2013 Bahrain Grand Prix: 5 Talking Points

Contradictory to some of the earlier races at the gulf country, the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix turned out to be an enthralling affair. Sebastian Vettel got back to winning ways and extended his lead in the drivers championship standings of the 2013 F1 season, which is turning out to be all about tyre management. Here are the talking points of the Bahrain GP.

Déjà vu in the desert

SAKHIR, BAHRAIN – APRIL 21: Race winner Sebastian Vettel (2nd right) of Germany and Infiniti Red Bull Racing celebrates with Gill Jones (2nd left) the Infiniti Red Bull Racing Electronic Support Group Leader, second placed Kimi Raikkonen (left) of Finland and Lotus and third placed Romain Grosjean (right) of France and Lotus following the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit on April 21, 2013 in Sakhir, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

So much happened during the course of the 57-lap long race that the final top 3 happened to be Vettel, Raikkonen and Grosjean, who started in second, ninth and eleventh on the grid respectively. It was the same podium in last year’s race too, at the Bahrain International Circuit. This is only the third time that we’ve had a repeat podium in F1. It had previously happened during the Spanish Grands Prix of 1998 & 1999 and the British Grands Prix in 1964 &1965.

Sebastian Vettel drove a flawless race, wresting the lead from Alonso and Rosberg at the start, and relishing the lead thereafter. He maintained his tyres perfectly and won the race comfortably. Kimi Raikkonen, who came second, thereby securing points for 21 races in a row, made his two stop strategy work like a charm. His teammate, Romain Grosjean, reassured that he still has got it in him to be at the top by finishing 3rd – his first podium finish this season.

Alonso’s misfortune

Fernando Alonso had a torrid race after a bright start from 3rd on the grid. Ferrari Team Principal Stefano Domenicali summed it up perfectly, “It’s hard to recall a race where so many things went wrong.” The Spaniard, who came into this race fresh off a win at China, discovered early on in the race that the DRS system on his car was malfunctioning and hence he had to drive without it from then onwards. He had to pit twice to shut down the flap on his rear wing, costing him dearly. Alonso was a sitting duck in his car without DRS as the others, like Webber and Perez, passed him easily during the final stages of the race. He still managed to garner 4 crucial world championship points by bringing his car home in 8th position. If only his DRS had worked properly, he might’ve challenged Vettel for the race win. With 15 more race left this season, Alonso and Ferrari shouldn’t rue about their misfortunes. Rather, they must ensure that the car reliability is improved and their mistakes are not repeated.

There’s something about the Pirelli tyres

The new fast-degrading Pirelli tyres of this season have created a major controversy with many team wanting Pirelli to change them. At Bahrain, Pirelli received a lot of flak after their medium and hard compounds had more tyre-wear than normal. Lewis Hamilton and Giedo Van der Garde had mysterious punctures during Free Practice 3, with the former having to endure a 5-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox because of the damage caused by his left-rear puncture. The investigations are on to ascertain the reason behind Hamilton’s tyre damage. During the race, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa had two strange punctures, causing him to finish 15th after starting from 4th on the grid. Though Pirelli say that the punctures were caused by debris on the track, it was strange that Massa was the only one affected by it, that too twice.

Pirelli’s intention behind introducing these fast degrading tyres was to make F1 more unpredictable by increasing the number of pit stops. But, the unpredictability has gone too far. Mercedes‘ Nico Rosberg, who started the race on pole, was not able to cope with high tyre-wear and ended up finishing 9th! That clearly drives home the point that qualifying performance doesn’t matter until the driver has a sound tyre strategy in place for the race.

Some fans are complaining that they’re not able to keep track of the race because of pit stops happening all the while due to varied strategies. The drivers are also feeling the heat as they have to limit the speeds to preserve the tyres rather than going all out racing – the way it was meant to be. Some of the teams have already voiced their concern about the tyre-wear being too unpredictable for their own good. The ball is currently in Pirelli’s court to act on this regard.

Fending off suggestions that Pirelli have gone too far, Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery said, “We are at extremes, as we were last year, when there were similar comments like, ‘oh my god, you have gone too far.’”

Perez back in his elements

SAKHIR, BAHRAIN – APRIL 21: Sergio Perez of Mexico and McLaren leads from team mate Jenson Button of Great Britain and McLaren during the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit on April 21, 2013 in Sakhir, Bahrain. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

The battle between Sergio Perez and his McLaren teammate Jenson Button during the middle part of the race was edge-of-the-seat stuff. Perez, who had been struggling to cope up with his new team after making the jump from Sauber to McLaren, showed his brilliance by taking the fight to Button and later on, Fernando Alonso. He was aggressive in his overtaking and angered Button in the process. Perez succeeded in that mid-race battle with Button, who would’ve surely been rattled by the pace shown by his rookie teammate in that under-performing McLaren MP4-28. There is bound to be comparisons between Perez and ex-McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, which will put pressure on the young Mexican. But, Perez has sent a message to all his doubters with a strong performance at Sakhir.

Mixed fortunes for Mercedes

SAKHIR, BAHRAIN – APRIL 21: Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes GP leads the field through the first corner at the start of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit on April 21, 2013 in Sakhir, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Nico Rosberg, the pole-sitter in the Mercedes W04, was a victim of the Pirelli tyre trouble as he stooped to 9th place at the end of the race. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton, who started from ninth position, ended up in fifth behind the Force India of Paul Di Resta. It is clear indicator that Mercedes are lagging behind in terms of race-pace while they have been on the top during qualifying.

While it is the same for all when it comes to handling the unpredictable Pirelli tyres, Mercedes have been struggling to cope with the tyres during the race and hence have failed to make their two poles count. They must learn from these two races and come up with better strategy in the European leg.

With tyre-wear dictating the outcome of all the 4 races so far in the 2013 F1 season, the upcoming races in Europe will be all about tyre management and pit-strategy. F1 is all about wheel-to-wheel racing and hence we hope the future races feature drivers going full throttle for the victory without worrying about tyre preservation. That is the only wish of all die-hard F1 out there. Pirelli take notice!