LOOKING AHEAD TO MUGELLO.

In -season testing is a great opportunity for teams to bring new updates to their cars and see how they will work. They already, after four races, know a lot about their cars and certainly a lot more than they know in pre-season testing meaning they have more of an idea as to what their car needs for improved performance. It's the first time since 2008 that the teams have had this chance so it will be interesting to see how much teams benefit from it and how much progress it enables them to make. And it's a great way to fill the 3-week gap between Grands Prix that we must sadly endure.

McLaren's Jenson Button and possibly Lewis Hamilton won't be at the Mugello test because "there aren't any massive updates to try" according to the former. McLaren have had impressive pace so far so they may not see the point of more updates but if their rivals, like Red Bull, do have updates McLaren may be ruing a lost opportunity. Lewis Hamilton has indicated his desire to take part in the test but the team have not yet altered their plans and their test drivers Gary Paffett and Oliver Turvey are set to drive instead. 

The next Grand Prix won't be until 13th May in Spain and the fact that there is a test before it means more unpredictability in the season is to be expected. Many of the top teams will be seeking to work on and eliminate their weaknesses thus far and that can surely only mean they will become closer in terms of performance.

More on Mugello and other F1 news as and when I can update!

Aqsa

APOLOGIES.

I'd just like to say sorry for not updating in a while but I have two German speaking exams coming up so unfortunately I just haven't found the time to blog recently. Regular posts and updates will return shortly!

Until then here's an image of Jake Humphrey kissing Jenson Button because who doesn't want to see that?

Aqsa

(Image taken from tumblr)

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)

DON'T STOP BELIEVING...

I recently discovered a blog called the Daily Post and they set bloggers a weekly challenge of posting a picture on a theme they choose. I decided to do a post on the theme 'Journey' (ok it may not be this week's theme but it's the one I liked the most!).

So I began thinking of how the word 'Journey' could be applied to Formula 1. My first thought was of how the F1 world, teams, drivers, the media and of course fans, travels to and from some of the most exciting and beautiful countries in the world on an almost weekly basis. This is the obvious thing that one would associate with journeys in Formula 1 but I wanted to focus on the other journey that drivers in Formula 1 go on. This is the emotional and mental journey that they and their families take that eventually, for a lucky few, culminates with the realisation of their dreams and the paying-off of years of hard work. 


Therefore, the picture I have gone for is of woman of the moment, Alice Powell. 

Alice is one of many young drivers taking that journey and the recent news that she will be competing in the GP3 series means that she is one step closer to reaching her ultimate goal of an F1 drive.


Aqsa


(Image: oxfordmail.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)

RED BULL GIVES YOU WINGS...

...not quite!

SETTING THE SCENE.

This will be a regular feature where I will pick just one picture that sums up a particular Grand Prix for me. Today, as you know, was China's turn to host the F1 circus and here is my choice.

I had to go for this picture of the three podium-finishers! Only one man was ever going to win this race and it is great to see him enjoying his first ever Formula 1 win. The two McLaren boys also drove incredibly today to get second and third. Both of them performed some magnificent overtakes and Jenson managed to recover from an unusually long pit stop. A well deserved podium for all three drivers!

Aqsa

P.S. I promise the picture won't always be of the podium, in case you were worried...

(Image from dailymail.co.uk)