+Frank B. 7,151 Posted March 10, 2010 Massa expects best start in years Felipe Massa believes Ferrari could enjoy its best start to a season for several years given its performance in winter testing. The Italian squad was quickest throughout the first test at Valencia and remained among the front pack throughout the month, while also having very few reliability issues. Massa reckons his team will therefore not only put its 2009 misery behind it, but can get off to an even stronger start than it did when battling for titles in the previous three seasons. "I am very happy and very motivated that we can start the championship in a better way not just than last year, which was not a very good year, but also than the other championships," he told the official Ferrari website. "It looks like we are in good condition to start the championship with a good car and a reliable car, which is good for the start of the season. It's good to think about the points straight away." While not being certain Ferrari will win in Bahrain this weekend, Massa is confident it will leave Sakhir with a strong points haul. "My expectation is definitely to score many points," he said. "Even if maybe we don't know if it will be possible to win, it will be important to start the championship in the right direction. That's our expectation and that's what we're looking for." But he added that he was staying calm about Ferrari's chances and not underestimating the strength of the competition despite his encouraging testing results. "The feeling is good, but for sure feet on the ground, because we know we are going to have a very difficult championship," Massa said. "There are a lot of good cars, good teams and good drivers. "But I can say that the feeling is really, really good. What we did in the winter tests was always very positive. Our car and our team were very competitive. "I think it shows that we have a car ready to start the season. But we have to work every day to improve the situation and improve the car race by race to be at the top. But I'm very motivated." Source: Autosport I'm torn about Ferrari this year. On one hand I want them to do better than in 2009, on the other hand I want to see Fernando Alonso fail. I've never been a fan of his (mildly put), and never will. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
da00 115 Posted March 10, 2010 im missing the sauber team and drivers in the poll. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sulphy 1,442 Posted March 10, 2010 ... cant wait for the first race!!!!!!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simonlang 530 Posted March 11, 2010 will someone be doing a "guess the result" poll for every race like last season? :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.mcman 1 Posted March 12, 2010 McLaren's car passes scrutineering By Pablo Elizalde Thursday, March 11th 2010, 16:18 GMT McLaren's car has been given the all-clear to race at the Bahrain Grand Prix after passing scrutineering checks on Thursday. FIA technical chief Charlie Whiting checked the car's rear wing this morning and gave it the green light, despite rival Red Bull Racing having expressed doubts about its legality ahead of Bahrain. Red Bull believed McLaren was making use of the air flow through the engine cover to deliver a straight-line speed advantage. The FIA was originally scheduled to inspect the car before flying to Bahrain, but that had to be delayed until today. The MP4-25, however, was given the all-clear by the FIA stewards ahead of tomorrow's practice sessions. source will someone be doing a "guess the result" poll for every race like last season? :) I still want to know who won last year. :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
san.W10 6 Posted March 12, 2010 Friday Practice 1 about to start. anyone got stream link? :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Billus 135 Posted March 12, 2010 I'm personally hoping that Schumi makes a major comeback. I always have been a Ferrari supporter but after how they treated Raikkonen, I just can't bring myself to support them. Ditching Raikkonen, one of the greatest drivers in F1 for Alonso was a bad move imo. But yea, first race in gonna be AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
da00 115 Posted March 12, 2010 To say what I said before. I am still missing the Sauber Drivers and the Team itself from the poll. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
san.W10 6 Posted March 12, 2010 Sutil tops first practice in Bahrain http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82007 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
red. 108 Posted March 12, 2010 Nice to see. I want Force India to do well this season. As well as Schumacher :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Frank B. 7,151 Posted March 12, 2010 The FP1 results don't mean much yet - too many variables (fuel load, tyre compound). What is slightly worrying is how far off the pace the new teams seem to be. If they don't improve massively they're going to be mobile chicanes during the race. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MightyJordan 7,824 Posted March 12, 2010 The top of the second practice leaderboard pretty much sums up what the season is mostly going to be about: McLaren vs. Mercedes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
what 326 Posted March 12, 2010 I think you're right but I'm going to hold off until after qualifying tomorrow. I think Ferrari are in with a chance too. The new teams are WELL off the pace, though. New regulations can't help an inexperienced team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sundayx 127 Posted March 13, 2010 Do we have a points competition like last year? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
san.W10 6 Posted March 13, 2010 my guess is Ferrari will be the strongest, then McLaren / Merc GP, RBR... MGP said they were bringing MAJOR upgrade to Bahrain, but they didnt. :/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ahmz 28 Posted March 13, 2010 Only 4 hours to go :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ahmz 28 Posted March 13, 2010 The Virgin's front left wheel just slipped off and rolled across the track! Then he (Glock) strolled back to the pits on the racing line... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ahmz 28 Posted March 13, 2010 The last 10 minutes of the session was filled with the front runners running qualifying laps with Alonso's Ferrari coming out on top. It's worthwhile to note that Rosberg was -0.009s up on Alonso's time but ran wide on the exit of the penultimate corner, a few cars ran wide there, including Vettel and Massa. Should be a great qualifying session! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ahmz 28 Posted March 13, 2010 Wow! I'm surprised by the (lack of) qualifying pace! Mclaren was way off the pace, and Alonso was not as quick as he was in Prac3, but it looks like the Red Bulls & Ferraris are the quickest cars out there. But we don't know how these cars will be like with a full tank of fuel onboard, so I hope that it will be an exciting race! Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:55.029 1:53.883 1:54.101 2. Massa Ferrari 1:55.313 1:54.331 1:54.242 3. Alonso Ferrari 1:54.612 1:54.172 1:54.608 4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:55.341 1:54.707 1:55.217 5. Rosberg Mercedes 1:55.463 1:54.682 1:55.241 6. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:55.298 1:54.318 1:55.284 7. Schumacher Mercedes 1:55.593 1:55.105 1:55.524 8. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:55.715 1:55.168 1:55.672 9. Kubica Renault 1:55.511 1:54.963 1:55.885 10. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:55.213 1:54.996 1:56.309 11. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:55.969 1:55.330 12. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:55.628 1:55.653 13. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:56.375 1:55.857 14. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:56.428 1:56.237 15. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:56.189 1:56.265 16. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:56.541 1:56.270 17. Petrov Renault 1:56.167 1:56.619 18. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:57.071 19. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:59.728 20. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:59.852 21. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 2:00.313 22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 2:00.587 23. Senna HRT-Cosworth 2:03.240 24. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 2:04.904 All Timing Unofficial http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82064 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buio 23 Posted March 13, 2010 Will be an exciting race tomorrow. Maybe Alonso made a mistake (didn't see it live), he was faster than Massa except for Q3. Vettel much faster than Webber in Q3, bit closer earlier so maybe Webber also made some mistake. Apparently Sutil ran on hard tires, all other was on soft in Q3. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simonlang 530 Posted March 13, 2010 lol massa really trashed alonso which makes me very happy :D what an amazing lap, never underestimate this guy - so far he beat no less than 4 worldchampions during his career. :cool: vettel looks like to walk away with the race tomorrow; nice comeback for schumacher, his pace is not great yet, but looks solid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Frank B. 7,151 Posted March 13, 2010 Schumacher said in the post-qualifying interview on German TV that he a) still isn't 100% there when it comes to quali runs and b) needs to work on the car setup to tweak it more to his liking still. IMHO he can make it onto the podium tomorrow with a consistent drive. Keep in mind that he and Barichello are the only drivers who have driven GPs without refuelling in the past. Who wins depends on which car uses the tyres best. The top 9 are all on softs; most of them will be struggling after max. 10 laps. Going to be an interesting race. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
