F1 2012 — A Retrospective Part 5: Bahrain
Qualifying
Normal order was restored on Saturday in Bahrain. Sebastian Vettel returned to his throne at the front of the pack. He achieved a staggering 15 pole positions in 2011, but his best qualifying result in the opening three races was fifth in Malaysia. He beat Lewis Hamilton by just one tenth.
Hamilton’s finishes in qualifying were the standout performances so far, with him finishing on pole twice and second in the next two Q3 sessions.
Red Bull and McLaren held the second row as well, with Mark Webber finishing ahead of Jenson Button by .08s. Webber finished fourth in each of the first three races, but this third place was his best qualifying result of the season so far.
Chinese Grand Prix winner Nico Rosberg was joined by the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo on the third row. Rosberg out qualified his teammate again, but this time due to a DRS issue for Michael Schumacher hampering his ability to set a fast lap during Q1. A gearbox replacement meant he started the race in 22nd.
Sixth place was the best qualifying result of Ricciardo’s Formula One career to date. The Aussie was going under the radar in his first season with the Red Bull sister team. Jean-Eric Vergne was the bigger figure at this point, but his qualifying pace only put him 18th on the grid.
Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez were seventh and eighth in the Lotus and the Sauber. More notably, Fernando Alonso was only in ninth place in his Ferrari. The Spaniard didn’t set a time in Q3, instead opting to have the free choice of tyre for the start of the race. Paul di Resta was 10th having made the same decision.
Kimi Raikkonen only managed 11th place and Felipe Massa was in 14th. Both drivers were half a second off their teammates in Q2. This was more understandable for Massa, who was competing with a two time world champion. But Raikkonen was competing with Grosjean, who had never even been on the podium before.
Pre-Race
“After a difficult week it’s the racing we’ve come here for,” was the opening line to Sky’s coverage from Simon Lazenby.
The coverage surrounding the Bahrain Grand Prix was looked at in the previous part of this series, but the backlash continued from China all the way up until race day.
Protests against the race took place from as early as January that year. Human rights groups in the country urged the teams not to compete in Bahrain due to ongoing conflict. The following extract from the Wikipedia entry on the protests gives a good background as to the state of play heading into the race weekend:
“In January 2012, human rights groups in the country urged teams to boycott the 2012 race amid ongoing conflict in the country. In February, a protest organisation calling itself the February 14 Youth Coalition wrote to Bernie Ecclestone, threatening to “do everything in [their] capacity to ensure the failure of the race” if it went ahead.”
“They further added they could not guarantee the safety of teams, drivers, and spectators if the race went ahead”
“Ecclestone was unconcerned about the threat, stating he did not feel the protesters needed to resort to violence, and expressing confidence event organisers would not respond to any opposition with force. World Drivers’ Champions Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher also supported the race going ahead.”
An incident involving a petrol bomb and Force India prevented them from competing in Free Practice Two on Friday, and Sauber also reported an incident that was similarly uncomfortable for the team.
The 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix was actually cancelled after an initial postponement, but this time the show went on.
In 2010, the opening race of that year, the track layout used was the endurance circuit. But for 2012 the FIA decided to revert back to the standard edition that we see today still in F1.
Due to the lack of 2011 race, there was very little information available to the teams on how the Pirelli tyres would handle the heat and track conditions. Martin Brundle on co-commentary reckoned that cars could be in for their first stop as early as lap five.
Everyone started on the Soft tyre compound, except for Kamui Kobayashi. The Japanese driver started on the Medium tyres and was in 12th in the Sauber.
“I think this will be all over the place,” said Brundle, who likened his expectations to a similar race to China which started slowly but ramped up for a thrilling finish.
In the meantime, Sky have already seemingly stopped doing their driver interview interstitial during the formation lap. I watch the BBC for one race and suddenly they’ve given up on their coverage innovations!
It’s not since 2003 that there were four different drivers who won a race in the opening four races. Will we see a fourth winner in Bahrain?
Race
Lights out and away they went! No major incidents to recall on lap one, everyone got clean off the line just as in China.
The big winners were Romain Grosjean and Fernando Alonso, they moved up to fourth and fifth respectively. Nico Rosberg, victor last time out, lost the most ground as he fell from fifth to eighth.
Meanwhile, out in front, Vettel reminded us of what the 2011 season looked like as he flew off into the distance to no challenge. By the end of the second lap, when DRS was enabled, he was already 2.2s ahead of Hamilton.
However, Ricciardo had a race start to forget. He did so well in qualifying, but he fell down 10 places and was now 16th at this stage.
Massa was another big winner at the start, he was up six places and into eighth and ahead of Rosberg by lap three. The Ferraris have shown great traction off the line in these opening races, but Massa was in no mood to hang around in these first few laps. He dove down the inside of Raikkonen into Turn One and he moved into seventh place.
On lap four, Grosjean moved past Webber to get into the podium places. The Lotus drivers were at the forefront of all the action at the start of this race.
On lap five, Massa ran wide at Turn Four, which gave Raikkonen the opportunity to pounce. The Finnish driver cut across the Ferrari and passed Massa for seventh place at Turn Five.
It was at this point that commentary reminded viewers that Raikkonen had two new sets of both tyres available. This meant he had all the strategy options available to him that he could possibly wish for.
At the front, Vettel was stretching his lead. He was quickest by .6s in the first and second sector.
The Lotus drivers continued to show off their race pace on lap seven as they both moved ahead of a McLaren. Grosjean passed Hamilton for second place, with the helping hand of DRS, into Turn One. Raikkonen got by Button at Turn Four and was now up into sixth place.
At this stage, no one came in for a change of tyres. But Button was complaining of issues with his rear tyres on lap eight. Meanwhile, Vettel’s lead was now five seconds on Grosjean.
Raikkonen moved into fifth place on lap nine, passing Alonso this time. Alonso was the man who replaced Raikkonen at Ferrari, and Massa was his former teammate at the Scuderia, so passing both of them must have felt quite satisfying indeed.
It was at the end of lap nine that Button, Massa and Rosberg all came in for their first pit stop. Rosberg also joined them in the pit lane.
Hamilton, Webber and Alonso followed into the pits on the next lap. But Hamilton had an issue with his left rear! He dropped down to 12th place and was now behind Alonso, Webber and even Button. Another disaster for McLaren in the pit lane, a worrying trend so far in the season. Hamilton’s stop was 9.9s!
Grosjean was the next driver to change tyres. Vettel and Raikkonen then were the last of the front runners to come in on the following lap.
Meanwhile, on track, Hamilton and Rosberg were told by stewards that they were under investigation for fighting for position at Turn Four on lap 10. Rosberg got onto the radio to say that Hamilton overtook him off the track.
The incident happened on the straight between Turn Three and Four, as Hamilton went to go down the inside of Rosberg, who very aggressively closed the door on the McLaren. However, Hamilton kept going and ran over the white lines. Hamilton could argue he was forced off the track, but either way it was now under investigation by the stewards, it was up to them to decide.
Button overtook Alonso at Turn Five, he cut back on the Ferrari and had better traction coming out of the corner which allowed him to breeze past the Spaniard. This moved Button up to seventh, but there were two drivers ahead who were yet to stop so in effect it was for fifth place.
On lap 13, Raikkonen continued his charge up the field, this time getting past Webber for fifth place into Turn Eleven, this was a podium place when factoring in di Resta and Kobayashi ahead.
On lap 14, it was Hamilton’s turn to get around Alonso, he made his move into Turn Four. Button and Webber were the next cars in front.
The action slowed down over the next few laps. The next moment of significance was an announcement that the incident involving Rosberg and Hamilton was to be investigated after the race.
By lap 22, Raikkonen was now the quickest man out on track. He was lapping much quicker than his teammate and was gaining on Vettel as well.
The following lap, Button was the first to come into the pit lane once again. He was in fifth place. Rosberg joined him as they both changed for a set of Medium tyres. Meanwhile, Massa came in for a set of Softs.
Again, Webber, Hamilton and Alonso all came in on the same lap and again Hamilton had an issue with his left rear! This stop took 12.2s! An “identical problem,” said Ted Kravitz. He came out all the way behind Massa. A potential podium place was now surely long gone.
Rosberg moved ahead of Alonso when he came out of the pits, the undercut working for the Mercedes.
Raikkonen came in at the end of lap 24, he had moved ahead of Grosjean at Turn One at the beginning of that lap so now it was time to put pressure on Vettel with an undercut. The gap was around six seconds before the pit stop.
“All the time you have to leave a space!” shouted Alonso on his team radio. This was the exact same situation as with Hamilton earlier.
The German aggressively shut the door on Alonso heading into Turn Four, but Alonso yielded instead of running wide and attempting the pass. But the Spaniard was not best pleased by Rosberg’s defensive maneuvers.
Vettel was now in for his second stop, as was Grosjean from third place.
A replay showed that Pastor Maldonado went spinning right behind the incident involving Rosberg and Alonso — another incident the stewards declared was to be investigated after the race. He must have been distracted by the intense racing in front of him. Maldonado retired the car shortly after the spin.
“That’s crazy! That’s completely crazy,” was the call from Brundle as the picture showed Kobayashi coming in for his pit stop, but right behind him was Alonso who ducked back out of the pit lane entrance and onto the main straight.
He was trying to gain a tow advantage from the Sauber, which Brundle did not approve of at all.
Meanwhile, out in front, by lap 33, Raikkonen had massively cut down on the advantage Vettel held in first place. The gap between them was now 1.1s! On lap 34, Raikkonen was in the DRS range of the Red Bull.
In 2011, when Vettel was out in front from the start it was almost always an unassailable lead, but this time the Lotus was having none of it!
Lap 35, Raikkonen had his first look at Vettel down the inside of Turn One but Vettel held firm. Lap 36, Vettel was forced into a defensive position once again, but Raikkonen still couldn’t find a way through.
But by lap 37, the Lotus was falling back and Raikkonen was unable to attempt a move on Vettel before the next round of pit stops began at the end of that lap.
Rosberg and Hamilton were the first to come in for their third and final stop of this race. Behind them was Button and then Alonso on the next lap.
By lap 39, Raikkonen was beginning to fall back further, the gap was now over 1.4s and he was no longer within the DRS range.
Alonso was announced as being under investigation again, this time for an unsafe release in the pit lane. He was now in ninth place. Massa was also overtaken in the pit phase by Hamilton, so this was not the best run out for Ferrari during this stint.
At the start of lap 40, both of the front two came out from their final stop. The gap between them was now 2.1s. The decision to stop on the same lap as Vettel was an unusual one for Lotus and it may have cost them the race victory.
If they had stopped a lap prior, the undercut was proving effective enough that it may have been enough to move into first place.
On lap 41, Hamilton moved up into ninth place by passing Kobayashi. At this point, Brundle pulled out his maths skills by calculating that Hamilton lost roughly 17s in failed pit stops, which would have him around fifth place instead.
The gap at the front was now 3.3s, Vettel was pulling away just enough that surely this race victory was within his grasp.
On lap 44, Kravitz reported that Button was apparently very unhappy with the balance of his car. He adjusted his front wing in the pit lane twice trying to find a comfortable set up.
There was a slight lull in the race during the next few laps as most cars seemed in the correct positions. Di Resta was the only car that was out of place, he opted for a different strategy which put him in fifth place.
The Scot defended from Rosberg on lap 50 but he could only hold out for so long and on lap 52, Rosberg made the pass at Turn One, which he held going into Turn Four as the Scot tried to fight back.
On lap 54, di Resta was warned of Button gaining on him behind, but Button was into the pits for a fourth time today! A left rear puncture with only a few laps remaining. That left Button in 13th place, a disaster to end his hopes of a decent points haul. He ultimately retired on lap 56 with engine issues.
This moved Schumacher up into the points for 10th place. He started 22nd, but quietly moved up the pack and was now on track for his first point of the season. The gap at the front was still hovering around 3s, and that was enough for Vettel to take his first victory of 2012!
Raikkonen was comfortably in second, and Lotus achieved a double podium as Grosjean finished third. This was the best result of the Frenchman’s career to date!
Webber finished fourth for the fourth race in a row this season. Meanwhile this was the first time since 2003 that four different drivers won the first four races of a season, and the first time since 1983 that four different cars won the first four races. Could it be five in Spain next time out?
The final standings were as follows
Championship Standings Top Five (Round 4)
Vettel’s poor start to the season was rendered almost entirely moot following this victory. The defending champion was back on top. Hamilton, Button and Alonso all suffered poor results, which Vettel took full advantage of.
Webber finished fourth in each of the four races, but was still only third in the championship.
Rosberg, Raikkonen and Perez all picked up big results unexpectedly in the opening four rounds, but the top five were the usual suspects.
Still, only 10 points separated them which meant that the next race could just as easily swing things back in someone else’s favour.
Post-Race
Vettel pulled up at the pit entrance, he was warned over the radio to pull up short to conserve fuel. He dashed from there to Parc fermé in dramatic fashion for the podium celebration.
Di Resta held on to sixth place behind Rosberg, but ahead of Alonso. A great result for Force India, their best of the season so far.
Schumacher kept his 10th place and finally he earned his first points finish of the 2012 season.
The German had a DNF in Australia and China through no fault of his own, and the tap from Grosjean in Malaysia sent him to the back of the pack which again was not his fault.
Despite car trouble in qualifying and a five place grid penalty, he overcame that to have a solid race and this was a well earned point for the seven time world champion.
Team in Focus
The Lotus-Renault team, that was formerly just Renault in the 2011 constructor’s championship earned a double podium in impressive fashion. Both cars started the race with tremendous pace, making overtaking moves when no one else really was.
Grosjean had a lightning start, going from seventh to fourth at the exit of the first corner and Raikkonen gradually made his way through the traffic by the end of the opening stint.
They passed Hamilton and Webber with ease — granted, Hamilton’s pit lane troubles did Raikkonen’s work for him — and once they were in the top three they never looked like wavering. Raikkonen had his chance to overtake Vettel, and perhaps with a bit more bravery on track or on the strategy calls and they may have actually won this race.
The Renault team struggled after a promising start in 2011, so to bounce back and be fighting at the front of the grid only four races into 2012 was a massive sign of progress under the Lotus partnership.
“I had one chance but couldn’t do it,” pondered Raikkonen on the radio after the race. He came so close to a first victory since returning to the sport which would have been remarkable.
“We put ourselves in a position to fight for most of the race so then it was disappointing to lose by two seconds,” reflected the Finn later. However, it said a lot that Lotus could be disappointed with second and third.
Race Verdict
This was an entertaining race throughout. There were a couple of short periods where the action dried up but overall it was intriguing from start to finish.
The battle at the front was much more intense than the serene victories enjoyed by Button and Rosberg, this one had to be earned by Vettel the hard way. He may have led almost every lap, but Raikkonen tested Vettel’s defensive abilities in ways that we simply didn’t see in 2011.
Grosjean and Webber had quiet races in third and fourth, they played the supporting characters for their battling teammates but never really came to the fore in any way.
Grosjean started the race impressively, but once he was ahead of Hamilton and Webber he had very little else to do, he simply couldn’t keep up with Vettel the way that Raikkonen was able to.
Rosberg escaped punishment for his incidents with Hamilton and Alonso, it was just on the line between dangerous and aggressive according to the stewards.
“That was the classic bad day at the office. We had two bad pit-stops, we had a puncture caused by an exhaust failure and we were slow,” explained McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh, after the race, for their poor performance.
“That is the summary of it. We were reasonable in terms of pace in qualifying but in the race we certainly weren’t. There is no magic in this sport. We were clearly just too hard on the tyres.
“The rear tyres were going away really quickly and both drivers really struggled. We didn’t have the pace and then a few other things went wrong to make it a really difficult afternoon for everyone.”
The McLaren started strong in the first couple of races, and their qualifying pace has been the most consistent of anyone, but mistakes both on track and in the pit lane have really cost them.
Result 4/5
Next up: SPAIN
Author’s Note: Happy New Year, everyone. I wish everyone a healthy and successful 2021 and I hope you enjoy the rest of this series as we get back into the swing of things in January, February and March. Part Six, looking at the Spanish Grand Prix will be live on Friday as scheduled and then everything will be back to normal!
Previous entries in the series can be found here:
The Introduction
Part 1: Pre-season
Part 2: Australia
Part 3: Malaysia
Part 4: China
