Official NOT606 2015 Bahrain GP Chat and Predictions

Race 4 of 19 in the 2015 Formula One season

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Layout of the Bahrain International Circuit

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Date 17-19 April 2015
Official name 2015 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix[1]
Location Sakhir, Bahrain

Course Permanent racing facility
5.412 km (3.363 mi)

Distance 57 laps, 308.238 km (191.530 mi)
Weather Dry

2014 Race Weekend:

Pole position, Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes 1:33.185
Fastest lap, Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes 1:37.020 (lap 49)

Results
1, Lewis Hamilton, United Kingdom, Mercedes, 1:39:42.743

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2, Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes, +1.085
3, Sergio Pérez, Mexico, Force India-Mercedes, +24.067

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Are we likely to see another Merc battle?

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Or well these two have something to say about that?

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P ZERO Medium and Soft tyres for the first evening race of the season!

Bit of a cock up when doing the Poll for China.. so no one gets any points.. even me.. and I voted Hamilton!!

1 point:
DHCanary, Pie!, TomTom94, Paco Montoya, di Fredsta!, Eat Sleep Watch F1 Repeat, exfat, ErnieBecclestone, SgtBhaji, Max Whiplash, dhel, happyal, jonnybaws, Dell Boy, ched999uk, BojackHCAFCman, StGeordie, 51LV3R8RR04

 

Rear limited track may cause issues, especially as the compounds are softer from Sepang. However, for all Pirelli's faults they generally get the compound right at each track so it may play very little significance.

Although the ambient temp may be high (ish) the track surface won't, so thermal Deg again may not be an issue?

 

I think Ferrari will suffer the same fate as in China, they'll be fast on the soft tyres but struggle on the mediums. I can see Rosberg being strong here too as he seems to go well around this track.

 

Can't see past another Hamilton win.

No doubt Ferrari will run them close again, Rosberg needs to be careful that he doesn't find himself behind Vettel.

 

Neither can Rosberg

 

I have gone for Hamilton, mostly cos I didn't get my solitary point for last time.

 

I've gone for hammy but I think Ferrari may have a chance here.. I'm expecting an exciting race like last year but I have a feeling it's going to be an anti climax.

 

I'm going for Vettel this time.

 

I've voted Hamilton, but I can see fireworks between the two Mercs. Vettel for an outside chance.

 

yeah, for some reason I can see the feud coming full circle. After Wolffs words post qualifying I believe Mercedes a have a no racing policy but after 'sundaydriver-gate' and Hamiltons words about being mentally stronger and 'the ultimate race dude' I think Rosberg will try and do something clever and fail.

 

Not sure he has the intelligence to try anything clever.

Maybe you should have said "I think Rosberg will try and do something stupid and succeed?

 

Either way, Rosberg is backed into a corner. He is neither quick enough (and as some have mentioned) is probably restricted by the team no racing policy. I say that rather than a No 2 because I think they make their decisions based on track position - it's just that invariably Lewis holds the high ground. This is probably what screws Nico up more than anything because Lewis is less likely to yield (if instructed) compared to Nico.

Nico needs to stand his ground as much with the team as anything, so I've gone Vettel.

 

If Hamilton can dial the car in again like he did in China then I can't see Rosberg or even the Ferrari's coming close..
He'll simply control the pace again without destroying his tyres and then pump the quick laps in again when it comes to pitstop time..
Last year, the only reason Rosberg kept up was he's car was setup better, for both Quali and Race, Hamilton was chasing the setup throughout..
I'd love to see a repeat of last year, but something tells me we won't.. I wouldn't be surprised to see Vettel split them too..
Rosberg may push harder to try and over take this time, ruin his tyres and allow one of the Ferrari's to nip ahead of him..

Could the Lotus team give the Williams a run for their money here? Traditionally, they've been kinder on their tyres than the Williams and may run them close this weekend?

 

This...

Think the desert is going to be hot and benefit Ferrari? Think again! In fact, track temperatures are likely to be lower than they were in China due to the late start time introduced last year when Bahrain became a twilight/night race.

....and this....

However, there is another factor that could help Ferrari’s cause – an abrasive track surface. “Bahrain has the highest degree of asphalt roughness seen all year (with the exception of Jerez, used for testing). This accelerates thermal degradation on the tyres,” report Pirelli. “The traction demands [are] particularly tough on the rear tyres: the limiting factor in Bahrain.”
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The Terminator has spoken....this doesn't bode well for an exciting season....

"Our main objective is to be number one. This is what we decided. We have big a responsibility to the team and a big brand,” the Mercedes executive director said.

"It is not just the two guys out there but about a thousand people working on these cars. If it ever comes to a point of interfering between the two of them because we risk to lose a race win, we would do that. We do not have the gap any more from last year where we can just let them push each over until the very end. We need to manage the gaps between the two of them.

"It could have come to a point on Sunday where we could have been very firm on the radio saying this is what needs to be done in order not to risk the race result. It could come to a situation where we risk losing the win to a Ferrari when we might have to do an unpopular call and manage them more."

 

If you put that into PR translate it comes out as
Rosberg is the number two.

 

Yep number 2.

If Rosberg is 2nd he is told to manage a gap. If Hamilton is in 2nd he is told to hammertime.

Rosberg was number 2 all along

 

Might as well tell him it's hammer time, he generally ignores the team when they tell him to manage the gap

 

I think the key point of this was Austria where he refused to let Rosberg past (when on different strategies) - not that I think he necessarily should have done. Regardless of whether Nico was capable of passing (this was discussed last year and it's not a debate I want to reopen) the fact is that Lewis stood his ground, where Nico always yields.

 

Difficult to see past another Hamilton win, except that Smithers makes a very good point about Sakhir's chewy surface. Ferrari may try one less stop than Mercedes, and their super-stable chassis seems the least susceptible on the grid to changes in wind direction. This could be a fascinating battle at the front – most likely between Hamilton and Vettel, both of whom are dominating their respective team mates. Mercedes' set up for this race will be more crucial than Ferrari's.

Perhaps Rosberg may over-reach himself, especially if battling Hamilton rather than a Ferrari. Of course, he will know it is still very early in the season but it is essential he keeps a cool head now if he is to retain credibility as a title challenger.

A quick shout for others:
1] Grosjean. I think he's more likely to make good use of the Lotus – which may go well at this circuit – than his team mate. Bottas and Massa, watch out…
2] Verstappen. Already impressive, this could be his best result so far.

 

For me it's self explanatory, who ever is 1st into that first corner, stays first. Maybe Rosberg isn't so far off as we thought with being wrong that Lewis was doing something. Team orders vs an extra 3 pts on your team mate and we all know Lewis like any other wdc will push their luck on the sporting side once in a while. Rosberg was considerably angry not getting pole, he probably knew that was the win out of the window bar some massive start screw up by Lewis.

It just depends what your perspective is on it, like Japan 2012 qualifying, though I'm a big fan of seb, I knew he blocked Alonso on purpose.

McLaren protocol 1988, until ofc somebody gets above their station...