Round 2: Bahrain - Bahrain International Circuit (15Apr17)

[jeromef1]

 

Sponsor this circuit for only $2.95 USD​

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[ul]
[li]Qualifying start at Saturday, 7.30pm (UK time) - followed by the race[/li]
[li]Session host is ibbopaul[/li]
[/ul]
Pre-race Questions:

[ol]
[li]Fernando Alonso will start at the Indy500. Can you understand his decision? Is it maybe his first step towards retirement from F1 ?[/li]
[li]Hamilton or Vettel ? and who will be the "best of the rest" at Bahrain ? Predict your Top10[/li]
[li]Tyre wear will be critical at Bahrain. Especially without the glitch. Which strategy will be the best for you ?[/li]
[/ol]
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[ne-yo1993]

Questions are live !

 

[KillerBlue195]

1. I totally understand his decision. I don't think it's particularly indicative of his retirement but I think it is a sign he has a difficult relationship with McLaren at the moment. Maybe McLaren let him go to calm him down.

2. Hamilton (more so because I think Mercedes will shade development over the season. I think Hamilton and Vettel are equal as drivers)

3. I think 3 stop. 2 stop, even SS-M-M is risking a puncture. I think SS-M-S-S is the strongest strategy

 

[xdearagony92]

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Pre-race Questions:[/font]
[ol]
[li]Fernando Alonso will start at the Indy500. Can you understand his decision? Is it maybe his first step towards retirement from F1 ?[/li]
[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
He looks very frustrated with mclaren at the moment i can understand he feels terrible and that he needs a change[/font][li]Hamilton or Vettel ? and who will be the "best of the rest" at Bahrain ? Predict your Top10[/li]
[color][size][font]
i think vettel will win bahrain with hamilton 2nd and ricciardo 3rd max 4rd 5th kimi 6th bottas 7th perez 8th massa 9th ocon 10th[/font][/size][/color][li]Tyre wear will be critical at Bahrain. Especially without the glitch. Which strategy will be the best for you ?[/li]
[color][size][font]
diffrent then my tyre strategy last year [/font][/size][/color][/ol]

 

[Smithy]

Fernando Alonso will start at the Indy500. Can you understand his decision? Is it maybe his first step towards retirement from F1 ?

Yes, he wants to become the best driver in the world, and to be classed as that, you need to be the best racer across several sports.

Hamilton or Vettel ? and who will be the "best of the rest" at Bahrain ? Predict your Top10

Vettel, Kimi, Ham, Verst, Ricci, Bottas, Perez, Ocon, Massa, Grosjean. (I think it will come down to reliability, with the extreme conditions).

Tyre wear will be critical at Bahrain. Especially without the glitch. Which strategy will be the best for you ?

I think Intermediates might be the best bet, fast and durable

 

[Macca]

Fernando Alonso will start at the Indy500. Can you understand his decision? Is it maybe his first step towards retirement from F1?
Yes I can understand his decision he's a winner and he isn't going to win Monaco where as in Indy500 he may have a chance. No I don't think this is his first step towards retirement it's just an opportunity that has come-about. If he can find a reasonably competitive car he'll still be in F1 next season.

Hamilton or Vettel? and who will be the "best of the rest" at Bahrain? Predict your top 10
1st Vettel 
2nd Hamilton
3rd Raikkonen 
4th Bottas 
5th Ricciardo 
6th Verstappen 
7th Massa
8th Perez
9th Grosjean
10th Ocon

Tyre wear will be critical at Bahrain. Especially without the glitch. Which strategy will be best for you?
Probably a 2 stop depending on grid position 

 

[ne-yo1993]

1. I can understand him. Yes, monaco is THE race in F1 but as Alonso said in thursdays press conference, a 7th or 8th place won't change his life. The indy500 experience will change it.
I hope not. Tbh, I think this is his last season in F1. That hurts as a Alonso fan. He said in thursdays press conference the target has to be, to fight for the title. Which is not possible with a Honda engine next year. I would love to see him in a Mercedes, Ferrari or RedBull but it won't happen I guess. So he's running out of options for 2018

2. It will be close battle between Mercedes amd Ferrari. The Ferrari is better when it comes to tyre wear so
1.Vettel
2. Kimi
3. Lewis
4. Bottas
5. Max
6. The Honey badger
7. Sainz
8. Massa
9. Hulk
10. Nando

3.
Not sure tbh. It depens on your track position. Can't say if a 2 stop or 3 stop is better. Gonna be exciting with some drama at the last laps cause everyone (apart from liam) is on the limit with tyre wear

 

[Liamtsh96]

Fernando Alonso will start at the Indy500. Can you understand his decision? Is it maybe his first step towards retirement from F1 ?

I was surprised at his decision and I personally think he won't do as well as everyone thinks he will. Good on McLaren for letting him do it though.

Hamilton or Vettel ? and who will be the "best of the rest" at Bahrain ? Predict your Top10

1.Hamilton
2. Bottas
3. Vettel
4. Verstappen
5. Ricardo
6. Kyvat
7. Perez
8. Hulk
9. Sainz
10. Massa

Tyre wear will be critical at Bahrain. Especially without the glitch. Which strategy will be the best for you ?

I'm hoping I can do a 2 stop but nothing ever goes to plan for me so anything could happen. File and tyre wear is high so itl be a Chalenge for everyone.

 

[ibbopaul]

1.
Fernando Alonso will start at the Indy500. Can you understand his decision? Is it maybe his first step towards retirement from F1?

Possible but he wants to win it so be happening again next season and what about Lemans.

2. Hamilton or Vettel ? and who will be the "best of the rest" at Bahrain ? Predict your Top10


3. Tyre wear will be critical at Bahrain. Especially without the glitch. Which strategy will be the best for you?

Just finishing

 

[xMIKExSI]

1. Fernando Alonso will start at the Indy500. Can you understand his decision? Is it maybe his first step towards retirement from F1?
Maybe, but when you got such a bad car it doesn't make a difference if he skips a GP.


2. Hamilton or Vettel ? and who will be the "best of the rest" at Bahrain ? Predict your Top10
I hope Ferrari so Kimi or Vettel. Don't care 'bout the rest


3. Tyre wear will be critical at Bahrain. Especially without the glitch. Which strategy will be the best for you?

I will try to finish, didn't do practice for Bahrain so it will be difficult the grid is so strong... just try not to have a puncture
and see what is possible.

 

[RacingAtHome]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf_2rt2zIOY

Qualifying: 14th

Race: 6th!
One of the great races. Great fun. Fighting throughout and the 2 SCs bunched the field up and opened up some strategic options. I kept my nose clean and got through on the Mediums under the 2nd SC. I thought best was 7th but a few punctures for others allowed that to be P6.

 

[Smithy]

Qualifying: POLE!!!! 1st! My first ever pole position, ive been 2nd a few times but never pole. And it was a convincing pole - 0.25 ahead of 2nd place . 

Race: WOW! 4th. Got away cleanly, and was in some great battles early on. Safety car came out and i pitted for mediums - im not happy about how many times i got overtaken under the safety car - it doesnt matter if your going in the pits or not, no overtaking. I found myself in about 3rd, after the restart it was a massive battle, DaveJaVu had some incredible defending and it made the battle for 1st extremely close. Then a 2nd safety car! I pitted for mediums thinking i would comfortably get them to the end... After the restart the 2 Haas cars were like helmsdeep! It was so difficult for anyone to pass them. Probably the worst restart ive had though tbf, i was 4th, found myself in 8th a lap later xD. After a lot of battling and pitting, i was in 2nd behind mcr with 9ish laps to go. My tyre wear wasnt as good as i thought - so with 9 laps to go i started tyre saving, i was really proud of how i was driving, i was saving my tyres really well, and keeping great pace up - With a lap to go i pushed knowing i had to give it everything, my tyres on 75% i knew MCRs must have been worse from watching how he had been driving the previous 8 laps. Then on the final straight i get a puncture  Absolute shit! MCRs tyres were on 85% mine were on 78%, Its so annoying because it means all my tyre saving was pointless, i could have just raced round and pulled a gab out instead. 

Anyway, congrats to the podium finishers. 

Overall: I wont forget this race for a while, annoying how close i was but didnt manage to get the result i felt i deserved - as i was in the lead pack the entire race. On a positive note, im really happy how me and light are driving and working together, im so glad we are teammates - McLaren could be serious Constructors challengers this season.

 

[ne-yo1993]

Q: P8, 1:30,5xx
Was pretty happy with my lap on S. It was more or less the maximum I could've get on these tyres. Also because I was using medium traction for the first time in a league race. Pretty clean lap.

R: P2.
Arrghhhhh...was so close to win it. I just needed one more lap.
Had a great start and was on P6 I think after the first sector. The guys ahead were fighting really hard and I was chilling and waiting for mistakes cause I was on the harder compound. Smithy was lagging heavily at some point. His lagging car crashed with cantera.
The SC came out at lap 5. Smithy was leading, I was second, killer third. I made a di** move and overtook smithy in SC conditions 200m before the pit entry , a little bit like Vettel did last year in china. It didn't felt unfair at that moment but I have to say sorry to smithy. I already talked with him about that.
The second Safety car was interesting cause it was way to early to pit for the last time for new M (with 16 laps to go). I still had decent tyre wear on my M and decided to stay out and strech them till lap 21. Was suprised to see Smithy, killer and co. pitting for M at lap 13. As I said, I've pitted at lap 21 for S. I was on P8 after my stop. That last stint was awesome. It felt like I was flying. So much pace and nice overtakes in every lap. I thought I'll finish on P3 but then, out of the second last corner, smithy had a puncture. Badluck for him.

All in all I'm happy with todays race. It was my first race with medium traction control and it was fun. Had some enjoyable wheel to wheek fights and it was a good race for both championships. Congrats to my bro macca for scoring well deserved 6 points. 24 points for #TeamBwoahh today

See you guys in malaysia!

 

[DaveJaVu]

Q: P21
I was late, so started from the back.

R: P10
Had a reasonable first few laps, making up a few places, before the safety car came out for Swichblade and Cantera's retirements. This allowed me to take the lead as most others pitted. From the restart I held off the others for a few laps on pretty old mediums, before being passed by Killer and ne-yo. neyo made some contact as he got past, losing me several more positions, and having the knock on effect of light-e44 getting a penalty for going off road avoiding my car. The second SC came out a few laps later, after the Toro Rosso drivers smashed into each other on the back straight. A well timed pitstop meant I was P5 for the restart. For the rest of the race though, the car just didn't have any straight line speed with 6-7 wings, even when I had DRS. I took a chance on Super Softs on lap 22, but they didn't help me make up much time. I got back up to P8 when light-e44 and KillerBlue195 got punctures, but before the back straight on lap 29, I got one, causing me to lose places to Stormfighter0815 and xMIKExSI. At least 1 point is better than nothing, and a double points finish for Haas is decent. See you guys next week!

[youtube]cLFup97QpJk[/youtube]

Here's the video, and the notes are:

0:18 Race Start/first few laps
6:35 Taking the lead during the first SC period
8:00 Restart and battle with ne-yo1993 & KillerBlue195
13:00 STRs (PietertjeeFTW & rikkurich) cause another SC
13:35 Almost getting a penalty for "falling too far back"
14:15 Second restart
19:15 xdearagony92 crashes
22:55 Final pitstop
25:45 light-e44 puncture
27:10 KillerBlue195 and I get punctures

 

[ne-yo1993]

My Bahrain highlights :

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ2dE1siXhg

 

[Macca]

Q - P14
Very poor lap but decided not to run again as I wanted to start outside the top 10

R - P7
Decent start but then ran wide halfway round lap 1 letting 2 cars past. Took 3 attempts but go past Jaycob. Then the 1st SC came out I pitted but had to hold some cars up on the way into the pit because NeYo was in the pits and thanks to stacking not working properly in this game. On the restart I was 8th behind LightE, Dave was holding people up at the front which meant I was comfortable in the lead group off cars then the 2nd SC came out as I was 7th, I knew NeYo wasn't going to pit but I was surprised that only NeYo, myself and Liam stayed out of the lead group. On the restart Liam and MCR got past and I pitted lap 20 for S tyres managed to pass Fab and get 2 more positions because of punctures to LightE and Killer

Congrats to MCR on his win! Also to NeYo and Liam on their podiums, see you all in Malaysia!


Race highlights 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VrKM29Nibsc

 

[KillerBlue195]

Results are updated

 

[KillerBlue195]