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Thursday, April 13, 2017
2017 Bahrain Grand Prix preview
The season just started and it's already time for the third Grand Prix! Will Mercedes and Ferrari continue with their dominance or is Red Bull going to surprise us all and win? I hope to see more surprises this season.
This is going to be the 13th Grand Prix at Sakhir if I remember correctly. It would have been the 13th but the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix was cancelled because of the Bahraini protests if you still remember?
One of the most interesting thing though is that in 2014 Bahrain switched from daylight to a night race! They will continue like this in 2017 as well.
So what has happened in the past 13 years at this circuit?
In 2004 the first race was a bit boring if I remember correctly. Ferrari was still dominating the series so they had a 1-2 and Button was about half a minute behind them.
In 2005 it was a bit different because now it was the year of Renault. Fernando Alonso won, Jarno Trulli was second in his Toyota and Kimi Räikkönen was third in his McLaren. Alonso and Räikkönen ended up being the two superstars in 2005.
In 2006 all I can remember is that Räikkönen started from the back and was still third in the end. A very impressive performance. In front of him was the two drivers who fought for the championship that year, Michael Schumacher in second and Fernando Alonso in first place.
In 2007 Felipe Massa won the race, Lewis Hamilton was second and Kimi Räikkönen was third again.
In 2008 Massa won again, Räikkönen was second this time and Robert Kubica third. It seems that Massa and Räikkönen have also been very successful at Sakhir.
In 2009 Jenson Button took the only victory for a British driver (until Hamilton won in 2014 and 2015) in Bahrain. Brawn was the team and it was their dominance back then and not Mercedes.. later Brawn became Mercedes.
In 2010 Bahrain was the first race of the season and it was also Alonso's first race at Ferrari. He did the same thing as Räikkönen had done in 2007 by winning the first race at Ferrari.
In 2013 Sebastian Vettel won and the Lotuses of Räikkönen and Grosjean followed him. The same podium result was also in 2012 so these guys really seem to like this track.
In 2014 it was all about Lewis Hamilton's and Nico Rosberg's one on one fight at the top. That made the race one of the most interesting in 2014. I hope we will see something similar this weekend but the Ferraris should join the battle if they have the pace!
In 2015-2016 the Mercs dominated the race again like they did in 2014. No surprise there but in 2016 Kimi Räikkönen got in between the two Mercs which was a nice surprise. I hope to see the Finn up there this year also. He hasn't won a race since he rejoined Ferrari.
So who has been the most successful in Bahrain? If we look at the stuff I just said earlier then Fernando Alonso! He has won 3 races, Hamilton, Massa and Vettel have won 2 and then Button only once. If we talk about other podium positions then Räikkönen has three 2nd places and three 3rd places. He didn't drive there in 2010.
Then it's time for my predictions:
Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
The race:
POINTS: 1st - 3
2nd - 5
3rd - 10
+ possible bonus points
HOW IT WORKS: the aim of the game is simply predict who comes where in the race (top3). A total of 18 points can be won on a race day. For example if you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PREDICTIONS: send an email to f14lifeblog@gmail.com or message the Facebook page to submit your predictions. You have until lights out to make them. If you submit them when the race has started they won't count. So be quick!
THE PRIZE: the winner of the league will win themselves a admin place on the F1 4 LIFE page along side AE, JT, MW, MH, JI & PM. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway.
This is going to be the 13th Grand Prix at Sakhir if I remember correctly. It would have been the 13th but the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix was cancelled because of the Bahraini protests if you still remember?
One of the most interesting thing though is that in 2014 Bahrain switched from daylight to a night race! They will continue like this in 2017 as well.
So what has happened in the past 13 years at this circuit?
In 2004 the first race was a bit boring if I remember correctly. Ferrari was still dominating the series so they had a 1-2 and Button was about half a minute behind them.
In 2005 it was a bit different because now it was the year of Renault. Fernando Alonso won, Jarno Trulli was second in his Toyota and Kimi Räikkönen was third in his McLaren. Alonso and Räikkönen ended up being the two superstars in 2005.
In 2006 all I can remember is that Räikkönen started from the back and was still third in the end. A very impressive performance. In front of him was the two drivers who fought for the championship that year, Michael Schumacher in second and Fernando Alonso in first place.
In 2007 Felipe Massa won the race, Lewis Hamilton was second and Kimi Räikkönen was third again.
In 2008 Massa won again, Räikkönen was second this time and Robert Kubica third. It seems that Massa and Räikkönen have also been very successful at Sakhir.
In 2009 Jenson Button took the only victory for a British driver (until Hamilton won in 2014 and 2015) in Bahrain. Brawn was the team and it was their dominance back then and not Mercedes.. later Brawn became Mercedes.
In 2010 Bahrain was the first race of the season and it was also Alonso's first race at Ferrari. He did the same thing as Räikkönen had done in 2007 by winning the first race at Ferrari.
In 2013 Sebastian Vettel won and the Lotuses of Räikkönen and Grosjean followed him. The same podium result was also in 2012 so these guys really seem to like this track.
In 2014 it was all about Lewis Hamilton's and Nico Rosberg's one on one fight at the top. That made the race one of the most interesting in 2014. I hope we will see something similar this weekend but the Ferraris should join the battle if they have the pace!
In 2015-2016 the Mercs dominated the race again like they did in 2014. No surprise there but in 2016 Kimi Räikkönen got in between the two Mercs which was a nice surprise. I hope to see the Finn up there this year also. He hasn't won a race since he rejoined Ferrari.
So who has been the most successful in Bahrain? If we look at the stuff I just said earlier then Fernando Alonso! He has won 3 races, Hamilton, Massa and Vettel have won 2 and then Button only once. If we talk about other podium positions then Räikkönen has three 2nd places and three 3rd places. He didn't drive there in 2010.
Then it's time for my predictions:
Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
The race:
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
- Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari
Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Surprise: Romain Grosjean will have a great race.
POINTS: 1st - 3
2nd - 5
3rd - 10
+ possible bonus points
HOW IT WORKS: the aim of the game is simply predict who comes where in the race (top3). A total of 18 points can be won on a race day. For example if you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PREDICTIONS: send an email to f14lifeblog@gmail.com or message the Facebook page to submit your predictions. You have until lights out to make them. If you submit them when the race has started they won't count. So be quick!
THE PRIZE: the winner of the league will win themselves a admin place on the F1 4 LIFE page along side AE, JT, MW, MH, JI & PM. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway.
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