Fernando’s First for Ferrari
Fernando Alonso leads his teammate around the Sakhir circuit before taking his first victory since Japan 2008. He and Massa made it a 1-2 for the Italian squad, with Hamilton joining them on the podium. Pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel suffered mechanical troubles that meant he fell back through the field, ultimately finishing fourth.
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The Back of Beyond
Sebastian Vettel celebrates his pole position in Bahrain, hugging chief mechanic Kenny Handkammer. The Red Bull driver stormed to pole, whilst teammate Webber qualified in 6th, after making a mistake on his final flying lap. Tyre wear was a significant problem in the heat of the desert, but Vettel starts in the best possible position – ahead of Massa and Alonso.
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The Boys are Back in Town
A ten-part F1 Big Picture series celebrating the return of F1 in Bahrain. Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel compare notes as they make their way through the paddock in Bahrain. Button finished ahead of Vettel in both sessions, but the pair were only four tenths apart by the end of the day. Vettel is slightly concerned about the lack of running he got in the afternoon, a brake problem meant he completed ten laps less than Button.
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Many Massa Returns
A ten-part F1 Big Picture series celebrating the return of F1 in Bahrain. Massa steers the Ferrari around Bahrain during Free Practice. Felipe made his F1 weekend return after sitting out the sport since his accident in Hungary 2009. His performance in testing showed no significant issues, and despite running with a temperature today, he says he’s ready for the first race to begin.
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Glock ‘n Roll
A ten-part F1 Big Picture series celebrating the return of F1 in Bahrain. Timo Glock leads Pedro de la Rosa, Virgin ahead of Sauber during Free Practice today. We saw several cars overtaking others as the teams got used to slower drivers on the grid. The field spread was vast. Glock has admitted he’s frustrated with the lack of running he got today, he just wants to get on with it.
Credit: Virgin Racing
With Finland Behind Him
A ten-part F1 Big Picture series celebrating the return of F1 in Bahrain. Heikki Kovalainen awaits the call to get in the car for Free Practice. The Lotus driver finished ahead of teammate Trulli in both sessions, and although the new team were quite a way off the pace, Heikki posted some of the better times of the new entrants.
Credit: Lotus Racing
Whole Lotta Laps for Liuzzi
A ten-part F1 Big Picture series celebrating the return of F1 in Bahrain. Tonio Liuzzi gets plenty of running during Free Practice. He finished the first session in P1, although dropped to 12th during the second session, but ended the day impressed with what they’d achieved: “The car is reacting well, as we saw in testing and we covered a lot of laps so we saw how the cars reacts to different levels of fuel.”
Credit: Force India F1
Grumpy Old Men
A ten-part F1 Big Picture series celebrating the return of F1 in Bahrain. Michael Schumacher sits in the car awaiting some Free Practice action. The talk of the paddock was how uncomfortable Schumi seemed – having been denied a request to switch sides of the garage, and finishing tenth in the first practice session. He and Rosberg both improved for FP2, though, finishing 3rd and 1st respectively.
Credit: Mercedes GP Petronas
Let’s Get This Party Started
A ten-part F1 Big Picture series celebrating the return of F1 in Bahrain. Lucas di Grassi gets some laps under his belt during Free Practice on Friday in Bahrain. The Virgin Racing driver had a slow morning, but things picked up for him during FP2. Afterwards, he said: “I wasn’t able to run this morning so the afternoon laps were key to my performance and helping us get started this weekend. The mechanics did a great job running the car and everything seems fine so far.”
Credit: Virgin Racing
Bruno Meet Bahrain
A ten-part F1 Big Picture series celebrating the return of F1 in Bahrain. Bruno Senna tentatively takes to the track in his brand new Hispania Racing car. The team only had one half of their lineup representing, as Chandhok’s car was not ready, but Bruno made the most of the opportunity, despite finishing about four seconds off the pace.
Credit: Bridgestone Corporation