Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - McLaren

Next preview quotes come from the drivers at McLaren-Mercedes F1 Team!


Jenson Button - “It’s hard to believe that this weekend’s race will be the 10th Bahrain Grand Prix - I won this race back in 2009, I’ve had lots of good performances here, and I really enjoy the challenge the circuit presents. You always feel like you can get a little bit more out of yourself, and the car, which makes it a difficult but rewarding track on which to drive. Sunday’s race will be my 250th Grand Prix start. That’s crazy: it feels like only yesterday that I was celebrating my 200th, with a win for McLaren in Hungary back in 2011. Things never stand still in Formula One, and we go to Bahrain facing another new challenge: the circuit’s first night race. It’ll be interesting to see what sort of race we have under the floodlights - racing at night always adds to the atmosphere and sense of occasion, and I think this weekend will be no different. We’ve scored some useful points in the first two races, which was always our objective for the opening quartet of flyaways [ie, Australia, Malaysia, Bahrain and China], and I hope we can get some more points in the bag this weekend.”

Kevin Magnussen - “It’ll be a good experience to go racing at a circuit on which I’ve already driven a Formula One car - a first for me in fact because I already have four days’ running under my belt from the recent winter tests. While that doesn’t really make a massive difference, because you can learn a circuit relatively quickly, assisted by simulator experience, it does mean you can go straight into Friday’s practice sessions on the front foot. You don’t need to familiarise yourself with the track first. I really enjoyed the tests and filming days we did in Bahrain earlier this year actually - the track has a good mix of corners, and the high-speed stuff around the back of the circuit is really enjoyable when the car is working well. Although the Sakhir [Bahrain] track has several high-speed corners, it’s not as fast as Sepang [Malaysia] so I’m hopeful that we’ll be slightly more competitive this weekend than we were there. I still think the track temperatures and our lack of downforce will make it hard to get the car into the sweet spot we found for it in Melbourne, but I’m hopeful we’ll be able to achieve a decent balance for the race. The Grand Prix itself will take place in the evening, so the track will be slightly cooler than it’s been for any previous Bahrain Grand Prix. I guess that’ll help all the teams, but I think we can still benefit from it. It’s always fascinating to try new things, and I really hope this weekend’s event, the 10th Bahrain Grand Prix, is a great success.”

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Quotes made by Drivers.

 

Giedo Van Der Garde to drive in Free Practice 1 in Bahrain

Former Caterham-Renault F1 driver, Giedo Van Der Garde from the Netherlands has been given a drive for Free Practice 1 on Friday. He will take the place of Esteban Gutierrez for the session. Since leaving Caterham, Giedo has been picked up by Sauber and placed in the team as a Reserve driver.

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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(Photo Credit goes to owner.)

Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Sauber

First preview quotes for the Bahrain GP come from the Sauber F1 Team's drivers!


Esteban Gutierrez - “Bahrain is a track which we all know pretty well from testing. We have good references from there, and it will be very interesting to come back and to see what our improvements are in comparison to the first two races. The Bahrain International Circuit has a special track characteristic. Based on what we learnt from the first two races, I think we can make another step in terms of drivability. We made improvements on the braking and I believe we can push these even further. Everyone in our team and Ferrari are doing their best to get things done properly. My favourite part of the track is the last one with the fast corners. The left-hander which goes uphill is very interesting. Besides that, it will be a nice feeling to race for the first time in Bahrain at night. I do believe the track in Bahrain will also help us to have more stable tyre temperatures as the weather will be good.”

Adrian Sutil - “This year Bahrain will host a night race, so it won’t be as hot, and the data collected during the pre-season tests will only be of limited significance, which makes it interesting. The tyres especially will behave differently, but we can go back to our data from the night race in Singapore. I am looking forward to the race weekend. Night races are always interesting and provide a great backdrop for the spectators. It is special to drive at night. I like the layout. The pit facilities are very modern with a lot of space. My favourite parts are the fast chicane in turns six and seven, as well as the fast section in the last sector. We have spent a lot of days testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, but driving there was always fun. I like being in Bahrain. It’s a small country, but it is interesting and has a lot of history.”

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Quotes made by Drivers. 

Bahrain GP: Circuit Preview

Welcome to the 2014 Bahrain Circuit Preview! I'll take you through last years GP at the circuit and also talk about the circuit itself.

The Bahrain International Circuit is located in Sakhir, Bahrain and was opened to the public for the first F1 GP in 2004. The drivers do a total of 57 laps and have to navigate around 15 sharp and angular turns. Earlier this year, the first turn was re-named after Michael Schumacher, who is still in a coma after hitting his head in a skiing accident in December of last year.

The circuit runs Clockwise and has a Capacity of 70,000. One of the main factors of this circuit is that there's good room for overtaking and racing wheel-to-wheel, as proved by Jenson Button and Sergio Perez last year and other drivers years before.

Speaking of last year, let's go ahead and do a quick re-cap. Nico Rosberg took pole last year, but didn't make it on to the podium, instead Vettel took First while Kimi Raikkonen in the Lotus, took Second and it was a surprise podium indeed for Romain Grosjean who finished Third, also driving for Lotus.

Sebastian Vettel also had the fastest lap of the race and the only person to retire was Jean-Eric Vergne who had Puncture Damage. With the turbos this year, I have a feeling we'll see more than just 1 person retire from this years race. But no matter what, it'll be entertaining as always.


Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Photo Credit Goes To Owner: allf1.info

Bahrain GP: Schedule

Here is the current Schedule for the Bahrain GP Weekend! (Subject To Change) - Also, remember - The times are for Bahrain Local Time. If you want it converted, just let me know!

April 3rd - Thursday

15:00 - Press Conference (Located In Press Room)
15:00 - 16:45 - Pit Lane Walk (For 3-Day Ticket Holders)

April 4th - Friday

13:00 - 13:45 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
14:00 - 15:30 - Free Practice #1
15:45 - 16:55 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
18:00 - 19:30 - Free Practice #2
20:00 - 21:00 - Press Conference (Located In Press Room)

April 5th - Saturday

11:30 - 12:40 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
12:10 - 12:30 - Team Pit Stop Practice
15:00 - 16:00 - Free Practice #3
18:00 - Qualifying
20:00 - 21:00 - Autograph Session (Drivers)

April 6th - Sunday

15:30 - 17:15 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
16:30 - Drivers Track Parade
16:45 - 17:15 - Starting Grid Presentation
17:46 - National Anthem
18:00 - Race

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Malaysian GP: Race - Re-Cap & Results

The Malaysian GP is now finished and done for the year. Thousands of people showed up despite the sadness looming over the country due to the recent Malaysian Airlines missing plane, which had hundreds of people aboard. May I just start by saying my thoughts and prayers are with the people affected by the situation. It is a true tragedy and I'm hoping they will soon recover the plane.

So, now, where shall I begin? Before the race even started there was problems. The Force India of Sergio Perez was having problems and then it was said he'd start from the pit lane. However, as things were about to get underway, Sergio climbed out the car, stuck in 4th gear and having no way to fix the problem, he was forced to retire before he'd even begun. People, (Including me) were absolutely shocked and saddened by this. One of the most disappointing things is when a driver can't even start the race and this unfortunately does happen.

The lights then went out and at the first turn, Kevin Magnussen tried to pass Kimi Raikkonen and in result, ended up hitting the World Champion Fin, damaging his car and his own McLaren as well. Around the same time, Jules Bianchi made contact with Pastor Maldonado and they both did a little spin. Luckily, both were able to continue for a bit, but after awhile, Maldonado had to retire as did Bianchi.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, who started on pole, was now leading, with Vettel, Rosberg, Hulkenberg and Alonso all somewhere close behind him. The biggest battle during the whole race was that of Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg. It was really quite the show.

Later on it was Jean-Eric Vergne who had issues with the Turbo and was forced to retire from the race, while his team-mate, 19-Year-Old Daniil Kvyat was in the top 10 and gaining on the Williams' drivers. Both Saubers had to retire as well a bit later on, the first double retirement for the Sauber team in years. 

Daniel Ricciardo, who was called in for a pit-stop, had horrible luck when one of the mechanics was not done fastening his front-left tyre, and the crew released him, not noticing what was going on. Daniel had to be pushed back to get the wheel fastened before he could head back out, but due to all the commotion, when the Aussie got back out on the circuit, his front wing came loose and fell in a slanted position, cutting into his front-right tyre, making a deep cut, all around. He was called back into the pit-lane and had things fixed, but retired only a few laps later.

On the last few laps, there was BIG drama between the two Williams' drivers, when the team radioed Massa, telling him that Bottas was faster and to not hold him up. He was told multiple times to let Bottas pass, but did not obey orders. Something identical to what happened between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber last year. Another case of Multi-21 disobeyed.

It was Lewis Hamilton who brought home the win of the Malaysian GP and dedicated his win to everyone affected by the flight MH370 tragedy. His Team-Mate, Nico Rosberg finished in Second while Defending-4-Time-World-Champion, Sebastian Vettel, came in Third. Here are the rest of the results.

RACE RESULTS:

1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes / Great Britain - +25 Points
2. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes / Germany - +18 Points
3. Sebastian Vettel / Redbull / Germany - +15 Points
4. Fernando Alonso / Ferrari / Spain / - +12 Points
5. Nico Hulkenberg / Force India / Germany - +10 Points
6. Jenson Button / McLaren / Great Britain - +8 Points
7. Felipe Massa / Williams / Brazil -  +6 Points
8. Valtteri Bottas / Williams / Finland - +4 Points
9. Kevin Magnussen / McLaren / Denmark - +2 Points
10. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso / Russia - +1 Point
11. Romain Grosjean / Lotus / France - +0 Points
12. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari / Finland - +0 Points
13. Kamui Kobayashi / Caterham / Japan - +0 Points
14. Marcus Ericsson / Caterham / Sweden - +0 Points
15. Max Chilton / Marussia / Great Britain - +0 Points
16. Daniel Ricciardo / Redbull / Australia / RETIRED - Multiple Problems - =0 Points
17. Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber / Mexico / RETIRED - Gearbox - +0 Points
18. Adrian Sutil / Sauber / Germany / RETIRED - Power Unit -+ 0 Points
19. Jean-Eric Vergne / Toro Rosso / France / RETIRED - Engine - +0 Points
20. Jules Bianchi / Marussia / France / RETIRED - Collision - +0 Points
21. Pastor Maldonado / Lotus / Venezuela / RETIRED - Power Unit - +0 Points
22. Sergio Perez / Force India / Mexico / DID NOT START - Gearbox - +0 Points

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Malaysian GP: Qualifying - Re-Cap & Results

When Qualifying got underway, so did the rain! Originally scheduled for 11 PM my time, it did not actually start for around 45 minutes as the rain was coming down pretty hard and there was a lot of sitting water on the track that had to be cleared before the cars could come out and set times.

So, for those of you who are not familiar with how Qualifying works, let me take you through it! There is 3 rounds of Qualifying and they're all done within an hour or so. The first round, all 22 cars go out and set lap times, the 6 slowest are knocked out and start the race on their grid positions according to the speed of their times. In round 2, the rest of the cars go out and another 6 get knocked out, and they'll start where there times put them as well. That leaves the last 10 cars to go around for Round 3, those ten battle for pole position, which is the very front of the Grid. It's the starting position everyone wants. So, here's how it played out.

Round 1: Knocked out -Marcu Ericsson (Caterham), Max Chilton (Marussia), Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham), Jules Bianchi (Marussia), Adrian Sutil (Sauber) & Pastor Maldonado (Lotus).

Round 2: Knocked out - Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Sergio Perez (Force India), Felipe Massa (Williams), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), & Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso)

Results After Round 3:

1. (Pole Position) - Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes / Great Britain
2. Sebastian Vettel / Redbull / Germany
3. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes / Germany
4. Fernando Alonso / Ferrari / Spain
5. Daniel Ricciardo / Redbull / Australia
6. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari / Finland
7. Nico Hulkenberg / Force India / Germany
8. Kevin Magnussen / McLaren / Denmark 
9. Jean-Eric Vergne / Toro Rosso / France
10. Jenson Button / McLaren / Great Britain
11. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso / Russia
12. Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber / Mexico
13. Felipe Massa / Williams / Brazil
14. Sergio Perez / Force India / Mexico
15. Valtteri Bottas / Williams / Finland
16. Romain Grosjean / Lotus / France
17. Pastor Maldonado / Lotus / Venezuela 
18. Adrian Sutil / Sauber / Germany
19. Jules Bianchi / Marussia / France
20. Kamui Kobayashi / Caterham / Japan
21. Max Chilton / Marussia / Great Britain
22. Marcus Ericsson / Caterham / Sweden

After qualifying, Valtteri Bottas was given a 3-Place-Grid-Penalty for impeding Daniel Ricciardo during Qualifying, in turn Bottas was demoted to 18th, moving Grosjean, Maldonado and Sutil each up a spot on the grid.

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Malaysian GP: Free Practice 3 - Re-Cap & Results

So, during Free Practice 3, we saw The Mclaren-Mercedes team have issues with their Power Units and Kevin Magnussen was unable to set a time, meanwhile the Mercedes AMG Petronas team managed to get the top 2 spots on the times sheets. Not too much action going on in this round, as it's usually when teams make final set-up changes and make sure things are running smoothly. There's not too much want to go crazy and accidently mess up the car before Qualifying, so teams try to keep things calm. Here are the times from Session #3.

TIMES:
 
1. Nico Rosberg - 1:39.008 / Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton - 1:39.240 / Mercedes
3. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:40.156 / Ferrari
4. Sebastian Vettel - 1:40.387 / Redbull
5. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:40.523 / Force India
6. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:40.686 / Redbull
7. Fernando Alonso - 1:40.736 / Ferrari
8. Felipe Massa - 1:40.781 / Williams
9. Valtteri Bottas - 1:40.891 / Williams
10. Sergio Perez - 1:41.029 / Force India
11. Daniil Kvyat - 1:41.182 / Toro Rosso
12. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:41.441 / Toro Rosso
13. Adrian Sutil - 1:41.552 / Sauber
14. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:42.041 / Sauber
15. Romain Grosjean - 1:42.749 / Lotus
16. Pastor Maldonado - 1:43.539 / Lotus
17. Max Chilton - 1:43.977 / Marussia
18. Jules Bianchi - 1:44.170 / Marussia
19. Marcus Ericsson - 1:44.457 / Caterham
20. Kamui Kobayashi - 1:46.015 / Caterham
21. Jenson Button - 2:05.555 / McLaren
22. Kevin Magnussen - No Time Set / McLaren

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Malaysian GP: Free Practice 2 - Re-Cap & Results

As session 2 of Free Practice just finished up about a half hour ago, I am back with a quick Re-Cap and the Time Results of the session. Unfortunately both Kamui Kobayashi and Pastor Maldonado were unable to get out there and do any laps. Sergio Perez, however, was able to get out on the track in this Session and get in some good laps. 

Also impressive was Redbull's Sebastian Vettel, who finished in the top 3. We saw a few people spin and head into the gravel including Max Chilton and Daniel Ricciardo. Here are the times.

TIMES:

1. Nico Rosberg - 1:39.909 / Mercedes
2. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:39.944 / Ferrari
3. Sebastian Vettel - 1:39.970 / Redbull
4. Lewis Hamilton - 1:40.051 / Mercedes
5. Fernando Alonso - 1:40.103 / Ferrari
6. Felipe Massa - 1:40.112 / Williams
7. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:40.276 / Redbull
8. Jenson Button - 1:40.628 / McLaren
9. Valtteri Bottas - 1:40.638 / Williams
10. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:40.691 / Force India
11. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:40.777 / Toro Rosso
12. Kevin Magnussen - 1:41.014 / McLaren
13. Adrian Sutil - 1:41.257 / Sauber
14. Daniil Kvyat - 1:41.325 / Toro Rosso
15. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:41.507 / Sauber
16. Sergio Perez - 1:41.671 / Force India
17. Romain Grosjean - 1:42.531 / Lotus
18. Max Chilton - 1:43.638 / Marussia
19. Jules Bianchi - 1:43.752 / Marussia
20. Marcus Ericsson - 1:45.703 / Caterham
21. Kamui Kobayashi - No Time Set / Caterham
22. Pastor Maldonado - No Time Set / Lotus

I'll be doing live commentary for Free Practice 3 tomorrow on Twitter, so make sure to stop by and join in on the fun!

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Malaysian GP: Free Practice 1 - Re-Cap & Results

Free Practice 1 just finished up about an hour and a half ago and I have all the times from the session. We had a few cars stopping and/or smoking out on track including Kevin Magnnussen, who lost power and Pastor Maldonado who had to be taken back to the pits when his car started smoking. Romain Grosjean was out for most of the session and neither Lotus ended up setting a time. Another driver to not set a time was Force India's, Sergio Perez, who was having a Fuel issue.

Here are the times:

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:40.691 / Mercedes
2. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:40.843 / Ferrari
3. Nico Rosberg - 1:41.028 / Mercedes
4. Jenson Button - 1:41.111 / McLaren
5. Kevin Magnussen - 1:41.274 / McLaren
6. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:41.402 / Toro Rosso
7. Sebastian Vettel - 1:41.523 / Redbull
8. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:41.642 / Force India
9. Felipe Massa - 1:41.686 / Williams
10. Valtteri Bottas - 1:41.80 / Williams
11. Fernando Alonso - 1:41.923 / Ferrari
12. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:42.117 / Redbull
13. Adrian Sutil - 1:42.365 / Sauber
14. Daniil Kvyat - 1:42.869 / Toro Rosso
15. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:42.902 / Sauber
16. Jules Bianchi - 1:43.825 / Marussia
17. Marcus Ericsson - 1:45.775 / Caterham
18. Max Chilton - 1:46.911 / Marussia
19. Kamui Kobayashi - 1:51.180 / Caterham
20. Sergio Perez / No Time Set / Force India
21. Pastor Maldonado / No Time Set / Lotus
22. Romain Grosjean / No Time Set / Lotus

Stay tuned for Session 2, takng place in about 40 minutes, and I will be doing live-commentary as always on my twitter @F1Insider78 - Come join and send in your Questions & Comments!

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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