Perhaps it was the excessive levels of hype that the media have been throwing in the direction of the 2010 season? Perhaps we expected too much from Bahrain – it’s not produced many thrills in previous seasons either, an issue that was perhaps overlooked when given the top billing? Whatever it was, we can only hope that the rest of the season generates more interest than the season opener.

Good Weekend

Clearly a good weekend for Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Ferrari. Maximum points for the team, with Alonso settling right in and delivering exactly what the Tifosi expect. For Massa, it was the first race back after his horrific accident in Hungary and he will be pleased with the result although there is the small, dark cloud of the first bragging rights in the team heading Alonso’s way. Still, given that Massa’s previous best return from the first race of a season was a measly 6th in 2007, he can’t complain. Bahrain has always been happier hunting ground for the Brazilian than Australia.

“A very special day for me as coming back to the top of the podium is always special but I think it is even more special with Ferrari with all the history behind the team and all the expectations a driver has when he drives for Ferrari.” Fernando Alonso

Lotus also came away happy, both cars were classified which was two more than both the other new teams. And they weren’t that many laps behind by the end – thank goodness for a long circuit. Force India once again had to settle for 9th although at least you get points for it now so Vitanio Liuzzi is off and running in what looks like being a very competitive midfield car in 2010…

Bad Weekend

…It wasn’t such a good weekend for his team mate though. Adrian Sutil could have so easily have been hunting down Sebastian Vettel come the end of the race, instead he disappeared into a cloud of smoke coming from Mark Webber and along with Robert Kubica, came out of it facing the wrong way. That also ruined Renault’s weekend – coming away empty handed.

However, it was Sebastian Vettel who was left looking at the positives of at least finishing fourth when he should have been winning who probably had the worst weekend. A faulty spark plug eventually fingered as the culprit in his loss of power late in the race.

Mixed Weekend

McLaren looked pretty good in race trim, the struggles in qualifying being the downside. Lewis Hamilton is no doubt pleased with a third place in the end but if he’d managed to have kept Nico Rosberg at bay at the start there was a good chance he could have been looking at second place, especially as Massa eased off in order to protect an overheating engine by running rich on fuel.

For the fans, Formula 1 was at least back but it was hardly a race to remember.

Three new teams, two returning teams, five new drivers, two returning drivers and still plenty of room for some familiar faces – the 2010 season starts here at the Bahrain International Circuit and on the face of it, it promises to be an intriguing season.

The Main Challengers…

With four World Champions and a raft of young pretenders to the throne, take your pick. The smart money, or at least the money of those not willing to stick their necks out too far, seems to spread between McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari. Even then, all eight drivers in the form of Button, Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel, Webber, Massa, Alonso and of course Schumacher are all capable of challenging – all the ingrediants are there for a vintage year in Formula 1.

“Even after four weeks of testing, it’s incredibly difficult to predict the order ahead of the new season. There are a number of teams and drivers who appear to be in the hunt, and, as with the start of every new season, it will be fascinating to see who emerges as the team to beat.”
Jenson Button

Others to Watch…

There are also plenty of dark horses, sitting on the fringes. Bridgestone have been waxing lyrical about Sauber’s ability to look after tyres, although Bahrain isn’t a tough circuit in terms of tyre wear so it may not be an advantage here. The other name that their rivals keep mentioning is Force India – there seems to be a distinct feeling that they may spring some more suprises in 2010 and Bahrain may be a circuit that suits their low drag philosophy. Williams also look to be in good shape. The one team that everyone seems to be keeping quiet about is Renault – they have a lot of updates ready for this weekend but they’ve yet to spark any interest from the opposition.

Then there are the three new teams at the back. Nobody is expecting them to threaten the rest of the field, indeed the talk is more about re-introducing the old 107% qualifying rule to ensure they’re up to scratch. Never-the-less this private little battle will also be worth watching unfold.

The Circuit…

One of the most unique destinations on the calendar due to its location, the imposing desert backdrop significantly influences track conditions over the Grand Prix weekend at Sakhir. The blowing winds intermittently blast desert sands onto the circuit which inevitably pose certain challenges for all but the leading driver as they pursue their counterparts and their cars are faced with air infused with damaging sand particles. “The circuit lay-out in Bahrain has changed significantly as it is now dominated by a narrow section in the infield with eight additional corners,” says Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber’s technical director. “The downforce level will be a compromise. On the one hand the many low speed corners require high downforce, but on the other the extraordinary width of the track encourages overtaking and this means you can’t disregard the need for top-speed.”

More on the circuit, including lap simulation, here.

Three races in and Bernd Maylander has possibly done more laps in the safety car than Heikki Kovalainen has managed racing. However, the Formula 1 circus should leave behind the rain of Malaysia and China as it moves on to face the completely different challenge of the heat and dust of Sakhir and the Kingdom of Bahrain. The circuit at Sakhir seems made for KERS: Plenty of hard braking for recharging coupled with four lengthy straights and a long run to the first corner (Circuit Profile) that can be exploited, so all the teams that dropped KERS for Shanghai should have it back. The only problem for them may be that aforementioned heat and dust which will both hamper the car’s cooling capability, a problem that Ferrari have struggled with. The race has only previously been won by three drivers and two teams but Renault and Ferrari look to have their work out to repeat that achievement with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa respectively.

Two from the Front
Brawn have been pulled up by the charging Red Bulls and now know they’re not going to have it all their own way from now on. Still, the British team should have an advantage in a dry race and should still be the yardstick by which the others are measured as they were still the fastest in qualifying in China once fuel loads had been taken into account. However, comments from Jenson Button after the race suggest that tyre temperature may be a weakness of the Brawn which should give the other teams some more hope. At least Red Bulls victory has taken some of the focus off the double diffusers, not that it has silenced Flavio Briatore in any way, and with Brawn’s diffuser officially legal, the chasing pack will be out to catch up.

“As the first four Grands Prix take place over just a five-week period, it has been an intense and demanding start to the season for the Brawn GP team. Australia, Malaysia and China produced some fantastic racing and I am very pleased with how the team responded to the challenges that we have faced. This was particularly the case in China last weekend where the team and the drivers did an excellent job. Although we were not able to challenge for the victory in the dramatic and unexpectedly wet conditions, we consolidated our championship position with two strong points-scoring results.” - Ross Brawn

Two from the Middle
Renault and McLaren seem to be leading the chase from the midfield with major aerodynamic changes all ready in place in Shanghai now getting a real chance to show their worth in the dry. It will also be a relief that Heikki Kovalainen finally had a race. Presuming that both teams are armed with KERS they may be in a position to challenge for serious points and pick up on the mistakes of others, however, they need to get their strategy right first. In China, McLaren took a conservative approach to Hamilton, fuelling him heavy with one eye on the weather. On the other hand, Renault seemed more intent in trying to snatch pole than in putting in a serious challenge for points, fuelling Alonso so light that he was always going to be swallowed up by the midfield even if the race had had a dry start. I’m starting to wonder about what is going on behind the scenes at Renault. Why was a pole start seemingly so important and why is Flavio Briatore keen to redirect attention away from the team’s struggles and blame Ross Brawn, a guy who brought him two World Championship’s with Benetton?

“We seem to have a solid direction within the team – all our upgrades invariably bring a lap time improvement and our direction on set-up and strategy shows what a strong group we still are. I still think we are several races away from being truly competitive but a straightforward race at Bahrain would give us a very good opportunity to accurately assess where we sit among our rivals.” - Lewis Hamilton

Two from the Back
With Red Bull challenging at the front it is only a matter of time before that filters down to the team’s sister team at Toro Rosso and with new boy Sebastien Buemi being a revelation so far and putting his more experienced teammate in the shade, that may give some of the midfield something to worry about. Force India came close again to getting off the points mark in China only for Adrian Sutil to miss out again. However, remarkably, the under-budgeted team seem to have stolen a march on Ferrari and will arrive in Bahrain with a new floor and diffuser – now who saw that coming?

“The team should be proud of the race we had and the performance we showed in China. Of course I am disappointed we didn’t get the ultimate result, but you have to get over it as there is always the next race. For sure we deserved the points, but we’re not giving up as there are always other chances. We’ve refocused and are now looking forward to Bahrain.” - Adrian Sutil

Knowledge is Everything
As the teams gradually come to grips with the new regulations for 2009 having the jump on the opposition when it comes to learning a track will have huge benefits and so it is that Toyota, Ferrari and BMW Sauber return to a track on which they did two weeks of testing, all be it interupted by a two-day sandstorm. Applying what they learnt at that test will be crucial, particularly with respect to managing the supersoft tyres, but one lesson that Ferrari will not want to repeat is that the heat of Bahrain and the batteries of their KERS did not get along with each other. Robert Kubica also tested with KERS in Bahrain so it will be interesting to see if he will finally race with it this weekend. However, the team to watch out for may be Toyota. They’ve been hot on the heels of Brawn in the first three races and the information they will have gained from their testing may just give them an edge.

“I am looking forward to racing in Bahrain after the tests we had there over the winter. Bahrain was the first chance I had to really test the TF109 in dry conditions and I knew immediately we had a competitive package, which has proved to be the case now the season has started. In testing the car was strong in Bahrain so I have a good feeling for this weekend and I think we can be competitive.” - Jarno Trulli

The Other One
Williams have been a bit of a disappointment really. The car has looked pretty good, especially in the hands of Nico Rosberg, but the team haven’t really capitalised yet due to some poor calls from the garage. With the middle of the pack closing in, they may have lost their best chance to shine in 2009.