The season’s turning pretty interesting now. This weekend’s race at Bahrain was a treat to watch and generally satisfying for most of the teams. It was pretty interesting that a circuit (in)famous for being hard on the tyres, engines and drivers entailed the minimum number of retirements this season till now with 19 of the 22 cars reaching the chequered flag safely. The biggest message to come out for the race was that BMW are in Formula 1 big time. If there were any naysayers left to this argument before Sunday, they surely would have been forced to rethink their stand on the topic. A team leading the constructors’ championship – even though the season is only three races old – cannot be taken lightly. Qualifying didn’t bring up any big surprise, other than for those who would not have given the BMWs a chance. Ferrari were strong throughout the weekend, and going by that Kimi would have been a tad disappointed. Massa was pipped to the pole by the talented Kubica, but as would be seen in the race on the next day, he was running lighter that most top contenders. This however did not take any glory away from either the Pole or his German team, both of which scored their maiden pole which was long coming.
The race however didn’t start as spectacularly for them. Kubica got caught by Massa as the light went green, as a result losing his position before the first corner itself. Maybe the lack of launch control on a dusty track proved to be more of a challenge to him than his more experienced rival in the scarlet car. But this was nothing in comparison to the disaster that hit championship leader Lewis Hamilton. It seemed as if he was driving a car from a lower rung of motorsport, as all and sundry overtook him at the start. By the end of the first corner the Brit was down to 10th place and to make matters worse for him, ahead of him was his old nemesis Fernando Alonso. The biggest gainer in this melee was undoubtedly Felipe Massa. Behind him the two Finns who got better of the hapless Hamilton were in a battle for third place. This saw them exchanging positions twice before half of the first lap itself, with the Ferrari driver coming on top finally. It would be two more laps until Kimi pulled off a remarkable overtaking manoeuvre on Kubica, making a Ferrari 1-2 at the head of the pack.
Even before the mayhem of the start could settle down and the field could consolidate, Hamilton could not contain his urge to fight back to the top before his title contenders gained a healthy advantage. This cavalier attitude seemed naïve when his urge overtook sensibility and he ended up driving into the rear of Alonso. For a moment it seemed as though the Spaniard had braked a fraction too early, thereby causing the mishap, but neither did McLaren, nor did the stewards found any fault with it. However the loss of the front wing in Hamilton’s car meant a painful trip to the pits and his race lay in shambles. His stop though suggested that McLaren may have fuelled him enough to finish the race on a single pit stop (as they did with Räikkönen at this track when he raced for them) and salvage something out of it. Rest of the field could get away cleanly with the order now the Ferraris leading the BMWs followed by the McLaren of Kovalainen.
Meanwhile Massa was driving at the front with vengeance like a man possessed with a mission. The opening two races had been a nightmare for him and he had to score a strong finish here for his title aspirations and also to prevent Ferrari from totally shifting focus to his more illustrious team mate. Räikkönen was being kept busy by Kubica whose pace was good enough to match the Ferraris and certainly better than the McLarens. Behind them Fisichella made yet another positive start that saw him leap ahead of his dismal starting position. Meanwhile it just didn’t seem like a day for Brit drivers. Both Coulthard and Jenson Button had to pit early following punctures. Later they were to clash courtesy an ambitious overtaking move by the Honda diver, which also ended his race. In all this Jarno Trulli was again putting up a determined show for the Toyota team as his team mate struggled to keep Alonso off.
First round of pit stops put forth no drama other than confirming the fact of the light BMWs. Kimi seemed content to follow Massa for now (though he did some fast laps, only to be replied in kind by the Brazilian). Somewhere in this period Kovalainen was overtaken by the other BMW of Nick Heidfeld further confirming the difference in pace of the two cars on the given day. There was enough advert for the Force India as Fisichella showed off his experience when he held off the charging Hamilton for three laps. The belligerent gesture by the young Brit as he finally passed Fisichella – though not very sporting – showed just how frustrated he was. However if he was expecting any mercy from a driver ahead of him on track on the basis of he being in a superior car, then he is grossly mistaken. However his benediction did not bring about any epiphany on the given day.
The remainder of the race was prosaic, with the second round of pit stops also not bringing any untoward incident. However for a while Kimi did put in some stonking laps, but his car had a race old (and probably detuned) engine compared to Massa’s fresh for this race. Hence he judiciously backed off to assure a second placed finish for him, which would be enough to catapult him to the top of the driver’s table. Behind them the BMWs followed unchallenged and their nearest car was of Kovalainen who was never involved in any action but for the first lap. Trulli again finished among the points being sixth to cross the flag and this already looks to be a much better season for the Japanese team when compared to the catastrophe of 2007.
Final two points were notched up by the impressive Webber and Nico Rosberg who certainly are driving much better than their car probably deserves. In ninth and tenth were Timo Glock and former world champion Alonso. By now Alonso must have figured out just how big a task lays ahead of him and the difference between his cars and the top contenders. But atleast he has been finishing races, a fact which sadly can’t be said of his team mate Nelson Piquet Jr. Force India’s Fisichella finished in 12th and ahead of forlorn Hamilton who could neither have a single pit stop race, nor had the pace to challenge anyone even in the mid field. Behind them the Super Aguris had a nice little battle among themselves (as they too are in a class of their own!) with Davidson getting the better of his senior.
So it was an uneventful race one might say (though I feel the destitute Team McLaren would beg to differ) however one that makes the title race even more open. Certainly I’ll wager this season will be more open and emancipated than last years. Though the BMWs may eventually not be able to sustain the momentum and challenge for either championship, but they sure will make the season interesting, and then who knows what can happen. Did anyone give Hamilton much chance at he beginning last year, or for that matter Kimi just before the last couple of races. Either way there is much to look forward to and think for one and all in the three week break before we head to the European leg of the season, starting at Catalunya on 25th of this month. Till then let Kimi and the BMWs bask in their glory.
Drivers Championship:
Kimi Räikkönen - 19
Nick Heidfeld - 16
Lewis hamilton - 14
Constructors Championship:
BMW Sauber - 30
Scuderia Ferrari - 29
McLaren Mercedes - 28
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