[Official] Bahrain Grand Prix 2017 - Round 3 of 20 - Grand Prix Weekend Thread

[Born Racer]

Discuss Bahrain here.

[F1Guy]

Some of the talk on the flight over from China has been the rear wing, and also, the floor of the Ferraris. Both are flexing, and eyebrows have been raised. Teams have noticed and there could be a need for Charlie Whiting to clarify.

Ferrari have also bought a new front wing design for Bahrein. No doubt teams will be keeping a close eye on this as well today.

[F1Guy]

FP1 results. Ferrari on top, and bottom.

[Mike Harte]

For those who may be interested, and it seems new to me, Channel 4 in the UK is showing the free practices live, with FP2 on at 15:55 to 17:35 BST and FP3 tomorrow at 12:55 to 14:25 BST. FP1 will be on catch-up if required.

[stripedcat]

Ferrari are bringing new parts for this race. They're meant to be strong here. I think they did benefit from the rule changes over the winter - especially on suspension - they're meant to have a better system than both the Mercedes and Red Bull.

I think I heard on the Sky feed - that it's meant to be quite windy on race day and there could be a sandstorm .

[chillibowl]

got a kick out of seeing this.

Nick Mason in the Ferrari garage!

https://twitter.com/ScuderiaFerrari/...549761/photo/1

[F1Guy]

A bit more on the Ferrari suspicions HERE. Many other sites also reporting this issue.

But if the Ferrari has passed all the FIA tests, then it should be play on.

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

A bit more on the Ferrari suspicions HERE. Many other sites also reporting this issue.

But if the Ferrari has passed all the FIA tests, then it should be play on.

obviously im not in a position to comment on the legality of the Ferrari, and Ferrari have already issued their own challenges of legality against other teams this year so whats good for the goose is good for the gander type thing.

but this is also why i really respect Ferrari's decision to talk less to the media this year.

because after watching f1 for many many years one thing is certain...if Ferrari are doing well the most dominate headline of the year will about cheating and any legitimate question another team may have is immediately translated by the media into accusations of cheating for click bait headline purposes...frankly its boring.

if it fails a FIA mandated test then lets talk about it.

anyways, changing topics slightly...if flexible wings/floors is the solution to the 'dirty air' problem and for lack of any better ideas then the sport has been able to come up with, then maybe they should allow for greater aero flex in these parts and let everyone go back to proper racing!

[chillibowl]

Kimi taking a shortcut through the desert...obviously with helmet on!

https://streamable.com/cqkwb

he really knows his tracks and service roads/areas.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Great intro.

Usually a rather dull affair, though there was that cracker of a race three years ago. I would like to see something like that again, though I expect we will be in for more of the same; I hope I'm proven wrong. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to see how the Ferrari vs. Mercedes story unfolds.

[Neppatsrev Xam]

Christian Horner calling for a ban on T wings after the wing on Bottas his car broke off and Max drove over it causing £50,000 worth of damage.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/128970

[fourWheelDrift]

Originally Posted by Neppatsrev Xam

Christian Horner calling for a ban on T wings after the wing on Bottas his car broke off and Max drove over it causing £50,000 worth of damage.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/128970

The cynic in me says the RB drivers had instructions to run over any T wing debris they saw on track, ok perhaps unlikely BUT I keep hearing it said that banning them would affect every team in the same way which is obvious nonsense as it would clearly not affect those who have chosen not to run them so they have an advantage to gain by getting them banned.

Personally I'd like to see them go, but not in an overtly political way as this always leaves a bad taste.

[S griffin]

I hope they go too. They do nothing to improve the racing or the look of F1 cars and now are proving dangerous. Hope they're gone on a whim like those 98 X-wings.

Still RBR are looking good, really seem to have turned a corner this weekend

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by S griffin

They do nothing to improve the racing or the look of F1 cars and now are proving dangerous.

Quick couple of questions regarding the T-wings.

How do we know that racing wouldn't be worse without them. Perhaps Verstappen's struggle to get close to cars last time out may be partly due to a lack of T-wing.

How have they proven dangerous? Debris on the track is not ideal, but there have been plenty of other bits of carbon fibre that end up on the track over the years.

[F1Guy]

Drivers have been warned that if anyone does what Vettel did at the start line in China, they're likely to be penalised. If so, why wasn't Vettel penalised in China then?

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f...cident-894102/

That article says only two similar incidents in the last 20 years.

Here's Vettel in China.


Here's Ricciardo in Japan 2016.


Big difference!! Ricciardo's right front tyre is out of the marked box, but his right rear tyre appears to be just inside, or on the line. Where as Vettel is half a car's length outside!

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

Drivers have been warned that if anyone does what Vettel did at the start line in China, they're likely to be penalised. If so, why wasn't Vettel penalised in China then?

Because as the drivers' steward on the day said - the rules were felt as being unclear so they chose to note this incident, but not penalise.
But now that a clarification has been issued, drivers can be penalised in future.

[F1Guy]

But the rules are still the same. Nothing has changed. A precedent was set in China. So if the starting rules have not changed, then any driver can still do what Vettel did. If they get penalised, they've got a very good case to argue.

Let's face it, if Whiting had aborted the start (as he was supposed to), and Vettel was forced to start from the pitlane, the championship would have lost the shine it had from Melbourne. IMO, that's the only and real reason Vettel was not penalised.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

Drivers have been warned that if anyone does what Vettel did at the start line in China, they're likely to be penalised. If so, why wasn't Vettel penalised in China then?

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f...cident-894102/

That article says only two similar incidents in the last 20 years.

Here's Vettel in China.


Here's Ricciardo in Japan 2016.


Big difference!! Ricciardo's right front tyre is out of the marked box, but his right rear tyre appears to be just inside, or on the line. Where as Vettel is half a car's length outside!

Lewis, who was doesn't seem to be quite in place either.

[chunterer]

Woah nothing wrong with Wehrlein now! Nearly 8 10ths quicker than Ericsson...

Checo out?

Magnussen must have had problems he's not that slow?

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

Let's face it, if Whiting had aborted the start (as he was supposed to), and Vettel was forced to start from the pitlane, the championship would have lost the shine it had from Melbourne. IMO, that's the only and real reason Vettel was not penalised.

Probably. It's almost that simple, but not quite. IMHO, this is one of those rules you don't expect anyone to break, or push the envelope with. But Vettel did, and beyond your point above (which I agree is a big factor), I expect it caught Charlie off guard and he may have been thinking... How far out can he be? Move the internal discussion (Charlie, stewards, etc.) to after the start vs. declare false start and potentially get it really wrong. If It had ended up improving Vettel's start we may have seen a stop and go for him. But I don't think it did help him so they left it alone so it could be clarified with the drivers later.

Originally Posted by F1Guy

But the rules are still the same. Nothing has changed. A precedent was set in China. So if the starting rules have not changed, then any driver can still do what Vettel did. If they get penalised, they've got a very good case to argue.

No precedent has been set. Plenty has changed. We all have our opinions, but that is a ridiculous argument. The rule is a bit vague and while IMHO the clarification from Charlie could be better, it has been clarified. I expect if anyone tries the same stunt (at least to the level Vettel did) they will be penalized even if they gain no advantage. Why else would Charlie make the point?

Richard

[Sodemo]

I'm massively surprised Vettel was allowed to get away with that in China. The FIA seem willing to stamp down on the smallest indiscretions, however that grid stunt was allowed to go unpunished, great consistency.

[bjohnsonsmith]

I completely missed Qualifying but I see Bottas got pole. Good for him and judging from this pic from Autosport, Lewis seems happy enough with it.

[Akrapovic]

Lewis was also pretty happy with Rosberg doing well, until he became a real threat. not a criticism of Lewis, they'd all rightly be like that. But that almost proud smile will disappear if Bottas gets within fighting distance of the championship.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Lewis was also pretty happy with Rosberg doing well, until he became a real threat. not a criticism of Lewis, they'd all rightly be like that. But that almost proud smile will disappear if Bottas gets within fighting distance of the championship.

Completely agree!

Richard

[cds_uk]

I think at the moment Lewis knows all things being equal he has got Bottas covered, he probably knows where the 2/10ths went missing in the middle sector afterall, no big deal, you can't be on pole every race can you.