Comments on: F1 links: Bahrain to begin 2010 season

By: PJA

PJA — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 07:49:46 +0000

For the life of me I cannot fathom the decision to run the Bahrain and Abu Dhabi grands prixs when they are so close in terms of distance. The same can be said of Sepang and Singapore!

Only one reason, money.

By: The Limit

The Limit — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:55:26 +0000

I have never been a fan of the Bahrain circuit. David Coulthard was right when he said that ‘it feels weird to drive around and there is suddenly no spectators’. For the life of me I cannot fathom the decision to run the Bahrain and Abu Dhabi grands prixs when they are so close in terms of distance. The same can be said of Sepang and Singapore!
One would think that one devalues the other, when we only have one grands prix in South America and non in North America. That in itself is a disgusting decision, and a huge marketing blunder on the part of Bernie Ecclestone. Its almost as if he does it just to p### people off.
F1 = glamour. Where’s glamour in an Arabian desert? A second race in South America would be better, or a race in the USA again. Maybe try an oval circuit for one year, see how it goes? City to host it, Miami.
Simple reason. Glamour, sun, sand, good looking people, and a huge latin American population who would embrace F1 asmuch as the Paulistas do.
Forget Indy, Watkins Glen. Make a bigger splash that that.

By: TMFOX

TMFOX — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:48:22 +0000

I don’t think Bernie gets the fact that Europe don’t give a hoot if the first race of the season is shown early in the morning. We managed for a decade that way. I’m pretty sure another wouldn’t hurt.

By: gabal

gabal — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:23:43 +0000

I like Bahrain track, it has some nice elevation changes and first corner after back straight (and alternative starting position) is quite challenging as it is ”blind”.

By: slr

slr — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:30:22 +0000

I like Bahrain, it just lacks atmosphere. I feel that the first 3 races at Bahrain were very good, but the last 3 were not.

By: richard

richard — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:12:49 +0000

there’s always so much dust in the air that the sun will go down into an orange haze, and not so much glare I think.

By: Prisoner Monkeys

Prisoner Monkeys — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:55:44 +0000

I agree. The Turn 9/10 complex at Bahrain is actually pretty demanding, because it’s one of the few places on the calendar where drivers have to brake and turn at the same time. They have to do it through 9 to get the most out of 10; it’s designed in such a way that sacrificing 10 to be better through 9 isn’t worth it.

I know the drivers like Albert Park as the season opener because the turns are all evenly-spaced. I mean, there’s not a hell of a lot of difference between the first complex and the second. Both are right/left combinations fed into by a quick straight that open out in time for another right-hander. It’s good so that they can get a feel for the car under raceconditions and see how everyone else is doing. It’s always stuck me as a bit too much like testing the water with a toe before diving headlong in, the way it should be (not that you should ever dive headfirst into a body of waterwithout checking the depth).

By: Prisoner Monkeys

Prisoner Monkeys — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:46:42 +0000

I didn’t mean Abu Dhabi was a “Greatest Hits” in the sense that they’d pilfered bits and pieces from the best circuits in the world to make this one venue. Rather, I meant it in the sense that there are three distinct section to it: a driver’s section, the long straights that will test the engines and driver fatigue, and a tecnical section.

As for th pit lane exit, it was probably decided that it was too dangerous to have the cars coming out on the outside of the circuit. The driving line though the first corner places the cars on the far right of the circuit as they go through, and that is where the pit lane exit would be: right on the racing line. By dipping under the circuit, the designers have a lot of freedom over the shape of the corner, and with the white line coming just before it, the drivers can get up to speed and rejoin in a safe place, something they couldn’t do on the outside.

As for why they didn’t just put the pits on the other side of the circuit, well, why not have the pit lane go undr the circuit? It’s not like the drivers are idiots and they’re all going to park it in the tunne wall, is it? It’s only a minor detail, but it could just be one of those things that gives the circuit a bit of extra character in its own way. Kind of like the way the run-off areas go under the grandstands to bring fans closer to the action without compromising safety.

By: DanThorn

DanThorn — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 08:58:39 +0000

Although it’s no Albert Park, I don’t think Bahrain is that bad a circuit. There’s often a good amount of overtaking and it’s probably going to give us a better idea of form than Melbourne.

By: gabal

gabal — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 08:56:06 +0000

This is the provisional calendar - on this link there is an analysis on possible changes it could happen to it.