

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 20 Apr 2012, 01:30

Frentzen127 wrote:All while you post in in your cozy shack just off your Scottish swamp.

Buuuuuuuuuuuurn!

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 20 Apr 2012, 01:53

OK, forget it. I'm editing this out because this isn't going to end will if I retort...

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 20 Apr 2012, 03:03

Frentzen127 wrote:All while you post in in your cozy shack just off your Scottish swamp.

Daaaaamn!! The wars in Bahrain, not on here :shock:

Pamphlet · Post by **Pamphlet** » 20 Apr 2012, 03:08

AdrianSutil wrote:
Frentzen127 wrote:All while you post in in your cozy shack just off your Scottish swamp.

Daaaaamn!! The wars in Bahrain, not on here

We could move it here. It'd certainly provide us with more entertainment than the Grand Prix itself.

Frentzen127 · Post by **Frentzen127** » 20 Apr 2012, 05:30

kostas22 wrote:OK, forget it. I'm editing this out because this isn't going to end will if I retort...

I liked your retort. It was a valid point, well written, and above all It exposed what I was hoping to convey.

I didn't mean to offend anyone in any case.

sswishbone · Post by **sswishbone** » 20 Apr 2012, 05:49

According to BBC news the security is being tightened even further in bahrain, there is meant to be a protest right outside the circuit at 2pm, this could get ugly...