Good qualifying for Stewart. Montoya has now crashed in practice twice in 2 races. Can Alonso win from pole though as he won in Malaysia in 2005 in RL.
Race day in the sweltering heat of Malaysia. Humidity levels of over 80% and ambient temperatures of over 35?c, this would clearly be, the toughest race of the season. But it would surely be quite a show, with Kimi down in 6th, and Brit sensation Stewart in 5th. The teams could feel the heat as they got the cars ready on the grid, not knowing whether their cars would be able to withstand the soaring temperatures. Nevertheless, it was time to go racing.
The race got underway, and Raikkonen made the best of the starts, catapulting up to 3rd behind Fernando and Montoya. Meanwhile the inevitable happened and the lack of horsepower showed as he slipped down to 7th place after the first turns, but held station for the first lap. Lap two and Alonso felt the pressure from Kimi as he went off the circuit and lost 2 places, and dropped to 4th. Lap 3 and Mark couldn't keep the grunt of Heidfeld's BMW behind him as he passed him into turn 4, and Stewart was now 8th.
Ralf Schumacher then went off at turns 7 and 8, a complex that would cause quite a lot of chaos throughout the race, and he dropped to 9th, as Kimi now lead the Grand Prix. With Webber hounding the Jordan of Stewart, the young driver put a wheel on the curb as he turned into turn 12 and was launched into a violent spin. Luckily he kept it out of the wall, and rejoined the race in 13th. Lap 11 he made his first stop from 9th, and rejoined 16th, and once everyone had made their stops, was back to that unlucky position.
The start of the Grand Prix
Heidfeld passes Stewart
Stewart spins into the gravel
Turn 7 was to gain to more victims as Fisichella was plagued with gearbox problems and suddenly slowed, leaving no time for the helpless Button to get out of the way, and thus took them both out of the race. Then, a lap later more inter-team nightmares as Ralf took out team-mate Trulli. This promoted Stewart up to 10th. Stewart was now right behind Sato, but another mistake put him several seconds down the road, and had to make up all the time again. But now with a clear track, he began putting in some super fast lap times, really showing his talent. He pitted 3 laps after Sato, from 4th place on lap 22. This amazing stint put him up 3 places, as he joined the track right behind the younger Schumacher.
Disappointment for Button
A team's worst nightmare
Another mistake for the hard charging Brit
Stewart was straight on it, and passed Ralf at turn 4. However the Toyota got a better run out and repassed him at the next corner. It was then time for Kimi to turn up the heat as his 3 stop strategy brought him out a second behind Alonso, who was 2 seconds behind Montoya. The Mclaren was no match for Fernando as he breezed past and into second place. A few laps later and Montoya was easy pray for the Finn, who got through a bit too easy for some in the pit lane.
Further back there was more good luck for Stewart as Ralf was forced off the track with suspension failure, most likely caused by his run in with Trulli, and he was out with just 5 laps to go. Stewart quickly caught a struggling Michael Schumacher who managed to get his way up to 5th. It was Stewart vs Schumi round 2 as Mark planted one up the inside of turn 9 with 2 laps to go. He made it stick. But at the next corner, the Ferrari barged it's way through and back up to 5th, the Ferrari man winning the battle again. But again, Mark put in another amazing drive as he came home in sixth, scoring 3 more points. Meanwhile, Raikkonen lead home another Mclaren one-two, followed by Alonso.
Kimi was on fire and took the win with a great drive
Mark had another good battle with Schumi, but lost out agian
"Once again, the car was awesome. I am slightly annoyed with yet more mistakes which definitely cost me being ahead of Schumacher, who I enjoyed battling with once more, and being beaten again has made me even more determined to do better in Bahrain".
So, F1 was again treated to action. It was a close battle at the front, with actual overtaking between the top teams, and plenty of chaos further down the field. We also see that Mclaren are back to their winning ways after a very difficult season last year. They have already got more wins this season than they got the whole of 2004. And there is Stewart, confirming he is a star for the future, has matched Jordan's points tally for last year. Next it's on to Bahrain, for it's second race. Last year's wasn't a blinder, but from what we've seen already, even Monaco would provide an amazing race. Till then!
A lot of effort has gone to create such a detailed story. Great work Mark!
I love the fact that you taking great lengths to create a realistic scenario
The F1 circus landed in Bahrain on Wednesday for the last of the fly away races before the first part of the European season starts. The 5.42km track will hold it's second ever Grand Prix, after a successful inaugural race last year, where it was given Best Organized Race award last year. The track is tough on brakes and tyres, with several heavy braking areas, and long fast corners.
Friday was business as usual for the teams, the track was very hot and it was Mclaren who again dominated the day, far ahead of rivals Renault. Mark Stewart was best of the rest in 3rd place in the first session, as he is finally racing at a track he has experience at, dropping to 9th in the second session. On Saturday morning the drivers were greeted with a damp track, an overnight downpour failed to dry and the drivers faced a drying track. This caused problems for Heidfeld, who had a harmless spin at turn 4. Bigger problems faced Stewart, after losing the back end at turn 7, and grazing the barrier on the inside. This cost him the rest of the 3rd practice session as the team tried to fix the damage to his suspension. He ended up ninth, and followed it up with 11th in the last session before Qualifying.
Alonso topped both sessions on Saturday, fractions ahead of Kimi, as his team-mate struggled with the balance of the car, and the Ferrari's were way off the pace again, not reaching the top 10.
After a roasting qualifying session, it was Raikkonen who took his second pole of the year, way ahead of Alonso and Montoya. Ralf Schumacher put on a good performance, slotting in 4th spot as Mark had another good grid position, lining up in 11th place, even though he might have done better, had it not have been for a lock up at the final corner.
So, with many overtaking areas on offer for tomorrow's race, we should be on course for another action packed Grand Prix, and, there is another threat of rain not long before the race. Join us tomorrow!
Race day started similarly to yesterday. Rain came in the early hours of the morning, but unlike yesterday the rain clouds stayed and the drivers faced a damp track, and intermediate tyres on the cars, a tyre suited to conditions between dry and wet. The drivers were ready for a battle in the wet desert, the second ever Bahrain Grand Prix got underway.
Alonso got the jump on the field and lead into a slippery turn 1. Further back Barrichello's race got off to a bad start as he careered into Mark Webber, the Aussie out on the spot and the Brazilian limped back to the pits for repairs. All this got Stewart up to 10th after the chaos. He then battled with the Toyota of Trulli for half a lap before going down the inside of him at the last turn to move into 9th place.
The start of lap two brought more chaos to turn 1. Fisichella tipped Montoya into a spin, the Colombian dropping to 12th and Fisi stopped for repairs. This promoted Stewart to 6th as he was able to pass Schumi who got caught up in the collision. At the end of lap 3 Mark went to pass Sato. He made it, but ran wide, gifting his 6th to Trulli. He was then stuck behind the Toyota for 3 laps until he out broke himself at turn 1 and dropped back to 9th. At this time, the sun finally broke from the clouds and at the end of the lap drivers pitted for dry tyres. Mark rejoined 12th, and after the stops he was 5th, as Sato stayed out too long on his worn out intermediates.
The action dried up from 1st to 6th but it was still all go behind. Heidfeld spun trying to pass Montoya. The fiery Mclaren driver then got in the act himself, putting Sato into a spin as he took 7th place. Further back Barrichello's dismal race continued as he took out the Minardi of Friesacher on his battle up the field. The positions then remained the same until lap 20 when the second round of pit stops came about. Stewart pitted and rejoined in 11th and once again came back to 5th after the rest had stopped. During this, Kimi managed to jump Ralf for second, having stayed out two laps longer, reducing the deficit to Alonso.
Once again the action was not there, just Massa going out with brake failure, stopping just before the barrier, the long run off areas doing their job. Mark maintained 5th spot, but was given a scare when near the end his mechanics told him to look after his engine and breaks, and this allowed Schumi to close. Nevertheless he stormed home in 5th place and 4 points, another amazing drive from the future F1 champion.
Alonso lead from start to finish from Kimi, and Ralf gave Toyota reason to party, giving them their first podium in their history.
Bahrain provided a decent race, especially the first half, thanks to the added bonus of rain. Yes it dried up at the end, but we were presented with more drama and the title race is starting to take shape, looking like a three horse race, even though it was a disappointing race for Montoya. We were yet again mesmerized by Stewart, improving again to 5th place and keeping a feisty seven time world champion. How will he fair in Europe, on tracks he is familiar with? Join us in San Marino, good bye!
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