The 2013 We Have Lots of Oil Bahrain Grand Prix Thread

[Jocke1]

The Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company of California (Socal), discovered oil in 1931 and production began the following year. This was to bring rapid modernisation to Bahrain. Relations with the United Kingdom became closer, as evidenced by the British Royal Navy moving its entire Middle Eastern command from Bushehr in Iran to Bahrain in 1935.
According to a January 2006 report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, Bahrain has the fastest growing economy in the Arab world.

In 2008, Bahrain was named the world's fastest growing financial center by the City of London's Global Financial Centres Index. Bahrain's banking and financial services sector, particularly Islamic banking, have benefited from the regional boom driven by demand for oil.
Petroleum production and processing account is Bahrain's most exported product, accounting for 60% of export receipts, 70% of government revenues, and 11% of GDP. A large share of exports consist of petroleum products made from imported crude oil, which accounted for 51% of the country's imports in 2007.





This will be the ninth Grand Prix held at Bahrain.

Fernando Alonso could claim his 4th win (previous wins in 2005, 2006 & 2010).
And Ferrari could claim their 5th win (previous wins in 2004, 2007, 2008 & 2010).

Kimi Raikkonen could claim his 6th podium finish at the circuit. He has finished on the podium 5 times from 7 Bahrain races.

Felipe Massa has led the Bahrain Grand Prix for 552 km. He is the leader in that category.

Ferrari has led more kms than Red Bull, McLaren, Lotus & Force India combined.

Mark Webber will start his 200th Grand Prix.




From 8 previous Grand Prix held at Bahrain, there have been 8 different drivers taking fastest lap of the race:
Schumacher, M
De la Rosa
Rosberg
Massa
Kovalainen
Trulli
Alonso
Vettel

Top 3 Constructors Podium Finishes at Bahrain:
Ferrari - 9
McLaren - 4
Toyota - 2 (tied with several others)

Only 3 different engines have won the Bahrain Grand Prix:
Ferrari
Renault
Mercedes




Last Years Pole Position:
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault
1:32.422

Last Years Podium:
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault
1h 35m 10.990s
Kimi Räikkönen, Lotus-Renault
+3.333s
Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Renault
+10.194s

Fastest lap 2012:
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault
1:36.379

[CaptainGetz12]

Hmm, I wonder. Will there be protests against holding the race here again in protest of King Hamad?

Many peacekeeping groups and even one of the F1 team managers have protested against holding a round at Bahrain. The holding of the race over the past couple years have been called controversial in the news here in the States. The race was even cancelled in 2011 only to return in 2012.

An attack by Anonymous last year against at least one f1-supported website could mean that tensions against the Hamad monarchy and perhaps the implications of holding a grand prix at Bahrain could be on the rise.

Does anyone have any thoughts about continuing to hold a F1 Grand Prix race at Bahrain and any possible implications that allowing F1 to keep racing there may have?

[Hound55]

Hmm, I wonder. Will there be protests against holding the race here again in protest of King Hamad?

Yes

Does anyone have any thoughts about continuing to hold a F1 Grand Prix race at Bahrain and any possible implications that allowing F1 to keep racing there may have?

It really does irk me that F1 is so insistent on racing there, even though there are so many people that feel the race supports a tyrannical regime. Mind you, it is pretty clear that the Bahraini government doesn't make nearly as much money off the race as they do off oil exports, but still, the principle stands. I hope that Bahrain can reach a point where there are no discriminatory practices against any groups, so that we may be able to return without worrying about the safety of the teams, drivers, fans, and the protesters themselves.

Just out of curiosity, are there any other tracks that have been marred significantly by human rights issues like Bahrain? I can't imagine there have been any, but I dunno.

[UncreativeUsername37]

Just out of curiosity, are there any other tracks that have been marred significantly by human rights issues like Bahrain? I can't imagine there have been any, but I dunno.

1985 in South Africa?

[Hound55]

Just out of curiosity, are there any other tracks that have been marred significantly by human rights issues like Bahrain? I can't imagine there have been any, but I dunno.

1985 in South Africa?

Yeah, I would consider that similar. It's unbelievable that segregation in South Africa didn't end until 1992. And I thought it wasn't all that long ago that segregation finally ended in the States...

Drawing on parallels from the South African GP, it's a wonder that more drivers and teams are not protesting the Bahrain GP. Maybe the consensus among the teams is that there is nothing that they could do.

[CoopsII]

Just out of curiosity, are there any other tracks that have been marred significantly by human rights issues like Bahrain? I can't imagine there have been any, but I dunno.

China has a terrible record on human rights but are much better at controlling things. Any protests in China would be brief.

[GwilymJJames]

I'd take any media objections over Bahrain more seriously if I'd heard them mention the word "Bahrain" once since the last Grand Prix.

[LionZoo]

I'd take any media objections over Bahrain more seriously if I'd heard them mention the word "Bahrain" once since the last Grand Prix.

Agreed. It just seems to be some standard thing trotted out to generate controversy in order to get more hits.

[DemocalypseNow]

“The race brings money to the regime, which they use to buy weapons and attack us.”

These people are campaigning against something they have no clue about!

Since when does running a Formula 1 race turn a profit for anyone?!

[mario]

“The race brings money to the regime, which they use to buy weapons and attack us.”

These people are campaigning against something they have no clue about!

Since when does running a Formula 1 race turn a profit for anyone?!

The race itself may not directly contribute much to the Bahraini economy, but the fact that it is used as an opportunity for outside investors to court the government means that the ancillary meetings and public events associated with the race are potentially much more profitable.

[dinizintheoven]

I wonder what the fallout would be if Bernie ever decided that what we really need is a race in Saudi Arabia?

[DanielPT]

“The race brings money to the regime, which they use to buy weapons and attack us.”

These people are campaigning against something they have no clue about!

Since when does running a Formula 1 race turn a profit for anyone?!

The race itself may not directly contribute much to the Bahraini economy, but the fact that it is used as an opportunity for outside investors to court the government means that the ancillary meetings and public events associated with the race are potentially much more profitable.

Well, if I may take a guess here, I think that few investors will throw their money into the Bahraini economy. They would prefer, however, either to attract Bahrain money or sell stuff to them. I still think that the race is used to improve Bahrain recognition and amuse the leaders of the regime.

The grandstands seem to be either empty or filled with folks who work there and their families.

And finally I am sure that what allows them to buy weapons is the same thing that allows them to maintain the regime and have the GP: Oil money.

[CoopsII]

I wonder what the fallout would be if Bernie ever decided that what we really need is a race in Saudi Arabia?

If the money was there we'd be racing in Iran already

[Jocke1]

[mario]

“The race brings money to the regime, which they use to buy weapons and attack us.”

These people are campaigning against something they have no clue about!

Since when does running a Formula 1 race turn a profit for anyone?!

The race itself may not directly contribute much to the Bahraini economy, but the fact that it is used as an opportunity for outside investors to court the government means that the ancillary meetings and public events associated with the race are potentially much more profitable.

Well, if I may take a guess here, I think that few investors will throw their money into the Bahraini economy. They would prefer, however, either to attract Bahrain money or sell stuff to them. I still think that the race is used to improve Bahrain recognition and amuse the leaders of the regime.

The grandstands seem to be either empty or filled with folks who work there and their families.

And finally I am sure that what allows them to buy weapons is the same thing that allows them to maintain the regime and have the GP: Oil money.

Given their interest in expanding their financial services sector and the fact that, at least until recently, quite a few financial institutions were associated with F1 (organisations like UBS and ING, for example), I don't think that the trade has necessarily been all one way.
Although oil still makes up a large chunk of their economy, the Bahraini government has been quite keen on expanding its service sector and to turn itself into a regional financial hub, and, to my surprise, it turns out that a fairly large chunk of their income also comes from heavy industry (they're one of the top 10 largest aluminium producers in the world). Yes, the race does seem to be part of a calculated strategy of putting itself on the map for the sake of prestige, but the side deals that go with it seem to have some importance too.

[mario]

Anyway, moving on from one set of politics to another - Pirelli have announced that they are changing the tyre allocation for the Bahrain GP.

Having previously elected to go for the soft and hard tyres, it now looks like Pirelli will bring the medium and hard tyres to Bahrain instead, perhaps in response to the criticism that was levelled at them in China (and, it has to be said, it looks like Pirelli themselves were not expecting the soft tyres to degrade quite as quickly as they did in China).

[Jocke1]

Kimi Raikkonen and the number 2 during the last GP weekend:

It is his 2nd season for Lotus.
Chassis: E21.
Engine: RS27-2013 V8 2.4

P1
Best lap 2 seconds off the pace.
Best sector 1 time was 25.857, Webber was the closest driver ahead, beating him with 25.815.
Webber's car is #2.


P2
Best lap was 2nd fastest overall.
2nd fastest through sector 1.

2nd fastest through sector 2, ahead of Webber in 3rd (car #2).
One position behind Webber (car #2) by 0.010 through sector 3.


P3
Best lap was 2 positions behind Webber (car #2).
One position behind Webber (car #2) by 0.003 through sector 1.


Qualifying
Final Qualifying position: 2nd.
2-something tenths behind Hamilton.


Race
After 2 laps he was racing 2 positions lower than his qualifying position of 2nd, while Webber was still stuck in 22nd with car #2.

Moved up to 2nd position on lap 52.
Race finish position: 2nd.
Received 2 points less than 20.
2nd podium of the season.

Hamilton and Vettel finished 2 seconds behind at the chequered flag.
2 world champions finished in the 2 spots behind Kimi.

Championship points position after the race:
2nd

[S951]

just been reading that heikki may be back for fp for caterham to test new parts? as well as rossi getting a run out. Doesn't seem to make sense to have both normal race drivers out then have them back for one 1fp before quali

[mario]

just been reading that heikki may be back for fp for caterham to test new parts? as well as rossi getting a run out. Doesn't seem to make sense to have both normal race drivers out then have them back for one 1fp before quali

I would be a touch surprised if that was the case, but it is true that Kovalainen has been seen around in the Caterham paddock a few times this year (he was definitely there in Malaysia). Equally, the team are supposed to have a major upgrade coming in for Bahrain and another large upgrade due for Spain (at least, that is what they've claimed will happen) - you would expect it to be the case that it'd be more advantageous to leave their regular drivers in the car for that.

On another note, I see that Whitmarsh has been putting a bit more pressure on Perez in the wake of the Chinese GP, even if he did sweeten the pill by commenting that he was a young driver who needed time to develop:

"He's been very polite so far this year," Whitmarsh said. "He needs to toughen up. He's been generous in allowing people past him. I told him: 'You have to be out there racing'. That means sometimes you have got to use elbows and you have got to be robust without being dirty."

http://www.espn.co.uk/mclaren/motorspor ... 05660.html

I wonder if those comments might explain why Perez was more aggressive than usual in China?

[rachel1990]

I'd take any media objections over Bahrain more seriously if I'd heard them mention the word "Bahrain" once since the last Grand Prix.

I agree. They never mention until 3 days before the weekend starts and then they say it should be cancelled. (especially British MPs who know nothing about it)

What a farce.

[pasta_maldonado]

I'd take any media objections over Bahrain more seriously if I'd heard them mention the word "Bahrain" once since the last Grand Prix.

I agree. They never mention until 3 days before the weekend starts and then they say it should be cancelled. (especially British MPs who know nothing about it)

What a farce.

Exactly. British politicians care more about world problems than they do our own

And for me, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I will be watching Bahrain. It is still a race. I am interested in who wins. And I firmly believe that our political views and F1 should not be mixed. For the record, I would have watched the 1985 South African GP, as much as I disagree with Apartheid.

[FMecha]

Exactly. British politicians care more about world problems than they do our own

Can I say, despite that I am not a Brit, that British politicans care more about fame and media exposure over anything else?

Keep (non-motorsport) politics away from the issue, please, actually.

[go_Rubens]

Exactly. British politicians care more about world problems than they do our own

Can I say, despite that I am not a Brit, that British politicans care more about fame and media exposure over anything else?

Keep (non-motorsport) politics away from the issue, please, actually.

I have to say the fact that politics are a part of F1 really disheartens me and is one of quite a few cons I have against the sport. If politics isn't about racing, why should there be politics?

F1 is more of a gigantic business now instead of a form of Motorsport to me, and for me, that sucks.

Even with this, I still watch F1 for what it is. I still love it even with a bunch of cons.

[Nessafox]

I generally think sport is way too neutral. Sure it's wrong to abuse it to spread political messages, but neutrality is often abused to spread the message 'nothing is wrong here' while things are too wrong to ignore. As i'm not informed about the Bahrein situation, i don't have an opinion about it.
And sport isn't meant to be neutral at all, as long as nations are involved in it.

[NAM]

The Olympics were supposed to be a celebration, a sign of friendship between all nations. Instead, it has almost always been a political competition. And if you have politics in the Olympics, you can expect to have them in all sports.

[Hound55]

Has anyone thought so far this season that Bottas might actually be a pretty solid F1 driver? He has beat his more experienced, race winning teammate every time this year. Maybe the car is just that bad.

At least I'd like to think this is the case...

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Has anyone thought so far this season that Bottas might actually be a pretty solid F1 driver?

Umm, nope

In all seriousness, I don't really agree with that

[the Masked Lapwing]

Has anyone thought so far this season that Bottas might actually be a pretty solid F1 driver?

Umm, nope

In all seriousness, I don't really agree with that

So what's your opinion on Pastor's talent?

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Has anyone thought so far this season that Bottas might actually be a pretty solid F1 driver?

Umm, nope

In all seriousness, I don't really agree with that

So what's your opinion on Pastor's talent?

He is way too inconsistent to accurately determine how good he is, he was brilliant in a few races last year but he was also crap in a couple of races. He also crashes way too much.

[CoopsII]

Has anyone thought so far this season that Bottas might actually be a pretty solid F1 driver? He has beat his more experienced, race winning teammate every time this year. Maybe the car is just that bad.

Its too early to say. Certainly I remember reading comments on this very forum that were pretty positive about him but he needs more time.

[CoopsII]

I'd take any media objections over Bahrain more seriously if I'd heard them mention the word "Bahrain" once since the last Grand Prix.

Theres an piece on the BBC news website thats pretty much a copy and paste job from last year and the piece about MPs wanting it cancelled reads eerily familiar. Its all typical. As cynically as the FIA uses the publicity to raise F1s profile we have MPs using it to raise their own.

And all the time nobody actually adresses any issues.

[mario]

So, it looks like the rumours were true - Kovalainen has been confirmed as a reserve driver for Caterham and will be taking over one of the cars in FP1, and will also take part in another FP1 session in the Spanish GP. http://www.f1technical.net/news/18320?s ... 5cd8763991

[CarlosFerreira]

Has anyone thought so far this season that Bottas might actually be a pretty solid F1 driver? He has beat his more experienced, race winning teammate every time this year. Maybe the car is just that bad.

At least I'd like to think this is the case...

I'm on this boat. He's ridden through the problems and generally kept it on the black stuff so far. Plus, he beat the Reverend on pace alone last time around, both of which are good indications.

Honestly, I hope Williams pulls something out of the bag with the Spain upgrades, so Bottas can try to do something other than going around the corners without crashing.

[CarlosFerreira]

People, I'm sure there is something about abstaining from political discussions in the forum's Code of Conduct. Really, let's all drop this conversation about whose MPs do what and where, and stick to discussing F1.

For those who want to continue the political discussion: Joe Saward has a tasty post for you to comment on about Bahrain and the F1 press here, and considering today is Baroness Thatcher's funeral, there will be no lack of opportunities elsewhere on the Internetz for you to vent your opinion on politics, politicians, and generally get yourself in trouble with the authorities.

[CoopsII]

But comments on the bloody X-Factor are OK?

[CarlosFerreira]

But comments on the bloody X-Factor are OK?

Let 'em have it!

[CarlosFerreira]

So what's your opinion on Pastor's talent?

I hear he is very good at darts, billiard and has over time developed a good sprint to the finish line in 1500m indoors.

Racing F1 cars? I'd rather see my mother have a go. She'd crash just as much, but at least it would be amusing.

[Zetec]

So, it looks like the rumours were true - Kovalainen has been confirmed as a reserve driver for Caterham and will be taking over one of the cars in FP1, and will also take part in another FP1 session in the Spanish GP. http://www.f1technical.net/news/18320?s ... 5cd8763991

Well, it seems Catherham has finally realized, that they're not gonna get far with their driver pairing.
Neither Pic nor van der Garde have driven the 2012 car, so they have no clue where the car stands.

Kovalainen can now compare the cars and give some input. It actually demonstrates, how important continuity can be in developing a car.

Also in the word of Kovalainen:

I’ll be taking part in the two FP1 sessions in Bahrain and Barcelona to give the team my input on the new parts we’re bringing to those races [...] I know my experience can help give the team new ideas and options for directions to take on setup and strategy.

or in other words the statement could be like this:

Charles and Giedo are obviously not able to set up a car and give feedback about new parts, so that's the reason why Cyril "Bite a Bull" called me.

[Warren Hughes]

...so that's the reason why Cyril "Bite a Bull" called me.

Better than punching a horse.

Yes, that's my first contribution to this thread. And no, I'm not sorry.

[CoopsII]

Better than punching a horse.

I know this isnt what you're referring to but I find it most amusing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8cDfnQD0ws