Turkey Preview
Istanbul is another of the Hermann Tilke new tracks, with the exception that it is a counter clockwise track.
Filipe Massa has enjoyed the track in the past, winning here twice since it’s opening race in 2005, and Ferrari have typically been strong here.
The track temperature will again be high this weekend, and the teams will almost all be bringing new aero updates to the car to help with this and also to improve performance, we may even see some of the car take the Ferrari nose hole concept on.
It’s also the fifth race of the season, so teams are allowed to use a new gearbox at this race, and they were probably starting to feel a little tired after the end of the Spanish weekend.
The Ferrari team will again be the team to beat, and are likely to be fastest here all weekend, however it will be interesting to see if Filipe has got the TC issues he seemed to be having under control, especially at turn 8.
McLaren were again back to the front of the chasing pack last race alongside BMW, so it’s good news that Heikki has been cleared to drive. Lewis will want to get back to winning ways as well, so expect them to be strong. Let’s hope they get the qualifying strategy right this weekend, as it hurt the team starting so far back last race. McLaren have also released the result’s of the Heikki investigation saying -
It has been established that, owing to a process fault during manufacture, the outer clamp surface of the wheel was given a clear lacquer coating. As a consequence of this fault, the clamp load that attached the wheel was not to specification.
In running, the consequent loss of load caused the wheel to fret and distort, leading to its eventual failure.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and the wheel supplier have now established new procedures designed to prevent a re-occurrence of this issue. McLaren Press Statement.
BMW will be in contention too, they have openly been playing with the Ferrari nose concept, and it may make an appearance, but probably needs more testing. Both drivers should go well here, and the team will certainly score points, keeping them in the constructors championship race.
As for the other teams, Toyota and Red Bull will probably still be the best of the rest behind the top 3, with Red Bull possibly just sneaking ahead of Toyota in the development race so far this season. Let’s hope their drivers have a little more luck this weekend, as both have had their fair share of race stopping problems.
Renault again could be a dark horse, they proved the new car’s speed credentials in Spain, and Fernando is certainly looking more at home again in the cockpit of the car. His young team mate seems to be starting to settle down as well, so expect them to run in the Q3 session on Saturday, and at least worry some of the teams on Sunday.
Super Aguri will not be at this event, Aguri Suzuki ended the team during the week after failing to get the money to continue. Honda were also not willing to help out, and took the cars off the team. What is going to happen to Anthony and Taku is still unknown, but it is known that Anthony is covered by clauses that links him with Honda, and after all the team was setup up for Taku, so I should think they are both safe.
So we should get a decent race, the Istanbul track is well liked, and has overtaking opportunities, plus it’s ‘back to front’ so has that to add challenge to the drivers.
Stats :
Fastest Lap : 1:24.770 (Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren, 2005)
Pole Time : 1:26.797 - Kimi Raikkonen (2005)
Most Wins : 2 Filipe Massa
Link to ITV Web Simulcast for the GP and Practice/Qualifying sessions.
Broadcast Times for Turkey in UK time
First practice Friday 08:00
Second practice Friday 12:00
Qualifying Saturday 12:00
Race Sunday 13:00
Bahrain Preview
The 2008 Bahrain GP could be the last at the circuit, as it looks likely that the event may swap over to the Yas Island track in Abu Dhabi from next year.
So what do we have to look forward to this weekend?
The drivers will be glad to be at the Bahrain track this weekend while they all still try to get used to their cars now that traction control and engine breaking are gone, this is because the track offers some of the largest run-off areas of any of the modern tracks, previously a criticism by some, as it did not punish mistakes, however the drivers will welcome that this weekend.
Felipe Massa was the dominator here last year, taking pole, fastest lap and the win. After the race the three 2007 title contenders (Hamilton, Raikkonen and Massa) left the race on equal points standings as they went into the European season. It’s also worth remembering that this was Lewis Hamilton’s third straight podium finish in a row, a first for an F1 Rookie.
We could see quite an interesting race this year as well. The three top teams (McLaren, Ferrari and BMW) all look strong going into this race, with the McLaren team partially handicapped by being demoted to the bottom of the pit lane under an FIA decision.
Other teams looking good this race are the Toyota, and with a little luck, the Red Bull cars.
The 3.363 mi (5.412 km) track is not the most challenging of Herman Tilke’s designs, but the dry dust, heat and flowing nature usually add up to an interesting race from the viewers stand point.
This will be Massa’s make or break race, if he cannot keep the car on the track without the aids for three races in a row, then I would think that Ferrari may have some stern words for the young Brazilian. The McLaren cars need to come back strong this race as well, and show that they can challenge on equal terms with the Ferrari’s and put their lack of pace 2 weeks ago behind them.
The Ferrari’s will no doubt be quick again in qualifying, so expect a McLaren/Ferrari split over the first four spots on the grid, I would then expect that both BMW’s and Toyota cars should make it through to the final ten as well, as should the Red Bull cars who are clearly faster when on track than the Renault, but don’t write Fernando off.
After this race the teams come back to Europe, as we head for Barcelona a few weeks later, this is where the teams will no doubt start to show their bigger aero and car developments, and also might be where we see the STR3 (Adrian Newey’s RBR4 copy) from Toro Rosso as it has been spied out testing recently.
Let’s hope we have an interesting Race weekend, and forget all the other mess and scandal that is going on around the sport at the moment.
Google Earth View of Bahrain Circuit
Stats :
Fastest Lap : 1:30.252 (Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004)
Pole Time : 1:32.652 - Filipe Massa
Most Wins : 2 by Fernando Alonso
Link to ITV Web Simulcast for the GP and Practice/Qualifying sessions.
Broadcast Times
FRI Practice 1 08:00
FRI Practice 2 12:00
SAT Qualifying 12:00
SUN Race 12:30
Malaysia Preview
The second of our 2008 fly away opening races is upon us, just one week after the Australian GP.
This one is again a difficult, hot race, and cars that had heat issues last week will probably have more of the same.
Sepang is also a challenging circuit for the engines, even if the heat is not too bad as it has a very high percentage of full throttle around the 3.444 miles (5.543km) circuit. It seems that this might be the last of the daytime races, as the organisers have put in to be allowed to run at night from 2009.
This will be the tenth time the teams have been around the track, and it’s always an interesting race as there are a fair few overtaking opportunities to be had if the drivers are brave enough.
The track used to be dominated by the Schumacher brothers, with Michael winning three times and Ralf having won in 2002 driving for Williams (BMW). Since then Fernando has won twice at the track and his then team mate Giancarlo Fisichella won the 2006 race in the Renault.
Don’t expect the Renault’s to win it this year though, as the team still have some work to do to become competitive at the front again, so it would look from the stat’s that the win should goto a Ferrari (4 wins), but I think I will hedge a bet on one of the McLaren’s (2 Wins) this time round.
The McLaren cars start strong this race, they had a technically trouble free race at Australia in the high heat, so it seems that the team’s cooling strategy for the Mercedes engine is a good one. Ferrari will be wanting to make amends for their dreadful showing last week though, and have new engines in both cars, so as long as they can make them last Kimi and Filipe will no doubt be strong.
BMW and Williams are the two dark outsiders, BMW showed exemplary pace last week, and have certainly taken a step towards the front, with drivers to match, Nick Heidfeld has taken the team lead role well, and his level headed driving earned him the second spot last week, that is matched perfectly with the fast and exciting driving style of Robert Kubicca, so expect the team to be there or thereabouts.
Williams is a little more difficult to judge, Nico Rosberg has taken to the role of team leader, and settled down into a good, fast, dependable driver. Kazuki Nakajima however is still an unknown. Yes he has some pedigree, but I wonder if it’s perhaps a year too soon for the Japanese driver in F1.
The Red Bull team are probably going to look good, as may the Toyota team, however it is still uncertain if Timo Glock will be racing, as he is said to still be having issues after his big shunt last week. If he does not drive, then the third driver Kamui Kobayashi will take the seat for the race, and he is a complete unknown, however has shown turns of speed in his Formula Renault days.
Remember that ITV-F1.com is showing all of the sessions live, so make sure your up at 2am and 6am on Friday for the Practice sessions.
Google Earth View of Sepang Circuit
Stats :
Fastest Lap : 1:36.701 - Lewis Hamilton
Pole Time : 1:35.043 - Filipe Massa
Most Wins : 4 by John McDonald
