F1 Season Starts with Some Excitement in Bahrain
I personnally think that Kimi Raikkonen should start from the back of the grid at every race!! It was really exciting to watch him come through the field from 22nd on the grid to finish third. A podium finish from last place is an accomplishment, so much so that Fernando Alonso, who won the race for Renault, said "I was surprised to see him on the podium...I thought Jenson (Button, from Honda) was third". This could be an interesting season if Kimi can keep that pace up.
The race itself was largely uneventful. More passing than in previous years but the cars at the front did not change all that much, with Michael Schumacher leading for most of the race and only losing the lead permanently to Alonso after the second pit stop. Bringing tire changes back made the pit stops more exciting to watch, especially when Massa came in after flat-spotting his tires and the rear left tire gun was not working properly. That problem probably cost him a podium, and definitiely some points.
I was happy to see my favourite team, Williams, get both cars in the points. Quite an accomplishement considering they have Cosworth customer (i.e. they have to pay for them) engines. BMW, which is also on my favourites list, did not do as well as I hoped, though watching Jacques Villeneuve exit the race when his BMW powerplant blew up brilliantly was exciting and sad at the same time. I honestly thought he could have brought home some points and was on pace to finish seventh or eighth.
The rinal results from the race are:
P. No Driver Team - Engine Tyres Gaps/Laps Average
1. 1 ALONSO Renault M 1h29'46"205 206.018 Km/h
2. 5 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B + 0'01"246 205.971 Km/h
3. 3 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M + 0'19"360 205.280 Km/h
4. 12 BUTTON Honda M + 0'19"992 205.256 Km/h
5. 4 MONTOYA McLaren Mercedes M + 0'37"048 204.611 Km/h
6. 9 WEBBER Williams Cosworth B + 0'41"932 204.427 Km/h
7. 10 ROSBERG Williams Cosworth B + 1'03"043 203.635 Km/h
8. 15 KLIEN RedBull Ferrari M + 1'06"771 203.496 Km/h
9. 6 MASSA Ferrari B + 1'09"907 203.379 Km/h
10. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Ferrari M + 1'15"541 203.169 Km/h
11. 20 LIUZZI Toro Rosso Cosw. M + 1'25"997 202.781 Km/h
12. 16 HEIDFELD BMW Sauber M 1 lap(s)
13. 21 SPEED Toro Rosso Cosw. M 1 lap(s)
14. 7 R.SCHUMACHER Toyota B 1 lap(s)
15. 11 BARRICHELLO Honda M 1 lap(s)
16. 8 TRULLI Toyota B 1 lap(s)
17. 18 MONTEIRO Midland Toyota B 2 lap(s)
18. 22 SATO S. Aguri F1 Honda B 4 lap(s)
19. 23 IDE S. Aguri F1 Honda B 22 lap(s)
20. 17 VILLENEUVE BMW Sauber M 22 lap(s)
21. 2 FISICHELLA Renault M 36 lap(s)
22. 19 ALBERS Midland Toyota B 57 lap(s)
The current points standings for the drivers championship are:
Points Driver Team - Engine
10 ALONSO Renault
8 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari
6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes
5 BUTTON Honda
4 MONTOYA McLaren Mercedes
3 WEBBER Williams Cosworth
2 ROSBERG Williams Cosworth
1 KLIEN RedBull Ferrari
The current points standing for the constructors championship are:
Points Team - Engine
10 Renault
10 McLaren Mercedes
8 Ferrari
5 Honda
5 Williams Cosworth
1 RedBull Ferrari