Grand Prix 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Have we all calmed down after China? After the rather dull opener in Australia Shanghai did show that the 2017 cars can overtake one another and without DRS. The question is did the damp conditions flatter to deceive? I suspect we won't see even a hit of rain in Bahrain.

It's a score draw between Hamilton and Vettel now in the championship. The Merc looks to have the edge over the Ferrari in qualifying trim but the cars are closer in the race. The decision to pit Vettel under the virtual safety car left him at a disadvantage as he tried to chase Hamilton down in China but Lewis always looked like he had something in reserve.

Behind the two front runners their team mates are looking like genuine No. 2 drivers, although this may be a little harsh on Bottas only two races in to his Mercedes career. Raikkonen's complete lack of enthusiasm to try and overtake Ricciardo in China was telling although he was complaining about having problems with the "energy" supply from his car. Red Bull are the clear third team and without changeable weather conditions I suspect they won't be as close to Mercedes and Ferrari as they were in China.

Behind the top three teams there is a real battle. Williams, Force India, Toro Rosso and Haas are all close with Renault not too far behind. McLaren were even in the mix in China with Fernando "The Animal" Alonso putting the Woking car in places it probably has no right to be. We have yet to see what Vandoorne can offer.

Will Werhlein be back in the Sauber in Bahrain? Will Sauber be able to glue all the bits of car Giovinazzi left them with after China to give him a car?

I'm trying to think of anything outstanding about the circuit in Bahrain but little springs to mind. It doesn't have a silly underground pit exit like Yas Marina. It's usually run in daylight hours. The only two things which do come to mind are the piss poor human rights record of the regime which means there will be a huge security operation and the drivers will have to spray rose water rather than Champagne on the podium as it's a strict Muslim country.

Only a week to wait. The teams will be furiously packing up in Shanghai as I write this to get everything on to a plane to ship out to the Gulf. Fingers crossed for an exciting race as Hamilton and Vettel resume battle.
 
Bill Boddy Daft but then again you can't please everybody especially when the organisers paid a lot of money for the race
and the teams are worried about the engines overheating then something needs to give
 
So Bottas on pole then. I suppose I have to grudgingly say maybe he has a bit more fire than I thought. Watch this space.
 
Ideal Lap (sum best sectors) in the Qual:
Qual – No – Driver – Qual Result – Ideal Lap – Flaw
2 - 44 - L.HAMILTON - 01:28,792 - 01:28,734 - 00,058
1 - 77 - V.BOTTAS - 01:28,769 - 01:28,763 - 00,006
3 - 5 - S.VETTEL - 01:29,247 - 01:29,162 - 00,085
5 - 7 - K.RAIKKONEN - 01:29,567 - 01:29,488 - 00,079
4 - 3 - D.RICCIARDO - 01:29,545 - 01:29,545 - 00,000
6 - 33 - M.VERSTAPPEN - 01:29,687 - 01:29,687 - 00,000
7 - 27 - N.HULKENBERG - 01:29,842 - 01:29,842 - 00,000
8 - 19 - F.MASSA - 01:30,074 - 01:30,065 - 00,009
9 - 8 - R.GROSJEAN - 01:30,763 - 01:30,740 - 00,023
10 - 30 - J.PALMER - 01:31,074 - 01:30,867 - 00,207
 
Congrats to Bottas on his 1st f1 pole. Not the most surprising because we always knew he had the talent from Gp3 & he shouldve won the British GP but they lacked the ruthlessness to tell Massa to move over & chucked it away. Interesting to note that if he didnt before he has Hamilton respect now, saying something like how he hooked up that 1st lap only to get a shock when he found out bottas was only 1/2 tenth behind

some great Valtteri Bottas facts ive found as well. He is the first Finn without a 'K' in his name to claim pole position in F1 & the Finn to get a pole was silverstone 2008 beating his teammate who you guessed it was Lewis Hamilton
 
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Well......that was disappointing. Not seeing Bottas on pole, but again seeing a Merc on pole and Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff Bromancing again and again gets so tiring.

I can't rememeber when there was another car on pole in f1, I really can't. Is it 2013?
This weekend feels so like 2016 Bahrein again. The margin between Merc and Ferrari is almost identical from last year.
 
Well......that was disappointing. Not seeing Bottas on pole, but again seeing a Merc on pole and Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff Bromancing again and again gets so tiring.

I can't rememeber when there was another car on pole in f1, I really can't. Is it 2013?
This weekend feels so like 2016 Bahrein again. The margin between Merc and Ferrari is almost identical from last year.
Yes, the fourth season in a row, it's like watching the German Bundesliga where Bayern Munich walks away with the title every season.
Bottas at least seems to be faster than Rosberg in qualifying.
 
Bottas had all sorts of problems didn't he? Something about his rear tyre pressures being too high? I'm sure Hammy will believe he could/should have won without the 5 second penalty but the Ferrari, with Vettel at the wheel at least, is faster in the race. Not sure what Mercedes do with their engine in qualifying but it doesn't seem to work as well come Sunday.
 
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