2005 Bahrain GP
 

The circuit
Another relatively flat circuit designed by Hermann Tilke like Shanghai, Hockenheim (redesign) and Sepang.

The circuit is quite wide and promotes a lot of overtaking -particularly in turns 1,4,14.

The last turn in the circuit Isee here(http://www.formula1.com/race/circuitmap/734.html) is a tricky corner to get right and drivers frequently overdo it like JPM last year and Villeneuve in the 2005 Qually 1 sessions.

The circuit is a medium speed circuit with high temperatures and is tough on brakes due to long straights and tight hairpins.

As there is a lot of sand being blown onto the track, all teams develop unique air filters and other mechanisms to protect the cars from the dust.

Aerial View
http://www.itv-f1.com/ImageLibrary/20170_2.jpg

2004 Pole Position - Michael Schumacher - 1m30.252s
2004 Winner - Michael Schumacher

2005 Race preview and talking points

- The big news is that Ferrari is debuting the 2005 spec car. It seems to run in the top 5 comfortably but is certainly not the class of the field like the F2004 was in its first race.

- Will Toyota and Red Bull continue to rake in the points now that Ferrari is back

- Will Villeneuve finally put in a decent performance

- Will Alonso win again. He is proving to be utterly dominant this season. Has Fisichella finally met his match?

- Will the BAR Hondas finish the race?

- How would the latest Bridgestones hold out in the race?

2005 Qualifying session
Results -->http://www.formula1.com/race/result/734/19.html
Press conference --> http://www.formula1.com/race/news/2801/734.html
Driver quotes --> http://www.formula1.com/race/news/2800/734.html

Q1 Times:
P. No Driver Team - Engine Tyres Times Ave/Gaps
1. 5 ALONSO Renault M 1'29"848 217.047 Km/h
2. 16 TRULLI Toyota M 1'29"993 + 0'00"145
3. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'30"237 + 0'00"389
4. 8 HEIDFELD Williams BMW M 1'30"390 + 0'00"542
5. 6 FISICHELLA Renault M 1'30"445 + 0'00"597
6. 7 WEBBER Williams BMW M 1'30"592 + 0'00"744
7. 9 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'30"594 + 0'00"746
8. 15 KLIEN RedBull Cosworth M 1'30"646 + 0'00"798
9. 10 DE LA ROSA McLaren Mercedes M 1'30"725 + 0'00"877
10. 12 MASSA Sauber Petronas M 1'30"933 + 0'01"085
11. 17 R.SCHUMACHER Toyota M 1'30"952 + 0'01"104
12. 3 BUTTON BAR Honda M 1'30"957 + 0'01"109
13. 4 SATO BAR Honda M 1'31"113 + 0'01"265
14. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Cosworth M 1'31"211 + 0'01"363
15. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'31"826 + 0'01"978
16. 11 VILLENEUVE Sauber Petronas M 1'32"318 + 0'02"470
17. 19 KARTHIKEYAN Jordan Toyota B 1'33"190 + 0'03"342
18. 18 MONTEIRO Jordan Toyota B 1'33"424 + 0'03"576
19. 21 ALBERS Minardi Cosworth B 1'34"005 + 0'04"157
20. 20 FRIESACHER Minardi Cosworth B 1'34"848 + 0'05"000

Sunday Qualifying times
2005 Bahrain Grand Prix
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired
1 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 3:01.902
2 1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 3:02.357
3 16 Jarno Trulli Toyota 3:02.660
4 8 Nick Heidfeld Williams-BMW 3:03.217
5 7 Mark Webber Williams-BMW 3:03.262
6 17 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 3:03.271
7 15 Christian Klien Red Bull Racing 3:03.369
8 10 Pedro de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes 3:03.373
9 9 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 3:03.524
10 6 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 3:03.765
11 3 Jenson Button BAR-Honda 3:04.348
12 12 Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 3:05.202
13 4 Takuma Sato BAR-Honda 3:05.563
14 14 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 3:05.844
15 2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 3:07.693
16 11 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-Petronas 3:07.983
17 18 Tiago Monteiro Jordan-Toyota 3:09.428
18 19 Narain Karthikeyan Jordan-Toyota 3:10.143
19 21 Christijan Albers Minardi-Cosworth 3:10.422
20 20 Patrick Friesacher Minardi-Cosworth 3:11.261

Q1 Times:

P. No Driver Team - Engine Tyres Times Ave/Gaps
1. 5 ALONSO Renault M 1'29"848 217.047 Km/h
2. 16 TRULLI Toyota M 1'29"993 + 0'00"145
3. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'30"237 + 0'00"389
4. 8 HEIDFELD Williams BMW M 1'30"390 + 0'00"542
5. 6 FISICHELLA Renault M 1'30"445 + 0'00"597
6. 7 WEBBER Williams BMW M 1'30"592 + 0'00"744
7. 9 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'30"594 + 0'00"746
8. 15 KLIEN RedBull Cosworth M 1'30"646 + 0'00"798
9. 10 DE LA ROSA McLaren Mercedes M 1'30"725 + 0'00"877
10. 12 MASSA Sauber Petronas M 1'30"933 + 0'01"085
11. 17 R.SCHUMACHER Toyota M 1'30"952 + 0'01"104
12. 3 BUTTON BAR Honda M 1'30"957 + 0'01"109
13. 4 SATO BAR Honda M 1'31"113 + 0'01"265
14. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Cosworth M 1'31"211 + 0'01"363
15. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'31"826 + 0'01"978
16. 11 VILLENEUVE Sauber Petronas M 1'32"318 + 0'02"470
17. 19 KARTHIKEYAN Jordan Toyota B 1'33"190 + 0'03"342
18. 18 MONTEIRO Jordan Toyota B 1'33"424 + 0'03"576
19. 21 ALBERS Minardi Cosworth B 1'34"005 + 0'04"157
20. 20 FRIESACHER Minardi Cosworth B 1'34"848 + 0'05"000

thanks guys, I have been working (again :( )
new Ferrari time to prove to the world MS is the best driver in F1 right now :D

Guys this race starts at Midnight my time. I remember Jabba saying after the Melbourne GP that he would try to record the races for the season, and put them up. I tried searching for that topic specifically but couldn't find anything. Do you know if the Bahrain GP will be put up also? Could somebody please point me in the direction of that topic? I'm most grateful.
Oh yea, Webber will take this one out :wink:

Hahahaha I just read that Montoya couldn't drive this race because he hurt himself playing tennis.

http://img14.imgspot.com/u/05/92/03/bahqual.JPG


go Alonso!!!!

What happened to Fisichella - he went backwards from 5th to 10th.

Schumi, Klien and Webber all gained a spot from y'day.

Rubens must be running with full tanks - he stays 15th on the grid.

Excellent grid - the top 4 are from 4 different teams - should be interesting race to watch.

.....Not good, Michael out............I guess its a bad idea to bring the new car out so quickly after all

Bummer - Heidfeld out too :(

Williams team update:
http://img229.exs.cx/img229/1710/update9ud.jpg
Webbers in 3rd :D .. Do you think the heat / dust combo is affecting the cars significantly?

Very good race, another one to go along with the previous two - looks like its gonna be an amazing season....

McLarens looked stupidly fast - if de la Rosa only knew how to over take he'd gain another couple of positions easily.

Williams looked strong but unfortunate

Renault's looked good but not quite as fast as previous races - still slaughtered the opposition - pity about their failure though.

Gascoigne at Toyota has done an unbelievable job, stunning run from both of their drivers.

Red bull were no where

BAR looked slow as per usual lets hope their new front wing will fix things up. They're brakes didnt reallylike the heat

As ferrari - the reason they were delaying the F2005 was to make sure they had completed and tested their gearbox - obviously bringing it in this early hurt them hard.

Good race, look forward to the next one

Well 1 for Red Bull 0 for Ferrari....that said something about Ferrari's work this season so far.

FASTEST LAPS:


Pos No Driver Team Lap Time Of Day Average Speed Time

1:: 10 Pedro de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes 43 15:41:55 213.054 1:31.447

2:: 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 39 15:34:41 212.436 1:31.713

3:: 9 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 41 15:38:25 212.184 1:31.822

4:: 16 Jarno Trulli Toyota 41 15:37:59 211.030 1:32.324

5:: 3 Jenson Button BAR-Honda 45 15:45:06 210.832 1:32.411

6:: 17 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 36 15:30:47 210.213 1:32.683

7:: 1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 7 14:44:45 209.753 1:32.886

8:: 2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 23 15:10:08 209.550 1:32.976

9:: 8 Nick Heidfeld Williams-BMW 19 15:03:45 209.372 1:33.055

10:: 7 Mark Webber Williams-BMW 20 15:05:12 209.300 1:33.087

11:: 4 Takuma Sato BAR-Honda 23 15:10:07 209.217 1:33.124

12:: 12 Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 40 15:37:25 208.764 1:33.326

13:: 14 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 42 15:40:51 208.561 1:33.417

14:: 11 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-Petronas 24 15:11:57 208.470 1:33.458

15:: 18 Tiago Monteiro Jordan-Toyota 18 15:03:12 203.492 1:35.744

16:: 20 Patrick Friesacher Minardi-Cosworth 16 14:59:59 202.040 1:36.432

17:: 21 Christijan Albers Minardi-Cosworth 3 14:39:26 201.038 1:36.913

18:: 6 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 2 14:37:07 200.783 1:37.036

19:: 19 Narain Karthikeyan Jordan-Toyota 2 14:37:11 199.760 1:37.533

didn't see much of the race, but Ferrari are still having a poor start to the season :|

De La Rosa was on fire in the McLaren.... i bet some other teams are thinking about snatching him from his test-driver role.

Renault still going strong, despite Fisi's engine blowout :)

One thing - i didnt realise that they had to keep the same tyres for the whole race. :roll: It was rather amusing watching a mechanic fumbling around trying to line up the nut on the wheel :P

One question - If you get a puncture, or a tyre delaminates, is that a retirement, or can you pit and change them :?:

You can change, but only the damaged tyre, like Kimi had to do in Malaysia. :wink: