BRING ON BARCELONA.

I think my last post gave you an idea of just how excited I am for the Spanish Grand Prix and as promised here is my preview to the race. In just a week's time I'll be getting ready for the race to begin and what a race it promises to be.

The Circuit de Catalunya will play host to the F1 world and, considering how much knowledge and experience the teams have on the track, it will be the first circuit that may give us an indication as to how the teams stand. The opening round of fly-aways is over, as is the in-season test in Mugello, but no-one involved in F1 is any the wiser as to how teams compare in performance. Spain will hopefully answer some of our questions and doubts.

Last time out Sebastian Vettel took his first win of 2012 in Bahrain and I'm certain that acted as a confidence boost to him and his Red Bull team. He won the race in the way he knows best- a pole position on Saturday to race win on Sunday. Any critics of RBR were silenced and the team proved they did have pace in both qualifying and the race. Many have looked to tyres as the reason for Vettel's win but Red Bull had pace throughout the race weekend. Battling with his friend Raikkonen at the end also proved that Vettel can race wheel-to-wheel whilst taking good care of his rubber. This is something all drivers will have to master and gaining a balance between tyre management and pace will be crucial in determining how the season plays out. Should Vettel manage this in Barcelona, the way he did in Bahrain, I think he could be the first man to take two wins this season.

Speaking of tyres, Michael Schumacher criticised Pirelli after the Bahraini Grand Prix. He said that he doesn't think tyre management should be a deciding factor in race classification and this statement has been met with mixed responses. I personally believe that Pirelli have done a great job with their 2012 tyre range and learning how to treat their tyres is another skill drivers will have to learn. In my opinion, it will set the more intelligent drivers apart from the rest and who doesn't want drivers and teams to face more challenges during the race? Well, Schumacher clearly doesn't but sorry Michael; majority rules!

Other drivers who weren't too happy after the Bahrain Grand Prix were McLaren teammates Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton finishing with 0 and 4 points respectively. Pit stop problems were partially to blame for McLaren's woes but it just wasn't their weekend. With both drivers missing from the Mugello test, they will have to adapt to any updates the MP4-27 has undergone and aim for stronger results in Barcelona. The 2012 season is so tight that reliability and pit-stop issues must be eliminated if teams are to maintain a strong title challenge.

Lotus definitely impressed in Bahrain by picking up a double podium with Raikkonen 2nd and Grosjean 3rd.  The team put their troubles in China and in qualifying in Bahrain behind them to gain 33 points in their bid to finish ahead of the rest of the mid-field and become established front-runners. If they carry their strong form over to Spain, they will definitely join the battles at the front of the pack in 2012 and both Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean can enjoy strong comebacks; something I'm sure everyone in Formula 1 would like to see.

So taking all these aspects into account and everything we saw in Mugello, I hope you understand just why Spain and the European leg of the season can't come quickly enough for me. There is so much to look out for and so much to be learnt from the race and with no-one any the wiser as to what will happen during the race weekend, a trend that we're all getting used to, the fifth Grand Prix of the season is set to be as thrilling as the first four.

Will Red Bull stay strong and increase their lead in both championships? Will McLaren sort out their pit-stop problems and return to challenging at the front? Who will successfully manage tyre degradation? All these questions and more will be answered in a week's time during the Spanish Grand Prix.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Image 1: loxlee-loves-engines.com, Image 2: telegraph.co.uk,)

SETTING THE SCENE.

I'm only supposed to use the one picture that I feel sums up the Grand Prix for me but Bahrain wasn't all just about the on-track action so I'm going to cheat and use two, if that's ok...

Firstly, Red Bull are back on top as demonstrated by the finger, the smiles and a rather spectacular trophy. Congratulations to the whole team!

Here you can see smoke behind the track whilst the cars are racing as protests are ongoing in Bahrain against the government and against F1. Let's hope Formula 1 can move on from this and that no further casualties are reported as a result of F1 being in the country.

Aqsa

(Images: dailymail,co.uk)

SEB (BAH)RAINS ON MCLAREN'S PARADE!

Who would have thought that only a week after failing to make it to Q3 Sebastian Vettel would not only win the next Grand Prix but find himself leading the Drivers' Championship? He had definitely not been written off but not many people expected the win to come so soon at race number 4. Red Bull got everything together for this weekend and it all paid off. Sebastian drove a very cool race in the Bahraini heat to take a pole to chequered flag victory.

Kimi Raikkonen was the only person to pose a real threat to Vettel's race win as he closed in on the German towards the end of the second stint. However, failure to undercut Red Bull at the final pit stop meant that the Iceman wasn't able to get close enough to overtake Vettel for the lead. Nevertheless, second place is still a great result for Raikkonen as he gets his comeback to Formula 1 firmly underway. I'm definitely glad to see Lotus challenge at the front with the final podium spot going to Kimi's team mate Romain Grosjean who is also making the most of his comeback and his joy at finishing on his first ever podium was very clear.

Lewis Hamilton could only manage eighth place in his McLaren but at least he got some points unlike team mate Jenson Button. Button unfortunately didn't even see the chequered flag making this the second time he has finished out of the points this season. Lewis suffered from two faulty pit-stops which took approximately 21 seconds collectively. He did pull off some great overtakes to finish eighth but something tells me that won't really be a consolation for him. McLaren's weaknesses today further highlight the unpredictability of this season and the fact that there definitely aren't any favourites for race wins or championships. Before McLaren start thinking that far ahead in to the future, however, they will need to sort those pit-stops out.

Elsewhere, Felipe Massa also won a few points in Bahrain and whilst this does not remove any of the pressure the Brazilian is under, it is at least one hurdle crossed. Daniel Ricciardio failed to capitalise on his 6th place start and this shows that although you can enjoy and be pleased with your qualifying performances, points aren't awarded on a Saturday and if you can't deliver the goods on race day you aren't guaranteed a seat in a car next season.

Paul Di Resta impressed in his Force India to finish in sixth position; ahead of both McLarens, Ferraris and a Mercedes. That's a nice bunch of points for the young Scot and a nice boost to carry into the European leg. Nico Rosberg finished ahead of Di Resta to come fifth after a race where he forced more than one other driver off the race track. He finished ahead of his victims, Alonso and Hamilton, but I'm sure he didn't have fifth place in his mind after his maiden victory in Shanghai. But in F1 these days that's the difference a week makes...

I don't think anyone can question how thrilling this race was and there was excitement and surprises up and down the grid. I spent so much of the race literally on the edge of my seat and my heart race was very unstable. A wonderful first win of 2012 for Sebastian blows this championship wide open and the double world-champions, Vettel and Red Bull, are certainly ready for the fight.

Aqsa

(Images: dailymail.co.uk)

RETURN OF THE FINGER.

Finally, after three race weekends, Sebastian Vettel put his RB8 right at the front of the grid following qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix. It has been a long time coming but he had an excuse to flash that famous finger as he climbed out of the car and celebrated with a few of his team members. I don't think many people would have seen this coming but the German got the job done and finally out-qualified his team mate Mark Webber, who also put in a great performance to get his Red Bull in to third on the grid.

The McLaren of Lewis Hamilton splits the Red Bulls and despite being very close to Vettel in terms of lap times, he just couldn't get more out of his car. Jenson Button may be a bit disappointed but when he won the race in 2009 he did so from fourth place. What can the '09 world champion do tomorrow?

Of course Michael Schumacher will be anything but pleased with qualifying 18th after coming to Bahrain as a definite front-row contender. Fellow Mercedes driver Rosberg will be disappointed with his performance as he was in with a shot at pole but could only manage fifth. He only did one run, like in China, but this time didn't get what he needed out of his flying lap. Perhaps he could have beaten Vettel had he run twice but that's just a what-if situation and the reality is that he simply couldn't make it two in a row.

The most interesting occurrence of Qualifying, for me, is the fact that the Toro Rosso drivers are experiencing  totally contrasting Saturdays. A great performance from Daniel Ricciardo saw him in the top 10 shoot out and finish in a stunning sixth position. On the other hand, Jean-Eric Vergne in the second Toro Rosso couldn't even get past the first hurdle of Q1 as he qualified in a lacklustre 18th. Ricciardo himself told Sky Sports' Natalie Pinkham that he doesn't know why they're seeing such different qualifying results but I'm sure that won't bother him as much as it will bother Vergne. The famously ruthless team he finds himself driving for won't be best pleased with the Frenchman's Saturdays either and he needs to step up his game now- or at least tomorrow- to be guaranteed with a seat for the whole of 2012.

So the cars have battled it out for grid position and the next time they take to the track will be for the race. Whilst I don't necessarily agree with the Grand Prix going ahead I can't wait for all of tomorrow's action. Can Sebastian Vettel follow up his incredible pole position with a race win, his first of 2012? It's something he's definitely used to doing but I can think of a few people who won't be making his life any easier...

Aqsa

(Image: BBC Sport)

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

Two practice sessions took place over in Bahrain earlier today and the standings after them make for very interesting reading.

In second practice Nico Rosberg was fastest overall showing that his form has carried over into this race weekend and only a fool would write him off as a pole contender. Understandably high after his maiden race win in China, Nico has a great chance at making it two in a row...

The big surprise of the day for me was the fact that the Red Bulls of Mark and Sebastian were 2nd and 3rd respectively. The double world champion has switched to the newer car that Mark was running with last week after saying he preferred the older design. The results from China, in qualifying and in the race, showed that the newer package was faster and Vettel can't afford to carry on being beaten by his team mate. The Bulls showed they had pace and were capable of matching or even beating McLaren but remember that in practice in Shanghai, Red Bull weren't too far off the pace but we all know that qualifying certainly didn't go to plan for them.

Speaking of McLaren, I can't imagine they're totally happy with how practice went as they were beaten by Red Bull in second practice; Lewis finished fourth after Vettel. Button was "feeling massively no grip" and it seems that his poor qualifying performance in China may be repeated tomorrow. However the fact that Lewis went fastest in first practice once again underlines just how unpredictable this season promises to be, let alone tomorrow's qualifying.

There were no other major surprises amongst the teams with Ferrari finishing in eighth with Alonso; a position they're definitely getting used to particularly on Fridays and Saturdays.

I don't think anyone knows what is going to happen tomorrow and I'm sure that qualifying in Bahrain will leave us with plenty of talking points just as Saturday sessions have done all year so far.

Of course the race isn't the only thing that will get the world watching and F1 will have a lot more attention placed on it this weekend due to the political conditions in Bahrain. Whether the race goes ahead or not (it's unlikely to be cancelled anyway) is not in the hands of F1 fans so let's just enjoy the on-track action as much as we can whilst not forgetting what the innocent people of Bahrain are fighting for and praying that everyone (teams, drivers, fans and protesters) stays safe.

So will Vettel make it to Q3 or finally beat his team mate? Will Nico take pole position again? Or will Hamilton rain on his parade? Unfortunately I can't answer any of these and you'll just have to watch qualifying to find out, won't you? Then you can join me right here so we can talk about it all. See you then...

Aqsa

P.S. My laptop has gone off for repairs (I somehow cracked the screen) so I may not be able to post/tweet as regularly as I would like to next week but I'll try my best. I'm sure my sister won't mind me stealing borrowing hers.

(All images: dailymail.co.uk)

WINNING STATE OF MIND.

Following Nico Rosberg's historical win in Shanghai the F1 world moves to the Middle East and with three different drivers having won the three Grands Prix we've had so far, it will most definitely be thrilling to see who can clench the win in Bahrain. Rosberg will be a contender with him and Mercedes considered to be the pacesetters of the season so far. Sure, it was the first time we saw a performance worth mentioning from the team but because the weekend of the Chinese Grand Prix was the only one that had stable conditions throughout, from practice to the chequered flag, it is the only one that has given us any indication as to where the teams relatively are in terms of performance. Jenson Button echoed this sentiment when he said "I'm sure this won't be Nico's first and last win".

It took the 26 year old 110 races before he was able to enjoy the sweet taste of victory meaning that he has only won 0.9% of the races in his Formula 1 career. However, there are other honours that he can enjoy. Not only did he give his team their first win since 1955 but he also became the first German driver in 73 years to win a Grand Prix in a German car. Whilst these facts don't define a driver's career, I'm sure they're nice accolades to have. 


So, it took Nico a while to get on to the top step of the podium but he is someone who has proven that he has the ability to win and I can't think of any better motivator to keep winning than actually experiencing a victory. World Champion Jenson Button took slightly longer than Rosberg to get his first win. He raced in 112 Grands Prix before that big moment. Button won in Hungary in 2006 and didn't win again until 2009 but he didn't have a capable car. With a much tighter season this year, Rosberg's Mercedes certainly has the capability of winning. Combining this with the extra confidence he has I wouldn't be surprised to see him grabbing more wins in 2012 and years to come.


Aqsa


(Image taken from BBC Sport website)

SHANGHAI DELIVERS, AS DOES ROSBERG.

As far as I'm concerned there is only one word to sum up the Chinese Grand Prix: Wow! I'd say that applies more to the second half of the race as the first half saw the cars pretty much staying in position and there wasn't as much overtaking as was expected from this circuit. But there are still plenty of talking points...

Let's begin at the start, naturally! Nico Rosberg got away from the rest of the pack incredibly and wasn't put under any pressure from those behind him on the grid. There wasn't too much action in the rest of the top 10 except for the fact that Button got himself in to third position behind the Mercedes of veteran driver Michael Schumacher. Elsewhere, Sebastian Vettel is clearly being affected by starting right in the middle of the pack because he lost about four places immediately after a slow start. He admitted to not waking up early enough after the lights went out. 

Rosberg gets off to a flier

As I mentioned the first part of the race was fairly uneventful as no one was pulling any extraordinary overtakes and positions didn't change around too much. Following Mark Webber's first pit stop it looked quite clear that many would follow a 3 stop strategy and we began to see a lot more action on the track as new tyres breathed some life into the racing. Rosberg managed to maintain a gap at the front of the pack but unfortunately for his team-mate a problem with his front-right wheel nut, after his very first pit stop, meant that he had to retire from the race. I'm sure this was more than just frustrating for Schumacher as it seems that he's just not getting any luck on Sundays. How long will it be before he can follow up a strong qualifying performance with a good amount of points on race day? So, for the remainder of the race, the hopes of an entire Mercedes team were placed on the 26 year old German, Rosberg.

I'll move on now to that battle for 2nd place between Raikkonen, Vettel, Button, Hamilton, Webber and for some part Grosjean and Senna. Now wasn't that something? After Vettel finally made a move on Raikkonen it seemed the Finn had lost all grip in his tyres and tumbled a further seven places in the space of one lap. This gave Button a chance to have a go at Vettel (who was on a 2 stop strategy) and, with the benefit of newer tyres, he finally clawed back second place on Lap 51. Lewis Hamilton was next up to add to Sebastian's woes and add to them he did when he passed him going into the hairpin only three laps after Button. Despite Vettel's attempts to regain position, Hamilton clung on to his third third-place of the season. Fast forward by one lap and the two Red Bulls were wheel-to-wheel when the double world champion's tyres succumbed once again to the newer tyres of Mark Webber. That rounded off the top 5 and they all contributed to one of the most exciting race ends we've seen for a while.

Vettel is "satisfied" with a 5th place finish

Romain Grosjean took his Lotus over the line in sixth position and it was the first time he'd seen the chequered flag in 2012. This will no doubt be a boost to him, especially because fellow Lotus driver Raikkonen finished well out of the points in 14th. Williams picked up a cool 7th and 8th finish and I am so glad to see this team, with the history they have, get off to a great start this season considering a woeful 2011.

China didn't disappoint in providing some great talking points and due to the stable conditions, it allowed us to see what the cars are really capable of, although no clear pecking order has yet emerged. If there were any doubts that this season is going to be a lot tighter than we have been used to in recent times, let the fact that there have already been six different drivers (Hamilton, Button, Alonso, Rosberg, Vettel and Perez) on the podium in only three races this season compared to the seven in eighteen races last year. 

Rosberg celebrates his first ever F1 win

The attention now refocuses on Bahrain and, considering it is highly unlikely that the race won't go ahead, it's sure to be another amazing race. Many drivers will be trying to go one better than they managed this time round and many will be imagining themselves on the top step of the podium. 

And the best news? The excitement all starts in less than a week.

Aqsa

(Image 1: dailymail.co.uk, Image 2: redbull.com, Image 3: telegraph.co.uk)

BAHRAIN- MORE THAN JUST A RACE.

With all the talk surrounding the Bahrain Grand Prix it only makes sense that I do some kind of post on the matter. I'm sure you've heard all about the controversy surrounding the race (if not I recommend you read this handy BBC article! It has information on the questions raised about the Grand Prix and an update on the situation in the country.) and there are plenty of bloggers and news sites out there that can describe what's going on. Therefore, I don't want to simply tell you why people are talking about it, I just want to offer my thoughts on the situation.

The mass human rights abuses that are taking place in Bahrain right now are plain and clear for us all to see. And why are innocent people being brutally targeted by their Government? For simply demanding their right to live in a democracy! Many of us are blessed with this privilege already and so it's difficult for us to place ourselves in the mind of a Bahraini (or Syrian, Libyan etc) citizen and it is difficult for us to show our support of their cause. However, one organisation that does have the power and influence to affect the way people view a situation is Formula 1. It is in a unique position as a sport that is so closely tied with politics and other world issues but it should view this position as a positive. Should F1 be going to a country and helping the government make money with which it will orchestrate the murder of its own civilians? The answer is simple. The answer is no.

(Image taken from arabianbusiness.com) 

The teams and drivers only seem to be concerned with safety and whilst this is an important aspect, this issue is deeper than motor racing. It is about showing an alliance with the Bahraini people and refusing to hold a Grand Prix alongside a brutal regime.

So as the world awaits a final decision on this Grand Prix it is important to remember that even if the race is cancelled the problems in Bahrain continue. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Bahrain and it is clear that they too don't want this race to go ahead (see Youtube for some anti-F1 protests).

(Image taken from blogs.aljazeera.net)

I didn't foresee myself getting so 'deep' on this blog but one of the great things about Formula 1 is the impact it has on the world and it is definitely more than just a sport.

Aqsa