How Massa recovered to tenth from the pits

2015 Bahrain Grand Prix lap charts

Posted on

| Written by

Felipe Massa’s race went wrong before it even started when a sensor fault prevented his power unit from firing up on the grid.

But despite starting from the pits he recovered to finish the race in the points.

Bahrain Grand Prix lap chart

The positions of each driver on every lap. Use the controls below to show/hide different drivers:

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2015drivercolours.csv

0123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657
Lewis Hamilton1111111111111111221111111111111111322222111111111111111111
Sebastian Vettel2222222223333463443333333333333334434555555555555555555555
Nico Rosberg3444333332222224332222222222222222143333322222222222222233
Kimi Raikkonen4333444444444332114444444444444443211111233333333333333322
Valtteri Bottas5555555555555546655555555555555555665444444444444444444444
Felipe Massa6171616151414131313151413131212111110101010101012151413131312121211111010109999888888889999101010
Daniel Ricciardo7666666666666657766666666666666666556666666666666666666666
Nico Hulkenberg888888888891311101011101099999991013121211111111121312121211141414121212121212121213131313131313
Carlos Sainz Jnr91010101010101010111112171616161516161616161616161311141515
Romain Grosjean10777777777777119988777777777777771010999888877777777777777777
Sergio Perez1111111111111111111010887755713131313131310988888877777912111010999999998888888
Felipe Nasr121212121212121212121415141413131212111111111111111615151414141313131211111110101112141414141313131312121212121212
Marcus Ericsson139999999998912121110998888888817171616151515151513131415151515131313131414141414141414141414
Fernando Alonso14131313131313141414121010915151414151515151515151210111112131414141414151514131313111111111111111111111111111111
Max Verstappen1514141414151719191919191818171717171717171717171717161617171616161616
Pastor Maldonado16161515161615151515161715151414131312121212121213141210101010109988877778151515151515151515151515151515
Daniil Kvyat171517171717161616161311988816151414141414141411999999881015141313121211101010101010101010101010999
Will Stevens1819191919191817171717161617181818181818181818181818181818181717171717161616161616161616161616161616161616161616
Roberto Merhi19181818181819181818181819191919191919191919191919191919191918181818181717171717171717171717171717171717171717
Jenson Button20

Bahrain Grand Prix race chart

Following his pit lane start Massa was in the thick of the action from the very first lap. He picked off the two Manor drivers and later got ahead of the slow-starting Pastor Maldonado but then tangled with the Lotus driver.

“A few laps in at turn four, Maldonado ran into the back of me and damaged something,” Massa explained. “From then on I really struggled with the rear and the car was very hard to drive.”

Nonetheless by lap seven he had taken Fernando Alonso for 13th place. Williams opted to bring his pit stops forward as early as they dared to hasten his progress using the ‘undercut’.

This had the desired effect but it left Massa running for longer on the medium tyre than any other driver – 32 laps, more than half the race distance. Having risen as high as eighth on the road, he was passed by Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat late in the race, by which time he was over three-and-a-half seconds off his team mate’s pace.

The gaps between each driver on every lap. Use the controls below to show/hide different drivers:

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2015drivercolours.csv

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657
Lewis Hamilton00000000000000012.4816.462000000000000000011.8667.0445.4023.7171.9090.234000000000000000000
Sebastian Vettel0.8271.4791.6721.81.9242.1532.3034.5016.5537.3847.867.59610.93328.13822.46214.9349.6872.9572.9832.7923.2593.5854.1054.3295.8456.1296.5297.1547.8448.3389.18912.66529.19919.82114.79518.40345.54742.50639.18437.22136.16735.69835.23335.60935.76536.14937.25938.04339.36340.51341.39941.98442.59343.6244.66544.88443.989
Nico Rosberg1.9913.2673.5793.7653.7193.7643.7255.0215.365.3466.2745.8755.7058.19322.86513.3668.1681.3821.5571.6291.6622.0742.3012.1732.5852.6732.7783.3253.7134.0484.695.6383.895014.79712.23910.3798.5556.0825.0534.5584.7714.6524.8055.1394.9284.9274.7855.1775.8195.6545.0865.235.3355.837.6836.033
Kimi Raikkonen1.5062.4333.0285.7035.8845.9345.9746.4077.2918.058.8548.6839.179.1956.2910013.95413.07312.36712.74112.73112.63212.48812.6712.65612.64612.67912.83213.03213.57613.5910.8823.407000004.97523.64121.03118.81417.05415.1813.43212.61411.69911.03610.6449.3758.1526.9446.4566.9836.2123.38
Valtteri Bottas3.0424.3895.0366.5357.2568.4649.23110.36911.24312.35513.50813.84315.12419.57336.71427.6222.11215.46815.24414.89415.70716.39617.34518.32719.51220.79821.83823.04824.15425.52527.35329.63232.49544.24839.71938.97838.51437.62635.84435.06334.58434.34334.46834.79735.09535.4436.51937.50538.56839.86840.80441.34341.8442.91643.99744.00242.957
Felipe Massa9.79912.73115.45517.44918.84320.60822.34524.66326.59932.15651.90949.6448.33447.41144.05437.56534.12429.82731.71233.63236.39439.27642.45349.29471.41271.70672.67273.56675.19475.71476.877.65976.21769.27366.74767.33367.92768.56568.31369.0870.50872.23873.87775.86977.86579.79882.41284.72588.31292.23895.27197.873101.823107.912112.18115.723
Daniel Ricciardo3.6085.6027.2348.7599.86711.19712.34913.54414.31615.2816.26116.64417.64321.07338.40430.63626.35220.98921.63322.44323.83524.74425.99826.63727.65428.71929.67630.6631.52232.75234.51836.47535.55329.84431.1651.44750.96550.70449.28549.08249.37349.86950.37950.85651.94452.86454.07654.61556.13257.11357.73358.6658.6859.86260.98560.93861.751
Nico Hulkenberg4.6356.949.02110.86212.33113.95515.71117.62719.36623.87946.07945.03344.67445.1443.04936.833.38529.00530.81232.81235.49838.22841.12344.17950.16770.9671.62872.92473.27373.92675.63876.83377.44672.54471.39673.14975.20479.647101.701100.829100.911101.457102.203103.195105.416106.81108.925111.274113.837117.341119.282120.791122.469124.394126.492128.225
Carlos Sainz Jnr6.3088.89111.21113.37515.12417.03219.11621.39624.79927.50934.76863.99763.86763.86260.83154.58852.0147.84150.23152.61655.52758.32261.32463.6666.50769.08473.32277.57283.047
Romain Grosjean3.9766.1287.9989.47810.75512.3814.18415.77817.33919.31121.32925.20744.98943.42239.81532.45228.5123.41624.58625.84327.75129.65431.56133.71936.23138.3440.55142.6145.05947.80153.3974.38371.37963.61559.97659.53159.57559.49758.68459.12860.17661.2162.28863.4164.95166.65669.05271.08973.24475.34677.04778.40480.0181.68583.41884.41384.763
Sergio Perez6.8789.54111.97214.10715.93717.91119.85122.2123.48925.07526.88827.49228.74130.56729.69825.50927.64143.20943.01342.9243.57144.40745.74647.50948.86450.47651.47552.55953.98255.81257.82559.97558.96453.47252.11254.87260.10880.44378.09777.40377.36777.7478.37179.51780.51281.54683.26285.13288.61790.67892.63393.94795.41197.313100.786102.411
Felipe Nasr7.42910.21212.65214.98916.97619.18321.03923.47925.46831.08953.19751.17750.24249.2145.80538.87335.24830.60432.29734.27636.98239.75542.96548.67572.48672.75173.71674.52475.77977.93779.01979.70777.95171.40770.73572.27474.17475.58376.45878.8484.478107.663107.042107.11108.336108.63109.812111.952114.245115.348116.22117.002117.823118.942120.335120.821
Marcus Ericsson5.1767.7079.50811.32112.94814.68316.8219.12621.09723.31228.25648.01646.09145.60141.82434.94930.91925.827.0928.4530.99333.06235.54137.60442.87788.44987.46388.01488.33888.30489.02189.22187.71480.8778.63679.1882.749103.881102.244101.682101.893102.443104.739106.048107.988110.485112.761114.662116.925119.353121.362122.52123.767125.689127.654129.374
Fernando Alonso7.98611.06613.57115.72217.63720.15223.37825.47627.50729.91232.63735.85541.17761.93758.98752.53949.52146.73848.87551.12554.04356.82159.48862.2764.96667.60470.47172.57575.06477.70380.82583.50783.34478.55680.026100.433100.16899.49598.10399.51499.949100.422100.737101.59103.02104.784106.414108.107110.765113.019114.562115.733116.748117.942119.412119.701
Max Verstappen8.50511.55914.47217.06620.28126.97162.97863.80164.61166.10167.56469.31470.20572.3771.44266.2656460.70563.23365.81768.78271.52774.24476.76179.62482.43985.12288.36291.54896.952120.957121.013118.608128.492
Pastor Maldonado9.73112.19714.76118.34420.57122.31824.29326.47428.24733.08459.42956.56155.23153.99550.29143.25139.49234.4835.81337.25339.35741.51144.08549.98170.1769.32569.30568.63468.2268.02168.30268.63467.20559.95256.68456.65657.59557.74457.07657.50961.81166.917165.745164.907165.374165.292165.602165.555166.065166.708166.92166.642166.682166.86167.056166.255
Daniil Kvyat9.17413.56616.07219.01721.01924.09425.31327.16728.89531.00132.94234.6436.68438.17139.76154.70350.00245.55146.44146.97848.38650.15751.42752.58954.35455.81457.45559.18260.89262.71964.88767.21667.02465.21183.48782.32881.90481.6780.70180.75581.94182.53983.42685.31286.66487.7389.52390.99492.61494.58396.543100.39102.221106.634108.815109.617
Will Stevens11.7317.822.68427.26432.09736.72941.33945.71850.00154.34159.27563.96869.06574.35376.43375.30977.38678.69989.388117.452121.147124.692128.575131.966135.647139.314143.924147.484151.387155.197158.989163.59168.666188.386187.566189.441192.06195.166197.199205.48210.484215.496219.516224.377229.041234.241240.294245.128250.481255.77261.027266.444271.046276.747284.473
Roberto Merhi11.66617.1722.02326.69931.58537.58242.45247.75252.58157.86764.11269.31675.49681.43284.95585.40988.89595.091122.633126.268130.966136.346140.522144.703149.515154.339160.168165.007171.019178.008184.922190.981194.138196.359219.459221.608224.577228.337231.229236.4240.312244.878250.07254.978260.196266.103273.037278.881285.007291.045298.126307.127313.322320.85
Jenson Button

2015 Bahrain Grand Prix

Browse all 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix articles

Author information

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...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

28 comments on “How Massa recovered to tenth from the pits”

  1. Maldonado keeps impressing me. Not only he was all over the place, he also tangled with Verstappen and Massa which affected their races.

    1. At the beginning I was really kind of “the ghuy will show us his talent in a decent car” but I was really disappointed, the guy really can’t drive an F1 at all, he is a really bad choice for Lotus.

      1. @abdelilah
        You are right he shouldn’t be driving in F1.
        This became clear for me a few years back when he used his car as a weapon.

    2. Yes he recovered quite well. But did you see his first lap? Not only did he mess up is grid position, but he ran off track about 2 times in the first lap.

      The man surely is fast, but he has a marble in his head that sometimes rolls the wrong way.

      1. Oops, misread your comment. But I’m not sure who was to blame in his contacts with Verstappen and Massa.

    3. At least he makes the races interesting.

      Without him, we would see no first lap incidents at all.

  2. Eduardo Cunha Holanda
    19th April 2015, 22:03

    Why people are criticizing him for 10th place while his teammate finished 4th? In my opinion, Massa made a respectable race. getting one point even with the damaged car and a bad tire strategy, finishing the first phase of the season ahead of Bottas. A shame that his car failed on the formation lap. Would make a great race as well as his team-mate. Good luck for the next race, Felipe!

    1. Who is criticizing Massa? That’s just silly – his car was damaged by Maldonadoh! Was the best he could do with what he had.

  3. A faulty sensor prevented the engine from firing up.
    Marussia didn’t race in Australia cuz they didn’t have the engine’s codes.
    Jenson’s sensor readings were unstable so the team decided against him racing today.

    The i don’t care about noite really. I lke these engines, but they are just too complicated.

    1. I don’t agree – it’s not supposed to be easy.

    2. The previous V8 and V10 engines used had sensors too. Nothing new there. Almost all regular-people cars have oxygen sensors that will stop the engine from running properly if it is faulty. So sensors for the correct operation of an engine is a common thing.

  4. Still don’t understand how merc could have ignored kimi on mediums keeping pace with lewis, and even going faster than both seb and nico, in the second stint. Did they think ferrari were just going to put the slower tyre on again for the final stint, and not the options, which kimi was still catching lewis on at the end of first stint and got more laps done on them? Come on merc pitwall, you just about got away with it this time, next time you might not! Wake up!

    1. @newdecade I guess the predetermined strategy is always best for Mercedes due to their overall pace. Also I guess you haven’t taken into account that Vettel and Rosberg were 2secs or somewhat behind the car infront and with the dirty air issues these cars are experiencing, Kimi who was in clear air as his 1st stint was longer was able to match Lewis who was also in clear air.

    2. Its one thing to catch up and a different thing to overtake unless you have a superior car. I assume Mercedes was counting on that. Also, I don’t think they expected Kimi to be able to push for so many laps and still have life in his tyres by the time he caught up with Mercs.

      Indirectly, Vettel’s mistake meant Kimi had one less car to overtake and hence caught up with Rosberg sooner.

    3. @newdecade
      I agree with Mercedes doesn’t seem very agile when it comes to strategy.

      I guess most people simply felt that Kimi had been massively compromised by staying out far more than necessary in the 1st stint unnecessarily loosing huge amounts of time.

      Had he changed to the mediums quick he would’ve won the race.

    4. How did they ignore Kimi? What else were they supposed to do?

      It’s a 2-stop race and Kimi stopped after both Mercs stopped. By the time Kimi stopped There was no other strategy available to the Mercs anymore than the one they already picked with their first stop.

  5. Wow, Ericsson really did lose 25 seconds on that awful second pit stop.

  6. Maybe they had no new tyres left – but I wonder why Williams didn’t bring Massa in again, around lap 40-45. There was a big gap back to Alonso who was bumbling around with his Honda 50 power – and a new set, even of mediums, could have given Felipe a decent chance to attack Perez, Grosjean and Kyvat.

    1. I imagine he would not have finished in 10th if he had pitted again. Soft tires would have been the choice for the last stint if they had decided to pit. But I think they had no new set left, which would explain why they took the gamble to get him into the points.

      1. even with soft he didnt have the car balance he needed to push the tyre. the tyre will gone by 10-14 laps as his 2nd stint

  7. Massa always gives me the feeling that he’s unable to drive the car if there is a scratch in the paintjob.

    1. ‘scratch in the paintjob’
      you mean broken diffuser for 53 lap?

      you didnt watch the race, did you?

  8. Can someone remind me what Maldonado got wrong at the starting grid? The BBC never explained it. I thought that he moved into Massa’s spot initially but clearly that’s not possible as he was starting five rows further back.

    1. http://i.imgur.com/PyboT7o.jpg
      Maldonado went into the wrong start spot behind Kvyat instead of infront and that caused Will Stevens to start behind his teammate cause Maldonado went into his gridspot

      1. Thanks, @stefguy . Weird mistake.

    2. Apparently he was supposed to start from 16th spot, he started from 18th instead!

      http://wtf1.co.uk/maldonado-bahrain-fail/

  9. Amazing similarity between RIC and ALO on the ‘gap’ chart. Even though ALO had battles/overtakes etc and RIC seemed to have a lonely race (from what I saw on coverage here in Aus.

  10. Pasta was actually showing very good pace. Too bad he has a fetish with carbon fibre shattering all over the track.

Comments are closed.