Rate the race: Bahrain
14th March 2010, 13:55 by Keith Collantine 183 Comments »
The 2010 F1 season is up and running. What did you think of the first round? Rate the race out of ten and have your say below:
Rate the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix out of 10
- 1 - Terrible (459 Votes)
- 2 - Rubbish (272 Votes)
- 3 - Boring (1,490 Votes)
- 4 - Uninteresting (603 Votes)
- 5 - A bit dull (1,369 Votes)
- 6 - Not bad (829 Votes)
- 7 - Good (629 Votes)
- 8 - Great (239 Votes)
- 9 - Fantastic (72 Votes)
- 10 - Perfect (125 Votes)
Total Voters: 6,086
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Prisoner Monkeys said on 14th March 2010, 13:58
I voted 1: Terrible.
Alonso wins, Ferrari get a 1-2, Button can only manage 7th, Petrov out while looking good for points, both Virgins retire and no exicetment on-track. Of all the possible ways to begin the season, this was the worst.
I sincerely hope that Ferrari have used up all their engines before Valencia.
Adam said on 14th March 2010, 14:06
Apparently banning refuelling was supposed to make it exciting.
fabio pellim said on 14th March 2010, 14:23
and had the opposite effect since it remove a variable from the race strategies. I would only work solving all aero problem that also makes impossible to pass…
sid said on 14th March 2010, 14:26
and no body wants to push in the first half of the race to save tires..i am worried we might have more of cars running in formation from start to end races this year…unless it rains!
Flutterfly said on 14th March 2010, 14:33
Also add to that nobody pushed at the second half either because they knew they couldn’t catch anyone and needed to turn down the engines. So you are left with 1/4 of the race (the 2nd quarter) where any action happens, the rest is just ‘procedure’. I hope this was just a one off but fear the worst….
mark7066 said on 14th March 2010, 15:33
that has to be the worst race i have ever seen!!!! turned off after 25 mins.boring,boring boring.the one in usa with 6 cars was better.were are the graphics gone.this is a sad day for f1.mark7066
S Hughes said on 14th March 2010, 15:35
Looks like the mandatory 2 pitstop idea was good after all if it means the teams will push more. They were discussing it on the BBC forum but as they need unanimous agreement, it’s unlikely to happen this year.
steph said on 14th March 2010, 15:42
In my opinion there’s no point in mandatory pitstops; they limit freedom, force artificial racing, punish those cars and drivers that look after the tire better and is a waste of time as they may as well bring back refuelling.
Salty said on 14th March 2010, 16:00
Nursing tyres means less overtaking. Only Fernando got into 1:58′s – crazy – we saw that these cars could do a 1:54 in quali. Sorry, but taking away refuelling has reduced overtaking. If they had to 2 stop for fuel, they would be taking on fresh rubber twice during the race, negating need to protect tyres. At least with the refueling we had variance in weight/pitstop strategy. We’ve lost that too. Heard Martin Whitmarsh state that they might have to enforce 2 pitstop minimum if this continues. We had that last year because of refuelling. This is a step backwards.
Yes, double diffusers are chewing up the air behind the cars, but we had them last year as well.
This was a disappointing parade – ‘race’ seems a bit inappropriate in this instance. Let’s hope things go better at Melbourne, but I’m concerned.
Clay said on 14th March 2010, 22:04
The mandatory pitstop rule being thrown around will fail imho. When F1 last had no refuelling the teams had a choice of five compounds that they could run in any order and have as many or as few pitstops as they wanted. The compounds were massively different in pace and you had some guys going on a no stop strategy and others with multiple stops.
IMHO I would get rid of the ‘you must use both compounds’ rule, get Bridgestone to bring all four compounds to the track, and let everyone do what they want.
The big killer is the double diffusers that have been perfected for 2010. No-one could get close to one another unless you had a big car advantage. We saw that last year and this year is just disgraceful. Get rid of the DDD and you solve a big chunk of the problem.
K said on 14th March 2010, 23:55
It used to a single mandatory stop not two.
As reported on this site Adrian Newey doesn’t believe double diffusers adversely affect overtaking. As, in his words, “there’s no difference in the aerodynamic wake”.
However, the rules dictating that teams must a) use both available tyre compounds, and b) require the top ten qualifiers to start the race with the tyres on which they qualified do have a significant effect and should be scrapped.
And maybe refuelling is better but it’s only the first race.
Andre said on 14th March 2010, 17:35
Only way to make it exciting is to remove the limit on engines, gear boxes, tires, and development. Sadly F1 is almost dead for me, all this talk of limitations only **** me off.
David said on 20th March 2010, 19:01
Exactly!
Till this happens we’ll see no real improvement.
The proposed mandatory 2nd pit stop is just another artificial band-aid. Do we really tune in at ungodly hours to watch a tire changing contest?
wasiF1 said on 15th March 2010, 2:07
I voted 6 may be because I was excited about the race after a long time we are seeing some on track action.
Banning refueling will never ever solve the overtaking problem,now the drivers will take less risk at the start of the race with heavy cars.I think they should now really concentrate on the aerodynamics.Many people are saying that this may be the best F1 season in all 60 years, with no overtaking I don’t think that will happen.
anakincarlos said on 15th March 2010, 2:47
I’m not an expert, but the people that claim they are must have seen this comming.
TommyB said on 14th March 2010, 14:26
The only exciting bit was when Alonso and Massa caught up Vettel it looked like an epic finish and then Seb conked out.
4/10
GQsm said on 14th March 2010, 15:19
Refuelling was missed today imo. Drivers not pushing, worrying about their tyres more than going as fast as they can for a large part of the race. The race would have had more action with refuelling.
I don’t think it should have been banned until the ability to overtake was improved. Circuits should be redesigned with as many good overtaking spots as is viable and the car aero aspects changed to make following (and hopefully passing) easier. Then they could have removed refuelling.
Just saw Martin Whitmarsh saying mandating two stops was meant to prevent an uneventful race and I agree with him.
More boring for me than most of last year’s races. I hope this isn’t the shape of things to come.
DC said on 14th March 2010, 15:42
Yes, I thought it was very boring as well. I had my doubts about banning refueling, but I had no idea it would make the racing so terrible. Even Hamilton pointed it out during the press conference, and he is normally Mr. Public Relations.
Maybe the conditions in Bahrain, coupled with driver caution, made it worse.
Leon said on 14th March 2010, 20:18
Does not look good for the rest of the season.
Where is the incentive to drive the wheels off the car down to the first corner ?
Where is the incentive to chase down the guy in front ?
As the astronaut said once upon a time….we have a problem….. !
Nikes said on 15th March 2010, 6:46
Thats a rude comment to Team Ferrari, the ones who put in effort have to be acknowledged.
Last season Ferrari were a disaster , what about that ?
Jonathan said on 15th March 2010, 9:13
The future of F1 is in Bridgestone’s hands.
One of the best races of last year was Australia, and it was good because the soft tyres degraded fast, resulting in variation in the relative performance of the cars during the race.
In Bahrain the hard tyres were indestructible, so there was no reason for anyone to stop twice.
To sort this mess out, Bridgestone just need to bring along tyre compounds that degrade quickly.
Xanathos said on 14th March 2010, 13:58
Could’ve been better, but also could have been worse.
I’d say 6/10
beanzoo said on 14th March 2010, 14:50
i feel your a bit generous, take away my excitment because it is the first of the season and i only give it a 4/10
tomforpresident said on 14th March 2010, 13:58
i am hoping australia wil be a proper start to the season, this track just felt wrong.
wasiF1 said on 15th March 2010, 2:10
I pray with you, I think Australia should be mandatory to start the F1 season.I am bit optimistic that we may see better racing in Australia,fingers crossed.
polishboy808 said on 14th March 2010, 14:02
I think it was an fantastic race so i voted 9/10. I dont know what you mean by ” no excitement on-track ” because lets see, Virgin vs. Lotus, not long but fun, hulkenberg spins, Kubica & Sutil incident,and Vettle trying to hold Rosberg off with a damaged car. Thats good for me, but then again, everybody has their own opinion.
Damon said on 14th March 2010, 14:31
Some people have been watching racing for many years, and they know what a real race looks like. Therefore, their standards for what is exciting and what is not are higher.
3/10
Leon said on 14th March 2010, 20:35
Yep. A procession is a procession is a procession. And slow. And like watching paint dry.
And very, very boring.
SeattleChris said on 15th March 2010, 0:38
Wait one minute Leon… are you saying I could’ve been watching paint dry instead of this race? Why didn’t anyone tell me=(
Agree with the others that said it was mostly a procession and the fact it was the first race only it more interesting simply because of the anticipation. The backmarkers had some good fights and I did enjoy watching Vettel pull away and then get reeled in, but then the car broke so he just got sliced up by the reds.
K said on 14th March 2010, 23:57
That’s not patronizing at all.
Katy said on 14th March 2010, 14:58
9/10? Seriously?
It was incredibly dull. I’m a Vettel fan, and even when he was winning I said this is boring. But, it was Bahrain, so lets hope Melbourne will be more exciting
beanzoo said on 14th March 2010, 16:10
i really cant c how u can give this race 9/10, fair enough some people are being a bit over the top in saying it was v. poor but at this point 40 people give it 10/10(what were u watching?)
Polishboy808 said on 14th March 2010, 18:55
Ok so maybe 9 was too high but it still gets a 7, specially compared to last year. I could understand a 6 or a 5, but how some gave it a 1 or 2 i still dont see.
realsocialdad said on 14th March 2010, 14:05
Was bit dull
but it is bahrain!
when aint it
David A said on 14th March 2010, 17:42
Good point.
STRFerrari4Ever said on 14th March 2010, 14:05
2/10 I’m sorry but that was a load of tosh, no real entertainment whatsoever cars rarely getting close to each other unless the car infront had a problem ala Vettel.
Well I hope Melbourne will be different as the circuit is much shorter & usually provides some crazy races with high attrition so I’m sure things can only get better. Commiserations to Vettel that race in my opinion was his, lets hope he can bounce back with Luscious Liz.
aa said on 14th March 2010, 14:05
Wow, refuelling really made a difference. I was contrary to refuelling ban, but now that I’ve seen a race with it, the excitement, the high amount of overtakes and pure racing as often said here, I’d never turn back.
p.s. I also voted terrible. No refuelling race followers should apologize right here right now.
Mark Hitchcock said on 14th March 2010, 17:22
Yeah, judging a rule change by one race on a terrible track is really sensible…
Come on. No-one said there would be much more overtaking, it’s the car design that prevents overtaking, not whether there’s refuelling.
There’s just more CHANGE of overtaking because they can’t wait for pitstops to get past.
Mark Hitchcock said on 14th March 2010, 17:22
*CHANCE
Ads21 said on 14th March 2010, 17:33
I have to say I don’t understand the clammer for compuslory stops, this isn’t BTCC and we shouldn’t be overregulating in an attempt to create exciting racing. I think the ban on refueling is great, the problem is with tyres.
Because they’re restricted to two types of tyre and a compulsory stop there is no incentive to think outside the box. If they were 4 different compounds as there used to be, with one being a Super-soft sprint tyre which would only last for a relatively short stint and you could get a far greater variation in strategy.
My friends and I watching it today were surprised that somebody didnt try a last stint burst on the soft tyres for 10 laps. If someone had pitted, costing them around 23 seconds and then proceeded to set lap times 2-3 seconds faster than those on the medium they would have gained the time back and possilbe gain a place or two if they could pass.
I think people are being far too quick to judge the refueling ban and far too concerned with “the show”. Its not a show its a sport and I for one am sick of the year on year overhauls in regulations. The fewer rules the better and it would be daft to try and rectify the problem of bad tyre regualtions by a mickey mouse compulsory stop regulation.
Ylan Marcel said on 14th March 2010, 14:06
The race was ok, but where are the fights for positions?
camel said on 14th March 2010, 14:06
A bit dull, apart from all the cars at the back breaking down, not much action, if Vettels car hadn’t have been damaged he would have lead from start to finish which is so boring to watch
curedcat said on 14th March 2010, 14:06
its funny how formula 1 is struggling to fulfil their promises to make the races more interesting
cars still can’t get within 1 second of another car without encountering turbulence .
still waiting to jump other cars during pit stops .
Without vettel’s issue , this race would have been a disaster .
Nice graphics though!
aa said on 14th March 2010, 14:24
that’s true, graphics were better, and pitstop total time was a good idea which I’ve been asking since I starting watching f1 15 years ago
TMFOX said on 14th March 2010, 14:49
I didn’t like the fact that you had to wait to see the time spent in the pit box though. I think that should be shown first and then have the total pitlane time flash up at the end?
Mark Hitchcock said on 14th March 2010, 17:25
Without Vettel’s issue the race would have been much better.
Alonso said himself that he was getting ready to start trying to pass Vettel in the last 10 laps. That would have bunched Vettel, Alonso and Massa together and given us a 3-way fight for the lead.
Then Vettel’s problems happened which denied us any action.
ferrari458 said on 14th March 2010, 21:32
How were the graphics better? A new font and a black background for the text were the only “new graphics” I saw.
Wolfy said on 14th March 2010, 14:07
A very dull processional event, I can not even bring myself to call it a race
R.E.M. said on 14th March 2010, 14:08
OH NOES!!! FERRARI IS BACK/10
Seriously, 7/10.
More overtaking than I thought, an on-track pass for the lead (granted, Vettel’s engine went south). Did get a bit dull after Alonso took off. But otherwise, much better than I expected.
And both Loti completed the race!!!
mclaren1 said on 14th March 2010, 21:35
Oh, yeah, everyone rated the race low because we all hate Ferrari.
Seriously, take off your little conspiracy theory cap and see that there were legit concerns about how bad this race was.
rfs said on 14th March 2010, 14:11
There was a fair bit of excitement and overtaking during the pit stop window, but after that everybody was simply holding station until the finish
. Cars are still getting stuck behind each other.
Karan said on 14th March 2010, 14:12
Well, this race is really tough for the cars. Hot weather, long fast boring track, sand everywhere. If the top 10 aren’t up to speed with one another in a fortnight, I will be extremely dissapointed. Kudos to Lotus for their remarkeable effort!
Victor said on 14th March 2010, 14:14
Whoever voted 7+ needs to… I don’t know, sit in a chair for several hours to find out that it’s actually more interesting than the Bahrain ‘GP’ was… Oh wait, there wasn’t anything ‘grand’ about it in the first place!