2014 Bahrain Grand Prix lap times and fastest laps

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix

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In the first two races of the season Mercedes were far enough ahead of their rivals that they didn’t need to reveal the full capabilities of their car.

But the circumstances of the late-race Safety Car period in Bahrain meant the team had to show their hand. Once the race resumed Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg scorched away from their pursuers at over two-and-a-half seconds per lap.

In Melbourne they set the fastest lap by less than a tenth of a second but it looked like they were as much as a full second quicker. In Sepang they realised that advantage.

But in Bahrain no one else lapped within 1.7 seconds of the Mercedes. That’s the kind of performance advantage we haven’t seen in a long time. If they were capable of sustaining that over a race distance they could have lapped the field.

Bahrain Grand Prix lap times

All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded):

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2014drivercolours.csv

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657
Nico Rosberg103.487100.938100.566100.872100.978100.985100.888100.823100.989100.994101.306101.336101.398101.851101.671101.494101.455102.587103.965101.442104.439121.01999.886100.178100.227100.367100.285100.325100.443100.262100.412100.487100.17100.367100.288100.536100.356100.446100.12100.535107.842152.295146.05153.717141.868141.44698.10497.80897.0297.37497.80899.49499.52698.12597.89897.82298.458
Lewis Hamilton102.467100.928100.627100.544100.78101.025100.839100.945100.842101.182101.174101.377101.421101.751102.002101.775101.802102.621106.545119.31199.76599.666100.35799.74399.809100.042100.045100.098100.25100.141100.17699.793100.2599.9399.915100.267100.185100.341100.12100.796103.783164.955145.687153.582142.046142.27898.03797.30697.10897.65697.85599.48199.27797.94197.92397.79498.387
Valtteri Bottas106.24101.493101.676101.538101.738102.197102.543102.847102.835108.066121.274100.421101.039100.831101.984101.172101.256100.679101.138101.32101.145101.409101.611101.918105.469121.154100.343100.035100.323100.03102.82101.713101.598100.653101.014101.347100.713100.569100.759103.949140.344122.601112.206143.091141.455137.76101.287100.394100.00199.762100.221101.187100.096100.578100.773101.294100.71
Sergio Perez105.657101.131101.549101.512101.43102.072102.452102.255102.432102.61102.789103.598103.53103.018102.953106.155121.025100.186100.292100.105100.4100.582100.734101.548102.253102.401101.915101.796101.321101.138101.203101.491101.448104.586119.77399.3299.59799.89499.82100.484118.32125.145118.486152.962140.454141.864100.741100.0699.899.809100.035100.112100.03299.927100.097100.166100.345
Kimi Raikkonen108.461102.267102.272102.249102.105102.285102.681102.965102.733103.061103.203103.171106.504121.948100.145101.788100.982102.383101.613101.333101.977101.123101.21102.551102.682102.059102.249102.18102.654101.974102.246104.443106.576121.55499.43899.836101.545101.748100.913100.509122.12140.885115.925118.875141.769136.286101.22101.296101.366101.273100.038100.00199.881100.148100.004100.559100.943
Jenson Button106.612101.953101.754101.585101.797102.017102.371102.677102.752102.6102.569103.2103.402103.482103.507103.846105.97120.999100.69100.614100.689101.063101.023101.124100.91101.71100.767101.38101.275101.242101.08101.336101.408101.518104.279120.10499.565100.03599.97100.569118.573123.447115.919152.57140.098140.524102.323102.354101.175101.766101.73100.709100.131100.27140.85
Felipe Massa104.407101.241101.384101.507101.902102.071102.334102.322102.446102.653103.089105.072106.713120.788100.86101.191101.074100.656100.643101.018100.81101.159101.673101.827102.668102.477102.118106.906120.77599.665100.21199.857100.118100.695100.471100.845100.41103.376119.05799.272119.661123.726114.117143.308141.023138.299101.24899.897100.04100.136100.384100.891100.367100.513100.54101.527100.57
Kevin Magnussen109.266102.533102.391102.465102.213102.475103.052103.017103.376103.378104.985104.676104.501107.608122.298101.624101.527101.543101.387101.003100.774100.954101.391102.31104.566120.521100.298100.578100.757101.115100.806101.013102.322101.075101.329102.589102.019104.917120.414100.108
Fernando Alonso107.396102.061101.917101.994103.054102.533102.639102.328102.667103.047102.879105.825121.597100.599100.655101.283101.5101.565102.78101.719101.356101.478101.824101.916101.949102.017102.444104.754120.20399.923100.326100.368100.503100.602100.96100.951100.99100.608101.084100.736121.327142.95108.283142.407141.656137.185101.28101.531101.188100.00699.7699.87599.732100.762100.553101.125100.688
Sebastian Vettel108.847102.34102.498102.353102.127102.234102.594102.777102.991103.008103.059103.212103.45103.183104.129106.407120.89699.312101.00699.952100.225101.078101.336101.783101.27101.242101.103101.619101.198101.853102.057102.205102.931105.842123.224100.26499.86699.81599.94999.784119.026123.421112.832146.529140.413139.844100.81799.858100.289100.406100.563100.861100.517100.476100.662101.065100.024
Nico Hulkenberg107.757102.12102.081101.92101.449101.993101.97102.415102.657102.712102.545103.045103.403103.554106.353119.74599.468100.59100.2899.84100.416100.54100.727101.86102.332103.312102.066102.326101.046101.173101.139101.869101.833101.703104.978119.61798.78599.51699.55299.924116.666125.655118.99152.717140.402140.924101.05100.3599.92100.302100.529100.79101.042100.222100.368100.545100.314
Daniil Kvyat110.277102.624102.381102.711102.445102.634102.929102.857103.797106.071121.863100.16101.191101.806101.718101.976103.083102.384104.254102.595102.877102.489102.768104.998123.019101.648101.716101.57102.103101.691101.915102.39102.089101.902101.569101.26101.409101.777104.2127.457124.016115.083108.29114.236141.598136.01101.472101.112101.306101.764101.119101.026101.085101.349101.221101.19101.605
Daniel Ricciardo109.767102.582102.421102.567102.252102.386103.049102.933103.655103.147102.986101.971102.568102.888103.058102.544102.589105.627121.606100.383100.604100.448100.65100.661101.163101.616102.402102.218102.688102.093102.032102.126101.948102.615105.047119.88599.29499.26999.56699.316118.526123.061116.187143.46141.132138.54100.657100.18999.87299.809100.448100.85599.73599.4399.70999.29999.703
Jean-Eric Vergne150.538132.49102.541103.507103.624103.405104.07103.759104.061106.436104.12104.256104.368107.361124.286101.65103.061105.282
Esteban Gutierrez110.522103.23102.893102.889103.249104.414103.461103.319103.553103.825104.28108.755122.167100.99102.033101.762101.959102.083103.342102.339102.48102.756102.847103.424103.308104.147106.65122.52101.014103.156101.124100.698101.203101.431103.696101.283101.488101.828102.682
Romain Grosjean113.64104.332102.079102.627102.465103.282103.003104.173103.289103.579103.655103.926106.395123.202101.294101.494101.626101.868101.718102.104101.956102.042102.033102.081102.441102.286102.563105.789121.653100.943100.413100.467100.881101.114101.244101.497104.529121.61199.443106.778123.297115.627109.071113.522141.779135.41101.898101.302101.351101.346101.164100.76101.182101.789101.142101.56102.171
Pastor Maldonado111.296103.605102.853102.946102.661103.179103.182103.465103.104103.348103.374103.619103.649103.672104.035104.078104.95104.68107.299121.556100.17101.122101.326101.101102.034101.77101.796101.813101.609101.758101.71101.754102.024101.77101.995102.358102.358102.182105.975140.719153.398136.97111.18100.678101.614128.919104.445129.088100.956100.2799.72599.666100.66199.894100.145100.19799.845
Kamui Kobayashi113.503105.236103.724103.833103.191103.261103.407103.553103.94104.057104.277104.843105.069105.998108.056125.956101.246102.003102.575102.375102.495102.722102.677103.418103.186103.441103.419103.487104.305103.879103.623103.979103.776104.13107.179126.166101.844102.417102.376116.262127.597126.723114.946106.376104.706115.964104.077103.444106.384105.769104.268105.331104.877104.624106.054106.725107.894
Jules Bianchi112.355103.78103.286104.009103.861103.504103.972103.73104.349108.048124.368103.01140.817131.812103.617110.207105.803111.326120.569104.563104.424104.572106.132104.735104.875104.711105.855105.438106.566106.587108.9126.212102.661103.148103.463105.631104.902103.262120.018126.736126.8109.012102.727102.175106.393103.804103.926103.486103.859103.72103.423103.268104.671106.089105.454104.944
Marcus Ericsson113.491104.431104.076103.874104.745103.922104.02104.524104.406105.021108.497124.562102.476102.326102.661102.707103.044103.487105.073104.434104.369104.13104.378105.258105.428108.398123.869101.134101.697101.718102.235102.26102.195
Max Chilton114.381105.549104.414103.675103.988105.005104.776103.906104.116104.385107.946123.837102.627102.305102.63102.806103.008103.402103.362103.489104.586103.786103.886103.974104.422104.567104.449108.259125.439101.831102.13103.075102.882102.926103.015103.922102.506102.549103.01119.645144.624109.686109.945107.474104.377115.246102.169101.825102.168102.38102.257102.579102.237102.829102.582101.945107.863
Adrian Sutil114.175105.388103.936103.944104.074104.71107.797123.813101.791102.068102.741103.368237.745139.565107.011105.573105.641

Bahrain Grand Prix fastest laps

Each driver’s fastest lap:

RankDriverCarFastest lapGapOn lap
1Nico RosbergMercedes1’37.02049
2Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’37.1080.08849
3Nico HulkenbergForce India-Mercedes1’38.7851.76537
4Daniel RicciardoRed Bull-Renault1’39.2692.24938
5Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes1’39.2722.25240
6Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’39.3122.29218
7Sergio PerezForce India-Mercedes1’39.3202.30036
8Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1’39.4382.41835
9Romain GrosjeanLotus-Renault1’39.4432.42339
10Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’39.5652.54537
11Pastor MaldonadoLotus-Renault1’39.6662.64652
12Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’39.7322.71253
13Valtteri BottasWilliams-Mercedes1’39.7622.74250
14Kevin MagnussenMcLaren-Mercedes1’40.1083.08840
15Daniil KvyatToro Rosso-Renault1’40.1603.14012
16Esteban GutierrezSauber-Ferrari1’40.6983.67832
17Marcus EricssonCaterham-Renault1’41.1344.11428
18Kamui KobayashiCaterham-Renault1’41.2464.22617
19Jean-Eric VergneToro Rosso-Renault1’41.6504.63016
20Adrian SutilSauber-Ferrari1’41.7914.7719
21Max ChiltonMarussia-Ferrari1’41.8254.80548
22Jules BianchiMarussia-Ferrari1’42.1755.15544

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix

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Image © Daimler/Hoch Zwei

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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56 comments on “2014 Bahrain Grand Prix lap times and fastest laps”

  1. Jesus… that’s like Ferrari 2002/2004 pace advantage right there…

    Except this time around both drivers have equal status.

    1. I can’t believe nobody has noticed yet that Rosberg’s fastest lap of 1:37.020 is almost identical to Vettel’s fastest lap in 2013 of 1:36.961. That is only a difference of 0.059 seconds!

      Everyone keeps saying that the cars are 3-4 seconds a lap slower than last year….But that is no longer the case. At least on the power dominated tracks like Bahrain.

      Can’t wait to see what happens at Monza after they’ve had time to truly tune the cars. Even Monaco where the short bursts of acceleration with low speed corners….will be interesting to see.

      1. Softer tyres and cooler temps this year explains the closeness.

        1. The cooler temps helped, but I believe they had the same soft/med tyre selection in 2013. And the 2014 tires are not as fast as the 2013 tires…but they last more than 10 laps before exploding! :)

      2. Monza should be faster than last year, i would think anyway. I expect Monaco to be a fair bit slower though as the weight increase and aero reductions will make more of a difference than the engines. They also might struggle to use all that torque in the tight, twisty stuff, could lead to some barrier bashing too ;)

        1. @keiththedin Yeah, I think it will be fascinating to see the speed difference at Monaco this year. It’s such a low speed track with so many accelerations that the new power units will shine, but the heavier weight and the loss of traction will probably out weigh those advantages. Of course, they will get a LOT of regen through the KERS which will help reduce fuel consumption. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the teams start the race with only 80-85kg of fuel so that somewhat helps offset the weight…at least in the early part of the race.

          I’m betting that it will be overall slower at Monaco, but maybe the acceleration will close the gap??? Monza should be remarkable. I’m betting top speeds of 270kph.

          1. Sigh, I meant 370kph in Monza.

        2. @keithedin Wow, I was on a role yesterday…I couldn’t even spell your name right to respond LOL

          1. *roll ;)

  2. I watched the whole grand prix with the timing screens, and make no bones about it … the w05 is just a rocket ship. Before the safety car they were a minute ahead of the entire field. After the safety car, they pulled out 24 seconds in 10 laps, wow.

    1. That w05 is a beast. Guess most if the grid is already working in their 2015 cars.

      1. Think all teams should skip 2015 and start working on 2016 instead. Submit that this year and next year trophies all belong to Merc.

    2. Yeah it’s a rocket. I thought people were exaggerating when they said that Merc is 20-30 HPs ahead of Ferrari and 50-60 ahead of Renault – but seems the gaps are really that large.

    3. Yeah it was amazing to watch after the safety car restart, the two Mercs just blitzed the field and even after 2-3 corners you could see the gap stretching out. Strangely i actually found this cool to watch, even though usually you want to see close racing between evenly matched cars – i guess it matters less if the two drivers of those cars are evenly matched too.

      It makes you wonder what it is that gives them this huge advantage though, because it looks like it is a sheer power advantage even over the other Mercedes engineed teams. No doubt the car is good aerodynamically and well balanced with good traction and all that, but it looked like a big part of their advantage was in the early part of acceleration. Newey mentioned something about different fuels showing significant performance differences, could that be their main ‘secret’?

      1. I think the secret is that their software better maximizes the relationship between harvesting, boosting torque, and boosting the turbo speed. Thus, they use less fuel and they can pour on some battery boost when necessary. Recall that after the SC, when Rosberg was on his back, the team told him he could start to use “overtake” at corner exits every single time. This was a telling sign to me as it meant that the car had a surfeit of harvested power and was not reliant on fuel to produce torque at the crankshaft or to spin the turbo to opitmal speed. I think both of them had the same message. This is why they left the field for dead after the SC. After every corner its like they were on nitrous.

      2. Their advantage is their power unit. They have separated the compressor from the turbine on the turbo using a shaft running through the V of the engine. This keeps the intake charge cooler (it isn’t beside the hot-hot-hot exhaust) which creates huge knock-on effects. The engine makes more power, doesn’t knock as easily under boost and doesn’t require as large an intercooler, which allows for smaller sidepods and huge aerodynamic benefits. The Mercedes chassis was developed around this engine packaging, where the customer teams were given the engine later in their development. This really is a car built with near limitless resources and a game-changing innovation.

        My question: Honda will now be able to copy Mercedes’ idea on the turbo while Ferrari and Renault’s engines are homologated. Does this effectively mean only Mercedes or Honda-powered cars have any chance in the coming seasons? Will we lose Ferrari from F1 as a result of this?

        1. Important points. Your last question is what deMontezemolo is going to threaten. But I think it’s too early to judge what will happen. Renault have only just begun running their cars in anger and are still working out software. Ferrari has more running but they can improve. But if Spain and Monaco are also Mercedes beat downs I think all bets are off. Luca will be moaning louder than the new engines.

          If I were Paddy Lowe I might be making sure that the true pace of the cars is not shown again. If HAM and ROS have another all-out pedal to the metal fight and lap up to the podium in China people will converge at the Mercedes garage with pitchforks and Luca himself will strap Paddy to a Catherine Wheel.

  3. Mercedes is magic, Ferrari is tragic.

    Without the safety car, both FIAT’s would have been lapped by the WO5’s.

    1. I would love to have seen luca di montezemolo’s face if that happened!

      1. Or hear Alonso’s radio when it does! Because if Mercedes start to get pushed by some of the other teams and open up their full potential, Ferrari just now look like they’re going to get swept away.

        A serious waste of Alonso’s talent.

    2. Heh and to think we all thought Red Bull were going to kill the sport with their domination!

      1. It was widely known that Mercedes was putting together an awesome power unit for 2014. That’s why Hamilton signed for them at the end of 2012, when (on results alone) the team seemed to be going nowhere.

  4. Does anyone know if Rosberg got fastest lap with double DRS ?
    Hamiltons fastest lap only 0.088 slower than that both set on lap 49.
    I’m watching BBC highlights now currently on lap 25 .

    1. Yes, Rosberg’s fastest lap was with DRS but also in Hamilton’s turbulent air.

    2. Yeah if anything Rosberg could probably have gone faster if he weren’t behind Hamilton.

  5. What an utterly fantastic car. I don’t believe anyone has held such a big advantage since McLaren at the begining of 1998.

    1. Ferrari in 2002 and 2004!

    2. 1988 when Senna and Prost raced.

  6. Obviously the ultimate performance of the Mercedes is nowhere near that much ahead as qualifying showed.

    1. Contrary to 2011-13, the WO5 is better in the race than in qualifying. They have better tyre wear + fuel management than RBR.

      1. Yeah the race pace of the Mercedes is bigger than its ultimate pace, but don’t forget this is one of the biggest fuel saving circuits of the year.

        Who cares if they are this dominant anyway because I’d rather see two drivers evenly matched going at it hammer and tong than see Vettel run away with no challengers.

        1. Are they evenly matched though? Last race Lewis finished some 17 s head of Nico when Nico had the setup wrong, this race Lewis said he got the setup wrong and was slower than Nico, yet he held him off when we all thought Nico would just breeze past him.

          But obviously they have no real challenge so should finish 1st and 2nd barring no problems so in terms of points it should be close.

          1. I think Lewis was faster than Nico all weekend. P1,p2,p3, q1, just an error in Q3.
            Then he was ahead at both tyre changes and won the race!

  7. This domination is bigger than brawn in early 2009 and williams in 92-93.
    In 2009 at least the double diffusers could be copied by the others to try to catch them.
    I can imagine anything closing that gap other than some freeing in engine development.
    In RBs (previous 4y) case the time dif was much closer, still FIA made the frong wing defflection test more strictly, banned blown diffusers and extreme engine mapings..etc which would weaken them.

  8. Vettel’s fastest lap was on lap 18 already, and Kvyat’s on lap 12 – how did that happen?

    1. @mike-dee

      Some of the fastest laps have happened a bit earlier in the races this year, i can think of two possible reasons. 1) They are carrying less fuel at the start, so the weight penalty is reduced and times should be more consistent between the start and the end. 2) Because of the battery storage, and turbo boost, the difference between coasting speed and maximum speed is exaggerated. So it could be that the first pit stop window is where a lot of fastest laps occur, because the cars will be saving energy for it, then temporarily sprinting to gain track position. This didn’t happen during the second round of pit stops (for some runners) because of the safety car.

    2. @mike-dee According to Ted Kravitz Vettel had problems with the MGU-H in the second half of the race, so maybe that’s why his fastest lap was so early in the race.

  9. I think Lewis is a bit harsh on his self here, I strongly believe that he was also the faster guy. He was matching rosberg on what they say was six and a half tenth slower tyre. Not mentioning his 10 sec lead before the safety car. I also saw a very very very bitter (cocky) rosberg in the interviews, he was verry arrogant and was more trying to convince himself that he was faster.

    1. Agree completely does Nico no why he is leading the WC? He makes me laugh saying im still in lead the only diff was maybe Nico had better life on tyres this weekend that was all.

    2. Yes what a joke..
      Rosberg thinks he was faster because he got fastest lap and qualified 1st?!
      Nico had double DRS and the better tyre and was only 0.088 quicker.
      I like to think Lewis understands the advantage of letting your teammate think he is faster than you when he isn’t, but I’m not sure..

      Shame Maldonaldo put his ugly stamp on another race, might have been more interesting to see if Rosberg could get anyway near Hamilton after the pit stops, and how their times in fresh air compared either way Lewis reinforced his superiority in my opinion.

      I wonder how far into the season and what kind of advantage is required to give one of them the nod for team orders, today was classic exciting racing but also very risky and if you consider the consequences was it worth it? They can try and pretend that Paddy Lowes message wasn’t team orders but didn’t several people in Merc confirm they both defied the order?

      1. “Double DRS” – are you suggesting Nico had more DRS than anyone else trying to overtake?

    3. Lewis was kind of right, Rosberg was constrained else he would have been faster especially in the latter stages of the race. I believe Hamilton had said he had a setup issue which they tried to fix before the race but didn’t quite work.

      1. Rosberg was definitely the quicker during the race that’s why he was able to lap 1-1.5 secs behind Lewis in the first stint and wait to attack just before the first stops.

        Also there wasn’t as much a difference in lap time between the medium and soft tyres for most of the second stint Rosberg was lapping about 2-3 tenths slower than Hamilton, proving he had the quicker car.

        It would have been good to see how their different strategies had played out without the safety car but you have to think that if the roles had been reversed and Hamilton was behind Nico on quicker tires with 10 laps to go that Lewis would have won that one!

        I think therein lies the small difference between the drivers, Hamilton won a race he shouldn’t have yesterday.

        1. Lewis was holding a 1-1.5 sec gap in the first stint untill his tyres went off. If it is as you say then rosberg should not have let Hamilton build a 10 sec gap with the soft tyre in the second stint, but Hamilton had him in the bag there and controlled degradation on the tyre which wears out quicker. The last ten laps where degradation is not any issue mere rosberg should have overtaken Hamilton but what did we see: brilliant defending and matching Rosberg s lap times. So it’s rubbish to say that he shouldn’t have won, he won for a reason

  10. I think the name of the game here is efficiency. The W05 obviously has good aero efficiency, and their hybrid system seems more efficient so they can crank the boost up on the V6 & still get good economy. Clever design & packaging means efficient heat management, and they’ve obviously also solved their tire munching issues & have been running some of the longest stints between pit stops. The Mercedes power unit is certainly the class of the field, but as Williams, Force India & McLaren are finding out, there’s way more to it than having the best engine. Red Bull’s form backs that up. So Luca whining about engines & noise, & Horner/Dietrich whinging about fuel sensors does little to divert my attention from the fact that Mercedes are delivering on all counts. There is no silver bullet forthcoming for their rivals. There’s some serious engineering voodoo going on under that silver paint & they’d best get to the task of development & finding performance the old fashioned way instead of constant complaining and lobbying for rule changes two races into this brand new season. Chop chop lads! We want more races like today!!!

  11. I always support the underdogs and this time it paid off. Loving the HULK!!!!

  12. Yes, the W05 is remarkable but the consistency of the lap times is interesting to note – and is entirely down to the drivers. There is much greater variation lap to lap and across stints in other driver/car combinations. It seems Merc has produced a car which is both superior to those of their competitors and ideally suited to their drivers – quite an accomplishment.

  13. Phwoar, Ricciardo faster than Vettel through every stage of the race. Nice to see the new RBR Aus is adjusting nicely :)

  14. I was expecting Mercedes to be better in 2014 than they were in 2013. It’s not like the domination is coming out of nowhere, akin to Brawn in the first half of 2009. We knew they had somewhat abandoned their 2013 challenge to focus on this year. Though now that it’s arrived, the way they have shown their hand to obliterate all other challengers is astonishing.

  15. I hope that people are going to check out the McLarens'(especially Button‘s) times in comparison to the Force Indias’ and the Williams’……
    Yep, basically no difference at all. Sucks for Button’s technical issues.

    1. Yes, You are right.

    2. MALLI (@mallikarjuna)
      13th April 2014, 5:32

      mclaren on an avergae 0.3 sec slower dan forceindia on softs and 0.5 sec slower on medium tyres. the forceindia cars significantly lost time following williams that allowed button to close some gap, the cooler temps saved mclaren in this race .

  16. The second fastest team behind Mercedes actually seems to be Red Bull. This is not yet evident because they haven’t had a chance at fighting from the sharp end of the field. Melbourne was a sample but Ricciardo seems faster than every other racer bar Mercedes.
    Ferrari seem to be painfully slow but they have been bad at Bahrain for a few years now yet they actually mix it up with the Merc teams except for outright speed.

    I am not telling that they will be able to challenge the Mercs anytime soon but the fight for second spot will be between RB and Ferrari once the dust settles. If Ferrari can fully derive all the power from their power unit, that is.

    1. I think Redbull were maybe more hindered than most with fuel issues in this race, which would explain why they were not making much progress until after the safety car (being on the soft tyre for last stint helped aswell ofc). It would make sense, if the Renault is less efficient (compared to the Mercedes engine anyway).

  17. The Mercedes engine is clearly an evolutionary change to Turbo’s and could signal a real problem for F1. If Ferrari and Renault can’t modify their engine next season due to homogulation rules, and if Honda can’t change their design in 8 months, both of which seem tall orders, what’s the point of turning up to a GP if you don’t have a Mercedes engine? Furthermore if your Alonso or the others why bother turning up to be humiliated for the next few years. Best to leave now. Might have been an exciting 10 laps, but it might have been the bell tolling for F1.

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