Formula One 2012: Shanghai

So now that we’re in Shanghai, let’s talk about Bahrain.  Not that China doesn’t have an oppressive and violent plutocratic regime, just that 60+ years of totalitarianism detract from the novelty factor.

It was interesting to hear all of the paid shills on Speed begrudgingly opine that they thought next week’s race was a bad idea.  The operative insight was- ‘Everybody’s afraid of the penalties if they don’t honor their contract.’

Ecclestone said there were commercial reasons why teams should take part but admitted he could not force individuals to participate. “We’ve no way we can force people to go there,” he said. “We can’t say ‘you’ve got to go’ – although they would be in breach of their agreement with us if they didn’t go – but it doesn’t help. Commercially they have to go, but whether they decide to or not is up to them.

So the question is if you’re more afraid of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in court than you are of a waiter pissing in your cocktail or blowing himself up in your face.

The place is a powder keg waiting to explode and the fuse is Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja who has a 50% chance of martyrdom before the race, a signal even Bernie can’t ignore.

As riot police wage almost daily pitched battles with masked petrol-bomb throwing protesters, analysts say the mainstream opposition may be losing touch with the youth who seek more revolutionary change.

That I think Ecclestone a callous greedy fool and liar is no secret to my readers and I hope that at the very least the negative publicity damages him financially and personally.

Bahrain Grand Prix Splits the Kingdom

By SOUAD MEKHENNET, The New York Times

Published: April 13, 2012

In the street battles that have continued for more than a year, nearly 50 people have died.

Some insist that there is little to worry about regarding Bahrain and the race. John Yates, a former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police in London who have been hired to oversee an overhaul of the Bahrain police force, said that he felt safe in the kingdom. “Indeed, safer than I have often felt in London,” he said Wednesday, according to Reuters.

During an interview, Yates said that tear gas was the only weapon the riot police carried. “They don’t carry any guns, while protesters in the villages are throwing Molotov cocktails and stones,” he said.

“Some people have recently told stories to media that never took place and give the impression that Bahrain is a war zone, and it’s not,” Yates said.

The boss of Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone, said Friday in Shanghai, where he was overseeing preparations for the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, that the Bahrain race was definitely going ahead as planned and that all of the teams were “happy” to be going there, The Associated Press reported.

“There’s nothing happening,” Ecclestone said of the situation in Bahrain. “I know people that live there and it’s all very quiet and peaceful.”

Human Rights Watch says this-

“We are looking at a lockdown.  F1 is not my world, but this seems to be a terrible climate in which to hold what is supposed to be a competitive, festive sporting event.  In the circumstances, I don’t know who is going to be having any fun.”



“I think that they [F1] will have some explaining to do,” said Stork (Deputy Middle East Director of Human Rights Watch). “I can easily imagine that the security will be such that you won’t have the race disrupted on the track and I imagine that they can keep that under control.  But if you have a situation where there are demonstrations on a nightly, if not daily basis, clashes with security forces who aren’t known for the most sophisticated crowd control techniques is not going to be good.  It’s not going to be good for Bahrain, it’s not going to be good for F1 either if it happens either during the race or when it’s clear that the demonstrations are primarily aimed at stopping the race.  That’s what the story will be.”



“From the Bahraini government’s point of view, of course,” he said when asked if there were potential benefits to the race going ahead. “They are desperate to make the case that the situation is normal from a security point of view, normal in terms of civil strife, and that it’s one big happy family.

“But the fact is, it’s not normal. I’m not sure that it’s the mission or the mandate of F1 to be participating in these kinds of exercises.”



“The [ruling] Al Khalifa family are desperate for [the grand prix] to happen. But that doesn’t mean that it should happen.”

On the competition front-  There hasn’t been an all-Mercedes front row since 1955 and Sauber and Lotus are unexpectedly high up on the grid.  Scuderia Marlboro UPC continues its slide into the back markers.  My Dad, who inspired this coverage, asked me today, “So what happened to Red Bull?”  The answer is simple, without the diffuser they have a very ordinary car.  They are attempting to do something with aerodynamic brake cooling to regain their technological edge.

I like it, and not just because McLaren is doing well.  In the ’60s Lotus was my favorite Matchbox and it certainly makes the races more interesting that Red Bull dominance is broken the same way breaking the Scuderia Marlboro/Schumacher dominance made it more interesting.

And not in the flaming chunks of twisted metal Turn Left kind of way.

Pretty tables below.

Starting Grid

Grid Driver Team Q-Time Q-Laps
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:35.121 11
2 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:35.691 13
3 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:35.784 13
4 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1:35.898 15
5 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.191 16
6 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:36.290 14
7 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:35.626 14
8 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:36.524 17
9 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:36.622 17
10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:35.903 15
11 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:36.031 11
12 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:36.255 14
13 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1:36.283 14
14 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1:36.289 14
15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:36.317 14
16 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:36.745 14
17 Daniel Ricciardo STR-Ferrari 1:36.956 14
18 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 1:37.714 8
19 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1:38.463 9
20 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1:38.677 7
21 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1:39.282 10
22 Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1:39.717 10
23 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1:40.411 7
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1:41.000 10

Driver Standings

Rank Driver Team Points
1 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 35
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 30
3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 25
4 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 24
5 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 22
6 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 18
7 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 16
8 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 8
9 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 8
10 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 7
11 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 4
12 Daniel Ricciardo ASTR-Ferrari 2
13 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 2
14 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1

Constructor Standings

Rank Team Points
1 McLaren-Mercedes 55
2 Red Bull Racing-Renault 42
3 Ferrari 35
4 Sauber-Ferrari 30
5 Lotus-Renault 16
6 Force India-Mercedes 9
7 Williams-Renault 8
8 STR-Ferrari 6
9 Mercedes 1

25 comments

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    • on 04/15/2012 at 05:51
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 08:32
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 08:55
      Author

    They didn’t show the hot lap?

    • on 04/15/2012 at 08:58
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:00
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:04
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:07
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:15
      Author

    Rosberg

    Schumacher

    Button

    Raikkonen

    Hamilton

    Perez

    Kobayashi

    Alonso

    Webber

    Massa

    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:16
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:17
      Author

    Expected to pit on Lap 13.

    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:19
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:20
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:20
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:20
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:22
      Author

    Rosberg

    Schumacher

    Raikkonen

    Hamilton

    Perez

    Kobayashi

    Alonso

    Massa

    Grosjean

    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:23
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:26
      Author
    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:30
      Author

    Perez

    Alonso

    Rosberg

    Button

    Massa

    Senna

    Grosjean

    di Resta

    Maldonado

    Kovalainen

    • on 04/15/2012 at 09:40
      Author

    Rosberg

    Button

    Hamilton

    Webber

    Raikonen

    Alonso

    Kobayashi

    Grosjean

    Vettel

    Perez

    • on 04/15/2012 at 10:21
      Author

    Rosberg

    Raikkonen

    Vettel

    Button

    Grosjean

    Senna

    Webber

    Hamilton

    Maldonado

    Alonso

    • on 04/15/2012 at 10:32
      Author

    Rosberg

    Vettel

    Button

    Hamilton

    Webber

    Grosjean

    Senna

    Maldonado

    Alonso

    Kobayashi

    • on 04/15/2012 at 10:44
      Author

    Rosberg

    Button

    Hamilton

    Webber

    Vettel

    Grosjean

    Senna

    Maldonado

    Alonso

    Kobayashi

    • on 04/15/2012 at 10:45
      Author

    First win for Rosberg.

    • on 04/15/2012 at 10:46
      Author

    Rosberg only made 2 pit stops.

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