2015 Bahrain Grand Prix Driver Ratings

There were inspired performances up and down the field during the Bahrain Grand Prix, but just how well did each driver do? Here are Richland F1’s driver ratings from under the lights in Sakhir.

Lewis Hamilton – 10/10

The reigning champion took his fourth pole position on the bounce and in the race cruised to an easy win – even if his late brake-by-wire failure betrayed the fact he had led comfortably throughout. Hamilton must be content with three wins from four races and a 27 point lead at the head of the standings. He has barely put a foot wrong so far in 2015.

Nico Rosberg – 9/10

Rosberg set the pace on Friday, but then went missing when it mattered in qualifying, lining up just third on the grid. He dropped to fourth off the start, but fought back with a gutsy drive, passing Vettel three times during the race thanks to Ferrari’s superior use of the undercut. Lost out to a late attack by Kimi Raikkonen as his brakes faded, but it was Rosberg’s most impressive race of the campaign by some margin.

Daniel Ricciardo – 8/10

Sixth at the flag, ahead of Felipe Massa after the Brazilian’s early problems is about all Ricciardo can have hoped for from the race, given Red Bull’s current form. His spectacular engine failure as he crossed the line means he is onto his fourth power unit of the season already – penalties will undoubtedly follow.

Daniil Kvyat – 6/10

Dropping out in Q1 was a tough hit, but the Russian drove well in the race to come from 17th to finish ninth, collecting two points. It is hardly a headline grabbing drive, but a solid result given his tough start to life with Red Bull Racing. Kyat must deliver once the European season kicks off if he is not to become a forgotten man.

Felipe Massa – 7/10

A sensor problem on the way to the grid meant he was forced to start from the pitlane  and his task was not made any easier after he was tagged by Pastor Maldonado in the early stages – damaging the floor of the Williams. Despite the early setback, Massa made steady progress on an aggressive strategy, but ultimately struggled to make the medium tyres last on a mammoth final stint, dropping to tenth by the chequered flag.

Valtteri Bottas – 9/10

As had been the case in China, Bottas seemed set for another lonely race, only for Sebastian Vettel to re-join behind him after his unscheduled stop for a new nose. The Finn defended beautifully in the closing stages to see off the challenge of the faster Ferrari racer, and score his best finish of the campaign so far.

Sebastian Vettel – 4/10

Did well to split the two Mercedes cars on the grid, but Vettel’s run to a potential fourth podium on the bounce was spoilt by a series of uncharacteristic mistakes. He was passed by Rosberg three times, and run wide at the final corner, breaking his front-wing which dropped him behind Bottas. His failed attempt to pass the Finn in the closing stages, which nearly ended with him rear-ending the Williams summed up a race to forget.

Kimi Raikkonen – 9/10

Starting fourth, the Finn took the fight to Mercedes with an aggressive strategy, running the hard tyres during the middle stint before switching to the soft rubber for the run to the flag. His pace on the harder Pirellis kept him in the hunt, and he flew in the closing stages after switching to the faster compound, reeling in Rosberg, who gifted him second after running straight on at Turn 1. Could have won with a few more laps.

Fernando Alonso – 8/10

While Jenson Button spent the best part of the weekend cursing his luck, Alonso delivered McLaren’s best relative performance of the year. He hauled the MP4-30 into Q2 for the first time in 2015 and narrowly missed out on the team’s first points of the campaign by three seconds in 11th.

Jenson Button – N/A

Button’s weekend was blighted by setbacks, with an engine cutout causing a spin in the opening minutes of running on Friday, while he was later forced to stop on track in the evening session. He hit more of the same problems in qualifying, with the MP4-30 grinding to a halt in Q1, leaving him last on the grid. McLaren encountered another technical issue on race day and he failed to take the start.

Nico Hulkenberg – 6/10

Starred on route to eighth on the grid in the still underdeveloped Force India, but he struggled to make the tyres work during the race, forcing a third stop which saw him tumble out of the points to 13th.

Sergio Perez – 8/10

He was unable to replicate his team-mates fine showing in qualifying, but the Mexican made up for it during the race as he perfected a two stop strategy – which his team said would not work – to climb into the points. Four points was a just reward after a fine drive to eighth.

Max Verstappen – 5/10

The star of the Chinese Grand Prix, Bahrain was an altogether tougher weekend for the Dutch rookie. Appalling understeer in qualifying left him just 15th on the grid, and he was all-but anonymous on Sunday before an electrical issue forced him out for the third time in four races.

Carlos Sainz Jr. – 7/10

Pulled out a fine lap to haul the Toro Rosso to ninth in qualifying, but like team-mate Verstappen he failed to finish the race after he was forced to stop with a loose wheel after his opening stop.

Romain Grosjean – 8/10

Continued his 100 per cent record of progressing to Q3 this year, even if he was disappointed with ‘just tenth’. The Frenchman jumped Hulkenberg and Sainz on the opening lap but could not keep in touch with Ricciardo, and eventually came home a lonely seventh to repeat his finish of a week ago in China.

Pastor Maldonado – 6/10

Maldonado looked the faster of the two Lotus cars during practice, only to tumble out in Q1 with another brake problem. He managed to line up in the wrong slot on the grid – earning a five-second time penalty – but made decent progress on the soft tyres before an engine problem caused a lengthy final stop, costing him a shot at points.

Will Stevens – 8/10

Given his equipment, it was another decent performance from Stevens, who despite being compromised by Maldonado’s grid mix-up comfortably went on to beat his Manor team-mate Roberto Merhi by 44 seconds.

Roberto Merhi – 5/10

Merhi was unable to match his team-mate throughout the weekend and was a second adrift of Stevens in qualifying. He got the drop on the Englishman off the start but ruined his own tyres in a futile attempt to keep Stevens at bay.

Marcus Ericsson – 6/10

The Swede started well to run inside the points but a problem with his front-left tyre in the pits dropped him well out of contention.

Felipe Nasr – 8/10

The Brazilian was sluggish away off the start, dropping behind his team-mate in the opening stages. He fought valiantly in the midfield, clocking up a tonne of TV time, but dropped back after encountering a power unit problem that saw him lagging behind on the straights.

This feature first appeared on Richland F1 – Images courtesy of of Daimler, Red Bull Content Pool, Scuderia Ferrari, Sahara Force India, Lotus F1 Team, Sauber Motorsports AG

High temperatures caused Mercedes brake-by-wire issues – Wolff

Toto Wolff says that high temperatures caused the brake-by-wire failures on the two Mercedes cars in the closing stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Nico Rosberg, who battled with overrating brakes throughout the race, lost second place on the penultimate lap after he ran straight on at Turn 1, allowing Kimi Raikkonen by.

Lewis Hamilton led comfortably throughout the race, but reported a similar failure in the closing stages and was forced to nurse his car home, ahead of an onrushing Raikkonen.

“We saw very hot brakes on Nico’s car in traffic, following Kimi and Sebastian first, and then lots of fighting and hard braking,” Wolff said.

“We monitored that, then at the end with the backmarkers and lapping cars those brake temperatures went through the roof, and we had a brake by wire failure on both cars, in the same corner.

“It was on the hard braking on the straight, the temperatures went sky high, and when that happens the brake by wire switches into the conventional system, and then you are without weapons to defend with.

“You can’t do anything if the brake-by-wire collapses or fails and it goes to conventional, the pedal becomes long and the car doesn’t stop any more. This what happens to Nico.

Wolff admits the team was aware the issue could arise after it changed the set-up of both cars.

“It’s set-up issues,” he explained. “We knew the changes we made on the car were compromising a little bit brake temperatures, so we knew what we were doing.

“But then it was a hard race, we had lots of overtaking, especially on Nico’s side. And then both cars struggled to make it through some of the backmarkers at the end of the race.

“You follow another car or you follow a couple of cars the air stream collapses, and this is why he made the brakes hot.

“On Nico’s car the brake failure didn’t come as a surprise, we saw high temperatures. On Lewis’s car it was a bit of a surprise, and it must have been linked to the fact that he gave it a gentle push seeing Kimi, and making his way through backmarker traffic.”

Image courtesy of Daimler

Vettel: I struggled for rhythm in Bahrain

Sebastian Vettel admits he struggled to find a rhythm after a tough run to fifth in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Vettel started second, but made a series of off-track excursions which cost him badly, with a run wide at the final corner after his second stop dropping him behind Nico Rosberg.

The off damaged his front wing, requiring a third unscheduled stop for a fresh nose, which dropped him to fifth, behind Valtteri Bottas, where he ultimately finished.

“It didn’t seem to be the perfect day for me,” he said. “I couldn’t get into the rhythm and lost positions when it mattered not to lose them for the final result.

“In general, I struggled a bit with the rear end and exiting the corners, which made me vulnerable to Nico’s attacks and prevented me from getting as close as I needed to Valtteri to chase him down the straight with DRS. Towards the end, I was struggling to get past in the fight against the Williams.

“When it was important to be quick, I always seemed to get stuck in traffic, and thus damaged my tyres. Overall, though, I think it has been another very positive weekend.

Vettel was left to lament a potential lost podium after his trip across the run-off at the final corner.

“It’s a shame I damaged the front wing in the race and I had to come in for a new nose, otherwise I think fourth place would have been secured, or even third. Anyway, that’s how it went.

“I was trying to push, and when you’re following another car you obviously lose a lot of downforce. With hindsight, it was probably more than I expected. I think I tried a bit too hard and ran wide.

The four-time champion congratulated team-mate Raikkonen, who came home second to record his first podium since 2013.

“I am very happy for Kimi,” Vettel said. “It’s good that he was able to pass Nico towards the end. For the team, it’s obviously a great result.

“It’s a long way to go for the season and up to this point we can be very, very happy. It’s still a big surprise how good we are but there’s still a bit of a gap.”

Image courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari

Hamilton thrilled to beat Raikkonen to third win of 2015

Lewis Hamilton was thrilled after holding on to secure his third win of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Hamilton led the field away from pole and built up enough of an advantage during the opening stint to retain his lead following the opening round of stops.

The reigning champion controlled the pace during the middle phase of the race, and just hang on in the closing stages to secure his third win of the campaign despite a late braking issue.

“Firstly just a huge thank you to my team, they did an amazing job this weekend,” he said.

“The Ferraris gave us a really good run for our money, and out there it was really difficult to look after the tyres in these conditions behind backmarkers and all sorts.

“Fortunately I was able to keep the car together, keep the tyres as healthy as possible.

“We need to keep pushing as a team, which we’ll of course do, and just a massive thank you to everyone and all the people that came out to support me this weekend, I really appreciate it.”

Hamilton believes his time spent lapping the back markers prompted his late brake-by-wire fault, but dismissed it as a serious problem.

“I think my brakes just got a bit warm when I was behind a few backmarkers,” he explained. “When you get behind them, there’s no cool air coming in the brakes so they got a bit warm, but there wasn’t a problem.”

Image courtesy of Pirelli

Rosberg disappointed to surrender second to Raikkonen late on

Nico Rosberg says he was disappointed to lose second place to Kimi Raikkonen on the penultimate lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Rosberg dropped to fourth off the start, but cleared both Ferraris in the opening stages of the race, only to drop behind Sebastian Vettel after his opening stop.

The Ferrari racer successfully used the undercut to jump Rosberg a second time at the second round of pitstops, but slid wide at the final corner, dropping behind his rival and damaging his front-wing.

Raikkonen ran an alternate strategy in the second Ferrari and caught Rosberg – who was struggling with a braking issue – in the closing stages, snatching second as the German ran straight on at Turn 1.

“It was okay, the overtaking was enjoyable,” Rosberg said. “To overtake the red cars, I like that a lot.

“In the end, I tried to catch Lewis but we were pretty similar, he pulled away a bit at the end. Then I lost my brakes unfortunately two laps from the end. I went straight on so I lost the position to Kimi which is very disappointing.

“I’m happy about our car. The team has done a great job again, I’m very thankful for that. I really look forward to the races that are still to come”

Image courtesy of Daimler

Raikkonen: I ran out of laps to catch Hamilton

Kimi Raikkonen says he simply ran out of laps to catch Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Starting fourth, Raikkonen used an alternate strategy during the race, running the medium tyre during the middle stint, before switching onto the faster soft Pirelli for the final phase.

The Finn reeled in Nico Rosberg following his final stop, taking advantage of a mistake by the German to take second on the penultimate lap.

Raikkonen ultimately came home just three seconds shy of race winner Lewis Hamilton, who slowed in the closing stages with a brake-by-wire issue.

“Obviously we came through in the end very quickly, but we ran out of laps,” Raikkone said. “I think we have to be happy after that and where we qualified.

“I’m very happy with how the team is working. After last year, where we are now is a big step. Everyone is working very well together, and the atmosphere is very good now.

“We have a good direction to keep pushing. It seems to be working well. Things are improving. I’m sure as a team we will get there and be able to be fighting for wins, but it will take a bit more time.”

Image courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari

Hamilton takes comfortable Bahrain GP win

Lewis Hamilton eased to his third win of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Hamilton led comfortably throughout the race to claim victory under the lights, ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who passed Nico Rosberg in the second Mercedes on the penultimate lap, as the German faded with brake issues.

Pole sitter Hamilton retained the lead off the start, as Raikkonen took advantage of the squabbling Sebastian Vettel and Rosberg to snatch third from the Mercedes racer into Turn 1.

As Hamilton built up an early advantage up front, a recovering Rosberg passed Raikkonen for third, before taking advantage of Vettel running wide at Turn 1 to take second place a lap later at the same corner.

Vettel was the first of the front-runners in on lap 14, successfully using the undercut to repass Rosberg when he stopped a lap later.

Race leader Hamilton stopped on lap 16, re-joining ahead of Vettel, as Rosberg dived down the inside of the Ferrari to snatch second at Turn 1.

Hamilton stretched his lead during the second stint, successfully covering Vettel’s stop to retain his position.

Rosberg was in a lap later, dropping behind Vettel, but he was soon back through after  the Ferrari racer ran wide at the final corner, damaging his front wing and prompting a third stop, dropping him down the order.

Hamilton was promoted back into the lead on lap 40, with Raikkonen pitting for the soft tyres, re-joining third, behind Rosberg on the harder Pirellis.

The Finn reeled in Rosberg – who was struggling with a brake problem – on the faster rubber in the final stint, and capitalised when the Mercedes racer ran wide at Turn 1 on the penultimate lap to snatch second.

Out front Lewis Hamilton cruised home – battling his own brake issues – to record a comfortable win, his third of the season.

Kimi Raikkonen came home second to secure his first podium finish since returning to Ferrari in 2014, with Nico Rosberg forced to settle for third for Mercedes.

Williams’ Valtteri Bottas held off a late challenge from a charging Sebastian Vettel to claim his best finish of the season in fourth.

Daniel Ricciardo was sixth for Red Bull, but suffered a major Renault engine failure as he crossed the finish line.

Romain Grosjean finished seventh for Lotus, ahead of Sergio Perez, who secured Force India’s first points since the Australian Grand Prix in eighth.

Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat bounced back from a miserable qualifying session to take the two points on offer for ninth, while Felipe Massa was tenth for Williams, despite a pitlane start and a collision with Pastor Maldonado in the opening stages of the race.

Fernando Alonso narrowly missed out on McLaren-Honda’s first points of the year in 11th, ahead of Felipe Nasr in the Sauber.

Nico Hulkenberg battled tyre trouble on route to 13th, while Marcus Ericsson was 14th in the second Sauber after a lengthy pitstop.

Maldonado came home a lowly 15th following his early clash with Massa and an engine glitch in the pits.

Will Stevens lead home Manor Marussia team-mate Roberto Merhi as the last of the classified finishers.

It was a tough day for Toro Rosso as Carlos Sainz Jr. retired after a botched pitstop, while Max Verstappen was forced to retire with a gearbox problem.

Jenson Button failed to start the race for McLaren after a reassurance of the electrical issues which caused him to stop twice on track on Friday.

Images courtesy of Daimler

Vettel confident Ferrari can race Mercedes

Sebastian Vettel says he is confident Ferrari can challenge Mercedes in the Bahrain Grand Prix after qualifying second for Sunday’s race.

Vettel looked poised to take his first pole for Ferrari, only for Hamilton to snatch the top spot in the dying stages of the final shootout, as he went four tenths clear with his final flying lap.

Despite missing out on pole, Vettel believes Ferrari can trouble Mercedes during the race.

“We’re very happy with second today,” he said. “I think it was a tough session.

“At the beginning I didn’t really find the rhythm that I seemed to have in practice, but towards the end more and more it was getting better. I was feeling happier in the car, and I felt more comfortable to push.

“For now, I’m very happy with the front row. Hopefully tomorrow I can have a good start and a good race from there. I think in the race we are maybe a bit closer, so we’ll see what happens.”

This article first appeared on Richland F1 – Image courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari

Rosberg: I underestimated the threat of Vettel

Nico Rosberg admits he underestimated the threat of Sebastian Vettel after the Ferrari racer beat him to second on the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Rosberg will start Sunday’s race in Sakhir just third, behind pole sitter Lewis Hamilton and Vettel in the Ferrari.

The German says he took it easy during the second part of qualifying to conserve his race tyres, and as a result struggled to re-find his rhythm in the final shootout for pole.

“It’s just strategy-wise today that I got it wrong,” Rosberg said. “I was thinking too much about the race, and I underestimated Sebastian’s speed and how much it would cost me.

“What I mean is that taking it easy in Q2 on the race set of tyres that we started the race with, I just lacked rhythm as a result.

“I didn’t get into the rhythm and I just had one shot at it at the end. So that’s where I went wrong today.

“Disappointed, because Sebastian beat me. If I was second, it would be damage limitation, but being third is not ideal.”

This article first appeared on Richland F1 – Image courtesy of Daimler

Hamilton edges Vettel to top Bahrain final practice

Lewis Hamilton edged Sebastian Vettel to end final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix fastest.

Hamilton posted a lap of 1:34.599 on the soft tyres to top the timesheets, just six hundredths of a second faster than Vettel, who followed him over the line in the Ferrari.

Much like opening practice, this session was run in unrepresentative conditions, with qualifying and the race both set to take place after dark, under the lights.

Nico Rosberg was third in the second Mercedes, some three tenths shy of Hamilton’s session topping time, with Kimi Raikkonen four, half a second adrift in the Ferrari.

The two Williams team-mates of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were fifth and sixth respectively, the pair two tenths shy of Raikkonen in fourth.

Pastor Maldonado was a distant seventh for Lotus, heading a close-nit midfield, with eight cars covered by three tenths.

Daniel Ricciardo was one of those in that group, eighth fastest for Red Bull, ahead of Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and Felipe Nasr, who rounded out the top ten for Sauber.

It was a better session for Jenson Button, who was 11th quickest after stopping out on track twice on the opening day, with Fernando Alonso 16th in the sister McLaren.

Daniil Kvyat managed just seven laps in final practice after he dumped his Red Bull in the gravel at Turn 4 after a spin.

The Russian managed to return to return to the track after a quick turnaround by the Red Bull mechanics, but was just 12th on the timesheets ahead of qualifying.

Manor team-mates Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi propped up the order in 19th and 20th, well adrift of the pack, but comfortably within the 107 per cent time.

Image courtesy of Daimler