Rate the race: 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix

2015 Bahrain Grand Prix

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What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the Bahrain Grand Prix.

F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought of every race during the season.

Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (3%)
  • 9 (10%)
  • 8 (34%)
  • 7 (36%)
  • 6 (13%)
  • 5 (3%)
  • 4 (1%)
  • 3 (0%)
  • 2 (0%)
  • 1 (0%)

Total Voters: 801

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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See the results for past seasons here:

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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183 comments on “Rate the race: 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix”

  1. 8.5/10, but Alonso overtaking a Ferrari (albeit a lap down) made it an 9/10. Was quite a good race, but not 2014 level.

    2 more laps! That’s all we needed for a mega finish to the race! Well, Ricciardo wouldn’t agree.

    Rosberg made some great overtakes, three times on Vettel and once on Raikkonen, but then lost it at the end. And speaking of Vettel, how ragged was he? He made 3 unforced errors, which was almost Maldonado-esque. Similar to his race in Japan 2013, where he made multiple mistakes despite winning.

    Mercedes seem to have learnt their lesson from Malaysia. I can see Ferrari challenging Mercedes on pace in several races, especially races like Hungary and Spa. But I don’t see Rosberg winning any races on pace this year too. Possibly Monaco would be his best chance. Hamilton will win 15 races this year, with 3-second places. You heard it here first!

    I hate being the one to bring up this question again, but what could Alonso have achieved in that Ferrari. Guess we’ll never know, I’d sure love to!

    P.S. Robserg’s engineer saying “Gap to Raikkonen is 8.5!” in a cheery and jolly way made me chuckle quite a bit! And they say these people are competitive animals….Well, at least Rosberg proved it with his retort.

    1. Change that, 1 lap was needed! (according to Merc)

    2. alonso would have lapped the field in the ferrari.

      1. He had 5 years to lap the field with the ferrari, but did nothing. Thanks for leaving! :)

        1. Silly answer. He never had a car like the 2015 Ferrari. Apart from maybe 2010

          1. What he had was free-rein and an unlimited budget and a management that was dead set on making him the king of the world. Good riddance I’d say.

          2. And silly answer from michael, so that’s all he deserves, more silly answers.

        2. did nothing?? seriously?? unbelievable…. tough crowd.

          1. ColdFly F1 (@)
            20th April 2015, 5:20

            @masterluke, amazing how many people use their new-found ability to post on a forum to vent their opinion with limited (or no) inclusion of facts, reasoning, or link to the topics being discussed.

          2. Good point.

          3. @ColdFly f1, don’t think I deserve such a comment from the almighty forum god; I was using my new-found ability to post on a forum merely in response @GeorgeH’s comment regarding ALO did not do anything in 5 years with Ferrari.
            I am quite certain that I don’t need to present facts, reasoning, or links to question an incredulous and ignorant comment. Do you, forum god?

          4. @masterluke He was on your side, agreeing with you.

          5. ColdFly F1 (@)
            20th April 2015, 13:06

            @masterluke, no worries mate!
            As @philereid said, I am ‘on your side, agreeing with you’.

            I thought it was clear, but will pay extra attention next time I post.

          6. thousand pardons.. and thank you.
            thought you were addressing me, i.e., @masterluke, in the beginning.

      2. im not so sure, maybe the whole rejuvenation process that Ferrari has clearly gone through was helped further by alonso leaving, not because he is a bad driver because he definitely is not but simply the importance of a breath of fresh air that has clearly created a new ferrari.

        1. It’s easy to have a breath of fresh air when the car is so much faster. Alonso’s departure didn’t bring that about.

          1. Maybe it it did, maybe it didn’t.
            Except for his initial stay at Renault, every other team has suffered during and immediately after his tenure.

    3. Actually, Vettel has made 4 faults. Unconvincing driving from an “all times greats”.

      1. (To me) the best part of the race was to watch Nico pass the 4x world champion….and again, and again and again!! I love to watch Kimi drive when he is fired up! Good race.

        1. The best bit was when Lewis was coming out of the pits for the final time just when Nico pulled to the right to overtake Vettel. I thought we were going to have a three car pile up like they had in GP2 (except they had a 4 car pile up).
          Good racing from Nico.

  2. Very good… best race of the season so far…. driver of the day RAIKKONEN

    1. @marlarkey why? Who did he overtake? Nobody
      Did he race faster with same strategy? No
      Did he qualify well? No

      He happened to be lucky with correct strategy and didn’t make mistakes. Then lucky again when others had issues.

      1. Lucky, or did he make the strategy work very well for him? His pace on the middle stint against his rivals on softer tyres was very impressive.

        1. @matt90
          “he make the strategy work very well for him” What exactly does that mean? He drove with the package he had, the kind nobody else had and he didn’t even make that decision.

          1. Everyone is supposed to do just that – drive as well as possible with the package they have.
            As for drivers giving a 110% , it’s IMPOSSIBLE.

          2. @ivan-vinitskyy
            Everybody else actually had the same package- they just took the tyres in a different order. He lapped at an impressive pace on mediums- as I actually said- and eked out the tyre life of every set he was on.

          3. Ivan seems to really have some sand in wrong places for Raikkonen. Mad Alonso fan or what’s up?

        2. Raikkonen is one of the few who can pull these things off. Just like Hamilton or Alonso. True racers who can keep the pressure on for lap after lap.

          If only he could qualify a little better he could show this more. And of course his car should stop breaking down and the team need to get him out on time for a hot lap when it’s about to rain.

          1. Very similar to Button actually.

          2. Button is more somebody to bring the car home and wait and hope for others ahead of him to have troubles. He is not one to really push and attack.

      2. Give him a break man. Just considering how many unlucky days RAI has had, he totally deserves something back today, if not more.

      3. Kimi made the race looking beautiful.
        His pace on Medium tyres was incredible. The race was not perfect, I give it a solid 7.

      4. His strategy surely helped but he drove a brilliant race today: he was the only one of the top 4 runners who didn’t make a mistake during the race.

        He was also very smart at the start once again, great race from him.

        For DOTW, I think I’ll have to go for Hamilton though.

        1. @paeschli He had wonderful pace on the second stint but when outqualified by his teammate by a healthy margin, again, it is hard to indeed vote him DOTW. I’m doubting between Hamilton and Alonso.

          1. I can’t vote for Alonso: outqualifying and outracing your team mate isn’t exactly hard if your team mate can’t get a single lap in. ^^

      5. Lucky strategy? Maybe one lap pace is lucky. Its all part of the game where you finish you finish.

      6. His stint on the primes was sublime, he was as fast as Hamilton and faster than Rosberg and Vettel when they were on the faster options. That is simply ridiculous! He deserves DOTW just for that!

        1. @brum55 You have no facts to suggest option tire was better tire at that stage of the race.

      7. @ivan-vinitskyy let’s do this in reverse. who’s your DOTW nomination? whoever it is, we can provide any opposite arguments that suggest otherwise :)

        1. I like this game, let’s play.
          Mine would be Hamilton.

          1. Qualified first
          2. Finished first
          3. Was always fast enough to never be bothered by anybody.

    2. petebaldwin (@)
      20th April 2015, 11:24

      I’d agree if Kimi had something to do with the decision to change strategy but as he repeatedly said “what’s the plan with the tyres”, it suggests he just did whatever the team asked.

  3. 8/10. Another good race, tense until the end and lots of nice overtakes.

  4. Very good race indeed – 8/10 for me.. Great battles all through the pack.

    Ferrari is keeping the heat on the Mercs which is a good thing.. Bottas staying strong and it’s great to see Kimi on the podium.

    1. Glad to see Bottas back but … Vettel finishing only fifth isn’t any good for the sport. Hamilton seems to run away with the championship already.

      1. yes agreed for sure.. While I do like Hamilton – and I think he’s a genuinely talented driver – I wouldn’t be too sad to see him and the silver arrows loose a few to the Scuderia, just to tighten things up. A few podiums with Ferrari and Williams up high would be lovely and keep the drivers and constructors championships in real contention.

        The season is still rather young.. Ferrari have good pace and strategy and Williams have some genuine speed.. So perhaps it will come to be.

  5. 8/10, pretty good, just wished there was more of a fight for the lead.

  6. 7.

    (6.5 really)

    Pretty interesting the way Ferrari put Kimi on the alternative strategy. Made for a good finish.

    1. finish/Finnish. No pun intended.

      1. 1 more lap and we’d have had a Finnish finish… ;)

    2. Yes, the alternative strategy made it really interesting. I’m a HAM fan and a Mercedes fan, but Ferrari is starting to make this interesting.

      1. ColdFly F1 (@)
        20th April 2015, 5:24

        @daved – agree! I wish Mercedes would do it more often. All about Eggs – Baskets.

      2. Same as you DaveD,
        It was a perfect race for Lewis at this early stage of season, gaining max points while both his rivals pushed back a place or two by Kimi and Bottas!

  7. A pretty good race , but the shoddy coverage made me miss most of the midfield battles.
    Thanks, FOM.

    1. I figured the guy berating me for suggesting SV is erratic when under pressure last night was the camera director! Honestly I got done over yesterday. Anyone still arguing?

      A serious race at the front with back markers and Kimi eating into a lead – and we spent 8 laps watching SV who had fell off the track three times from every angle possible running around in 5th!
      Stunning race – made more interesting by Kimi arguing with the team for several laps about what tyres he wanted eventually giving in (see how slow he drove in – an unhappy man and suggests the SV factor hold sway)

      Worst camera work of the year trophy needs to be invented…

      Excellent race from LH – shame about NR brakes – would have been fun to see but I think it was over by that point..

  8. Good one. Somehow night races have turned Bahrain onto a top circuit… at least it produces entertaining races.

    Great display by Kimi, very good executing that different strategy, I think Nico’s brake problems made his life easier but he never stopped trying. Kudos to him.

    1. @jcost Actually, the 2013 race was pretty good with overtakes everywhere.

    2. @jcost @mashiat Since 2012 the races there were good due to the current regulations. Even the 2012 race was exciting but overshadowed by the protests.

  9. 8/10 for me as well… By mistake voted 7.. Count 1 for 8 please.

    That was a good race…Battles all around, tyres not damaging racing at any point. Loved it. Great drive from Raikkonen, definitely the driver of the race. Mentions to Hamilton, Bottas, Grosjean as well..

    1. Also would like to add that FIA official app was dud in this race. Lost sever mid of the race and was 5 laps down.

      1. It was really poor the whole race for me too.
        I was furious, gave this race 6 because of it I think )

        1. @ivan-vinitskyy, no my rating did not have anything to do with failture of F1 app :P

          Although I expected a lot more from Vettel, but really happy that Kimi got so close to victory. Maybe 2 more laps and he would have been victorious. Forza Ferrari!

          1. Mayank, I would not have been to upset if Kimi had won this GP, although I’m a LH fan. It’s making the season much more interesting to have two teams fighting rather than team mates.

    2. well, i voted 10, 9 for me and another 1 for you. cheers ;)

      i should give my credit to massa and kimi, the first did a nice recovery job with some damage from early race caused by pastor and somehow ridiculous strategy by Williams, but i think it worked out for him, because seems like he didnt have the balance needed to enter to corner and took the apex as usual, and the pace.

      As for Kimi, his medium pace is so strong that it match the leader’s pace on option, and he make it last longer too! he sure knows how to preserve the tire well.

      1. @hahailham1 You skewed up the ratings :P

        Massa did a good recovery drive. I forgot about him as he was largely anonymous in the race. But under the given situation he drove good as well.

        As to Raikkonen’s pace on mediums – he was absolutely fantastic. Ferrari intra team battle is really exciting and i predict it would be very close at the end of season. Uptil now, Raikkonen seems to preserve tyres better than Vettel which helps him at the end of the race.

        I would like to see how things shape up once Raikkonen qualifies ahead of Vettel, because in China and Bahrain, Vettel was the first one to pit so he had a longer last stint and hence his pace was a bit slow in comparison to Raikkonen. If Vettel is faster than Raikkonen in th above situation, then its the strategy which makes the driver fast at the last stint.

  10. An interesting race so far, but when will we have a battle for the lead of an F1 race?

    1. +1 Seems comments so far are ignoring that, I most enjoy races where there are battles for the lead, racing to win

    2. Hamilton overtook Raikkonen for the lead. So there is that.

      1. If Ferrari wasn’t fumbling around whilst the McHonda was closing and unlapping itself then maybe we would have.

        1. No, we DID. Not much excitement in it perhaps, but there was a change of lead by an overtake on track.

    3. The Blade Runner (@)
      20th April 2015, 10:00

      My thoughts too.

      I enjoyed the race but then enjoyed the MotoGP race later the same day much, much more. This keeps happening which is a shame as F1 is my preferred sport.

  11. 8. It wasn’t that good but those final laps were grippingly exciting. Raikkonen did a stellar job but Hamilton was unbelievably fast. And Vettel was abysmal.
    But Im worried about the racing, how 2014 was better than this year? Everything is better but boring.

    1. I think it’s something to do with the revised front nose regulations making it harder for cars to follow each other closely.

  12. So much better than the previous races. Not a classic but still a good 6/10.

  13. Best racing of the season but this just means that racing is harder in 2015 not to mention that the tyre factor was ridiculous.

  14. I have just realized, the German national anthem has been heard on the podium 34 times in the last 37 races. @keithcollantine Was the German anthem heard this many times (in ratio) during Michael’s years?

    1. One for post race stats and facts I think!

    2. @mashiat @alfie wrong, riccardos last win in spa was the last race without the german national anthem on the podium. back then we heard the australian and austrian national anthem.

      1. @rigi Thwy aren’t talking about in-a-rows.

      2. @rigi I think you will find that I stated that “34 of the last 37 races”, so all the races since the 2013 Spanish GP besides Ricciardo’s three wins in 2014. But from the 2013 Spanish GP to the 2014 Canadian GP is 20 races in a row. Is that a new record @keithcollantine?

        1. @mashiat apologies, guess i didn’t read it properly.

        2. From the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix to the 1994 German Grand Prix would have been 50 races with the British anthem (ie, 50 races between Ferrari wins).

          1. For other anthems, the Italians managed 30 in a row from the start of the world championship until the 1954 French Grand Prix, if you don’t count the Indianapolis 500.

  15. Kimi: “Can you hear me?”

    Have we ever?

    1. Outside of the car

  16. 7/10

    Better than China but not quite an 8.

    One more lap and it would have been though.

  17. Remember where Ferrari were last year? What a difference a year makes…

  18. Nail biting finish, if you’re a Kimi fan! Although makes me wonder what would have happened if Kimi made the last stop sooner.

  19. Poor race if you ask me. Ferrari never really looking in contention for the win. Kimi did brilliant to take down Rosberg but for the same money he would’ve been stuck behind in teh same fashion Vettel was behind Bottas. Nothing to do with skill but just how the cars and tires are.

    Rosberg really cementing a reputation of terrible wheel to wheel racer for me. Both his first overtakes on the Ferrari were just terrible. It seems the word divebomb was invented for him.

    1. I thought rosberg had some of the best overtakes of the race, late breaking then good defending after. It’s just a shame that brakes affected the battle between him raikonnen at the end.

      1. best overtakes

        Did he not jus have a much faster car at that point??

      2. “Good overtakes” when you are two lengths down, press the DRS button and suddently you are wheel to wheel? Ridiculous…

    2. It is good overtake. Credit is where credit is due. Its practically the same as what Verstappen do last week. Are you hating Rosberg that much?

      1. @glynh and @sonicslv There were many good overtakes at the end of the main straight that you could call outbraking. those particular two were just braking unusual late knowing he would not make the corner but by being on the inside forcing the other driver out wide. That is a divebomb and deserves no respect. Luckily Vettel and Kimi are both experienced enough to know when there is a desperate man behind them to keep an eye on him under braking.

        1. No, If Vettel and kimi were keeping an eye on him they should have let him go and switched back on the inside. That’s how you deal with a dive bomb, not get hung out to dry on the outside. But heck, what do I know.

          1. @john-h That is exactly what you do when a car is already alongside you on the inside. You brake earlier to make the undercut. Not at all when someone divebombs you…

        2. @xtwl (PorscheF1)
          so basically what you are tell us is that the Ferrari drivers was not covering the right line. If they mad sure they had the inside line the other driver can not divebomb like you say and secondly if you divebomb the driver is sure he will make the conner. The other driver is just not sure if him self will make the conner. Funny enough that both drivers has made the conner every time. Just give credit wear credit is due.

      2. verstappen has lots of negative responses too.
        I thought he run drivers out of road a bit too much. Not too aggressive to get a penalty, just a bit.

    3. Poor race if you ask me. Ferrari never really looking in contention for the win. Kimi did brilliant to take down Rosberg but for the same money he would’ve been stuck behind in teh same fashion Vettel was behind Bottas. Nothing to do with skill but just how the cars and tires are.

      +1

    4. @xtwl Totally disagree with your assessment.

  20. Cracking race. Even Rosberg overtaking, and what a drive from Kimi.

    9/10

  21. If I’d vote how entertaining the race was, then I’d give it 8/10. But I’m like Kimi, I don’t care what others think and I’ll vote based on the result. 9/10.

  22. Solid 7. Great drive by Kimi and Rosberg. Really bad drive from Vettel which undone his yesterday qualifying performance. Its kinda reversal from last week where the front stays and lot of battle in midfield, this week the front battle is good and no significant battle in the midfield although Nasr came alive in mid-race. Massa performance is really poor (I expect him should be able to finish 8th) Bottas drive is impressive. Alonso seems to have good last stint. Renault reliability still abysmal just like what they said earlier this week. Good thing Ricciardo engine not blew up a lap earlier, but then McLaren will get their 1st point :D.

  23. Best ending of the race so far that includes a BOOM from RIC….hahaha, should have two or three more laps to see even more interesting stints, nice work RAI

  24. 10/10
    Great action everywhere!

  25. 7/10 for me. Good racing, Hamilton the champion of 2015 for sure. Great overtakings by Rosberg, shame his brake failure. Great race for Kimi. And what happen with Vettel?

  26. 7/10 for me. Wasn’t as good as last year but still better than Australia or China this year. I really think that Raikkonen would have won this race if Lewis’s brake issues occurred a lap earlier.

  27. Saved by the gang for LH, and what a drive from Bottas might be RAI replacement at Ferrari (my guess).

    1. BTW I gave it 8/10.

    2. After this performance it’s more likely they will take up Raikkonen’s option for an extension.

  28. Enjoyed the race, but agree that the TV Director seemed to be more interested in the driver’s girlfriends than actual overtaking.

    1. Yes, I think we should disallow the pretty girlfriends of the drivers to attend the races. It sends a bad signal.
      (irony can occur in the above;-)

      1. Michael Brown
        19th April 2015, 19:41

        I’m for that rule

    2. Model girlfriends are fine in moderation. What’s not fine is spending dozens of laps following VET and BOT when there’s a lot of interesting racing going on elsewhere.

  29. 10 for me. The race was made very interesting by the split tyre strategy from Ferrari. Excellent drive by HAM, RAI, ROS and BOT.

    ROS’ mistake at the end should not take away his achievement of passing VET 2 times on the track.

    It is surprising that Ferrari have all this pace but cannot seem to find a way to pressure HAM.

    1. @anilsk2013 10? Kimi’s fan?

      1. Yes. Guilty as charged.

        1. @anilsk2013 we’ve got to create separate poll for you guys, you’re going to make this race result better for wrong reasons )

          1. @ivan-vinitskyy I wanted to write it in my comment earlier but didn’t. So here goes, I’m expecting a really high rating for what was an average race at best because Hamilton and Kimi got P1 and P2.

          2. @xtwl

            Whey was it an ave. race. Just because very one does not rate a race by your standers. I gave it a 8 because it was a fun race to watch. May by it was fun for me to watch but not for you so we give it a different rating. I rate the hole race. How drivers drove the cars, the strategies the engineers come up with and how i feld after the race. If he rate the race on where driver end up then it is his right as long as he has enjoyed it. We all watch it for the enjoyment and for every one it is some thing else. Not every one rate the race by the same way.

    2. It is surprising that Ferrari have all this pace but cannot seem to find a way to pressure HAM

      Come on, what pace are you talking about?! Mercedes still is significantly faster than Ferrari. The engine is still more powerful, less thirstier, HAM is incredible as a racing driver etc. Yes, Ferrari did a big step forward overall and I’m really happy for them, but there’s no real threat for Mercedes yet.

      1. @corrado-dub Sky today said they think engine power is about the same. As for consumption, Merc had to save fuel today, did Ferrari? and how much?

        1. Engine power might be the same in normal conditions, but obviously Rosberg could turn the engine up by quite a large amount when he needed to overtake.

          That’s what Vettel was moaning about in the post qualifying press conference. Mercedes have like half a second in hand. They can’t use it during the whole race because the fuel will run out and the tyres can’t take more anyway. For a few laps they do seem to have the ability to just unleash the beast though.

          1. @patrickl obviously? It’s not obvious to anybody. We know they have this option but so do other teams. You just can’t tell when it was used and when it wasn’t.

          2. Ehm yes you can. Because they are normally at the same pace as the Ferrari and all of a sudden Rosberg would go a lot faster.

            Besides, Ferrari can see this and they obviously told Vettel. Who openly complained about it. So now we all know for sure.

          3. LH used it in last GP just before pit stops, and Nico this GP to overtake SV.

          4. @patrickl, I wonder if ‘all of a sudden’ and DRS zone happen to occur at the same time…
            If you’re referring to fuel mix that drivers can change, I’m sure Ferrari has that too.

          5. Not sure how hard this is to grasp, but Vettel complained about the advantage that Mercedes had in this area.

            Vettel drives a Ferrari BTW. So …

      2. but there’s no real threat for Mercedes/Hamilton yet.

        @corrado-dub – That’s better.

  30. Simon (@weeniebeenie)
    19th April 2015, 18:10

    7/10. A few good battles but the big battles only threatened, but never happened. Things were close after the first stops but they all drifted apart, then the battle at the end was sort of spoiled by Rosberg making the mistake.

  31. Fantastic race, gave it a 7/10. Wish ros and ham didn’t have the brake problem at then, but Rai more than likely would still have gotten by Ros.

  32. I fell asleep during it, so.. Only a 6 from me.

    I find it really annoying how much this race was hyped up everywhere when, as a result, it has ended up being quite disappointing.

    1. It’s hard to see a race when you’re sleeping though?

    2. @strontium: Why disappointing? Because it went bad for Your favorite driver(s) or because Merc/Ham still won?

    3. Shame you fell asleep you missed a good race especially after final pit stop.

  33. 8/10 Very enjoyable stuff, Rosberg shoving his way to second was a good sign that Mercedes still have two drivers capable of showing up this season. Should be a real fight between Ferrari and Mercedes this season, looking good.

  34. 8.
    Great race, good battles, and good strategy from Ferrari.
    Top 4 drove brilliantly.

  35. 9/10, really enjoyable GP. Great overtakes from Rosberg, great strategy from Ferrari, brilliant charge from Kimi, great and great defending from Bottas. Really enthralling.

  36. Well certainly, many will naturally compare the race to last year but at the end of it, classic races are rare (and that’s why they’re classics). However I rate this race a 9/10. A good battle at the front and it’s so good to see Mercedes getting a real fight from Ferraris. Some very good battles and like someone mentioned here, Bahrain looks stunning under lights and provides great racing; just shows that not all Tilkedromes are boring.

  37. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
    19th April 2015, 18:22

    I gave it a 7. Good race, but Lewis looked like he was pacing himself for most of it. Good to see Nico start to show some fight and a well-deserved second for Kimi. Great stuff from Seb, but the unforced error was costly.

  38. not that entertaining to be honest few battles around the field and Raikkonen catching Rosberg was impressive but 5/10 from me it feels like F1 has lost its sparkle this year

  39. ILuvSoundtracks (@)
    19th April 2015, 18:31

    Enjoyed the flying sparks and was very excited who’s gonna be the runner-up for the GP between Rosberg and Räikkönen.

    Gave it a 8, but with the overtales I’ll give it a 9!

  40. Don’t get why people would say this race was bad/boring.What are your expectations? Are you the explosions/sprinklers type?
    There was a lot of fighting for position throughout the field both on track and strategic, from the podium down into 13-14th place.Only thing letting this race down (from a spectacle point of view) was Hamilton’s good drive to again win by going only as fast as he needed,keeping Vettel and Rosberg just out of reach everytime they came too close.

    1. Agree. I was glued to my seat for the last 20 laps because of Kimi’s potential to disrupt the frontrunners, and my heart was pumping quicker in the last 7 laps. If Kimi weren’t on an alternate strategy, or if Kimi finished stuck behind Rosberg it might have been a dull race, , but as it was this was a gripping spectacle.

  41. It was nice to have a decent mix at the front, but still not an overly exciting race to watch, caught myself nodding off a few times during it.

  42. It was a 9 out of 10 for me. I think Ferrari has made a great jump. We now have interesting races again and we can’t forget that it was only a month ago that Christian Horner was whining for “equalization” of Merc!

    Seeing Alonso fighting for positions and even passing Kimi at one point made my whole day LOL

  43. This season is reminding me of 2008: at the front, two competitive Ferraris, and Lewis in a silver car with a teammate who isn’t much of a threat to him. The W06 even looks quite like the McLaren MP4-23! I don’t expect this season to go down to the wire like 2008 did, but who knows, there are many races left. I think either team could come out on top of a fierce development war.

    1. I think that the MP4-23 is much better looking than the W06. @kmccauley

      1. I agree with that for sure, but this W06 is the first car since the 2009 regs that gets close to looking as good to me. Thin, sloped low nose, and the front wing proportion is a lot better than 2009-2013 regs. Under the lights especially, it looked wider and squatter and the gawky rear wing didn’t stand out so much.

  44. An incredible battle for the top 5 until the very last lap and Ricciardo’s engine giving up on the finish line!

    A solid 8 for me.

  45. Gave it a 6. Never got edge-of-my-seat excited. On reflection, it was worth a 7.

    Couldn’t believe Ferrari pulled off a 2.4 sec pitstop. I remember the days when someone would forget a wheel and they’d have a big argument with lots of hand-waving while the driver waited patiently.

    Ferrari renaissance has been best part of season so far.

    1. @aardvark Ferrari even improved their next pit stop with Raikkonen in 2.3 :) Impressive.

  46. We can say that the real value of the Mercedes is the position of Robesrg or that is reserved for others drivers, orhers than Lewis? We can say, firmly, that Lewis worths 0.5 sec plus, or that is reserved for other drivers? We can say, clearly, that Lewis is the greatest on the field, despite the lack of race pace favoring the Ferraris or that is reserved for other drivers?

  47. 9/10 Great race, very exciting, Kimi coming through to 2nd made the race for me – I thought Ferrari had got it so wrong leaving him out so long on the first stint then putting the primes on – but he was so fast on them.

  48. I’d love to give this a 8/10 because it was an entertaining race, not especially grand, but I’d sign up for this being an average race any day.

    However, I feel like most of that entertainment was spoiled by replays, shots of people in garages and, frankly, odd decisions of who to follow for the broadcast. There weren’t enough battles going on to justify the lack of focus from the TV director in my opinion, so I do feel that hampered my enjoyment of the race a little. 7/10.

  49. 6/10. Interesting race the first 10 laps, then my intrest started fading as it went into a dull-period. The exitement in the end didn’t bother me anymore. Was hoping for more from the Ferraris, but it felt like Hamilton was cruising once more.

  50. Not quite a 7, therefore 6. Ofc some moments were actually good, but nothing trully remarkable.
    Again Nico failed to deliver something competitive. RBR almost ended in disaster, like TR. Williams (Bottas) had the luck of the race as Seb made an extra pit stop. Ham still cruising to the title. Kimi was quite good. And…I guess nothing more to tell.
    So, a 6.

  51. 7. Interesting but nothing really memorable. Once again outdone by the MotoGP race.

  52. Alonso showed real skill in racing and bringing that mcclaren home.Great overtaking alonso now waiting to see what happens in Barcelona to Jensen and Alonso. Exciting

  53. I rate 8, this was a good race.

  54. once again the ratings for the race are as high as ever and the reasons as contradictory as ever. I believe people voted for their Favourite driver SIMPLY because Hamilton, Kimi, Rosberg, Bottas fans voted because they had a good race But the reasons put forward are because of the “racing throughout the field” yet chaps like Ricciardo, Romain, Alonso, Perez, Massa, Kyvat can’t get a look in. The race was good but the reasons put forward don’t seem genuine except there’s someone who said they voted higher simply because of Kimi.

  55. 8, Pit stops made it more entertaining

  56. 8/10 enjoyable. I was so happy Kimi got 2nd, a well deserved podium. I was disappointed that Seb had the errors and ended up 5th, but it could have been worse with 3 pit stops and all behind him doing 2, so all in all I have to give both a thumbs up in the circumstances and Forza Ferrari!

    I’m over Hamilton winning. It’s been 4 races so time for change. Nico looked better, now he just has to turn that on his teammate so we can have a bit of challenge at the front. But luckily, those behind kept it interesting so far. I disagree Alonso needs to get in the way unlapping himself though. It wasn’t going to stick and it was just holding up Kimi needlessly.

    1. I should add that I mean Hamilton winning over Nico is getting boring because it is too predictable. I do realize we won the 2nd race which was awesome and I think we’ll win some more also.

  57. 8/10

    Interesting battles up and down the order. The late charge by Kimi was exhilarating, lets see how popular splitting strategies becomes in upcoming races.

  58. Scotty James
    20th April 2015, 5:11

    Was it my imagination, or did they play the German national anthem instead of the Finnish one?

    1. Yes they played German National Anthem because Mercedes is a Germany based team. They played British National Anthem for Hamilton and German for Mercedes.

      They play National Anthem of winner (driver and team)

  59. I enjoyed the race but suffered from awful camera choices. Many overtakes and midfield battles were missed. It’s a 7/10. Would’ve been higher had Ericsson not suffered in the pits. First time this year that he was clearly faster than Nasr and this had to happen. Shame.

  60. Quite entertaining. 8 or 9 on my scale, I’m leaning towards 9 because of all the overtaking that took place between Rosberg and the Ferraris.

  61. Clearly an 8. But if u ignore the number, u can see it was clearly better race than Australia and the infamous China race (where half world predicted the result correct). In Australia 0 overtakes, here u can overtake and make errors that leads to changes of positions. Is pretty good circuit, and the race was good one. The people that gave 6 to this race, if they honest with themselves, in Barcelona they will give a 3, because 0 overtakings and very predictable race. U will see how much fun when they cannot change positions, 0 overtakes, 0 mistakes, 0 spectacle and u will regret more races like Bahrain, where always something happens, and never predictable results.

  62. I gave it a 5 as i thought it was pretty crap. Good moves by Nico and fast pace from Kimi other than that zilch. Other teams need to raise their games to make it more interesting instead of a borefest

  63. Watched some Moto gp racing, was much more interesting

    1. But (Sonia Luff) this is a Formula 1 forum.

  64. Usually wehn I Rate, I end up choosing the same as the majority — not today! I say 5. Barely more entertaining than cricket.

    This one was a bit like seeing a cloud on the horizon and wondering if it’s bringing rain. It didn’t.

    Glad that kimi got P2, but there seemed to be more driver errors than driver excellence here. (yes I know rosberg had brake problems).

    PS. Rosberg’s passing on the Ferraris was … inelegant.

  65. I think Rosberg can take a lot from this weekend despite his brake problem that Lewis seemed to have at the same time and was not of his making. If he can be as assertive on track as his passes on SV here he can do that elsewhere. SV must have had on off day with 3 or 4 unforced errors on his part, not what you would expect from a 4 time WDC. I like Kimi and am very pleased he made it to second, and yes if he had a few more laps he might have had a fight with Lewis. However, I doubt he would have got in front! 7.5/10

  66. Good race, I enjoyed the start and the end the most, somepart of the mid race was not that exciting, the ending was fun to watch, makes u wish there were 2 laps more. I give it an 8

  67. I voted 8/10. It would have been a 9 had the battle at the front been a little closer or any pressure was seriously put on Hamilton. A good fight for minor points and an intriguing battle for the podium was enough for me to rate so high.

    I am wondering if there’s real parallels with Rosberg vs Hamilton (2014 & 2015) and Webber vs Vettel (2010 & 2011). Has Nico lost his one chance to get a title before Lewis blows him out of the water like Seb did to Webber post 2010?

  68. Grand touchdown from Ric was spectacular in a bad way though but he grabbed 6th. 7 for race.

  69. My exact score would be 8.5 out of 10, but… nah, let’s make it 9, even though this year’s GP wasn’t as exciting as last year’s. Still, this was the best race of the season (so far).

    Sparks flying and very close battles in the top 5 (Rosberg vs Ferraris, Bottas vs Vettel)… my wish came true. Mostly. I would have liked to see Lewis fight for the victory as well, even though he drove very well during the whole weekend and honestly, deserved to win.

    Let’s see how the things are when series continues in Barcelona in May. Mercedes are going to have hard time with Ferrari, if the Prancing Horse of Maranello can keep up their current performance and even raise it.

  70. I thought it was a great race, probably the best race so far this season and so I gave it an 8.

    There was action throughout the field and Raikkonen’s alternate strategy allowed him to hunt Rosberg down in the final stint

    It would have been nice if there had been a battle for the lead, but although it was close when Hamilton came out after his first stop it seemed like again he was in control of the race and only pushed when he needed to.

  71. 7/10 Despite the different strategies we saw few overtakes, Rosberg on Vettel twice and once on Raikkonen. Massa was unseen despite recovering ten positions, but him overtaking Alonso twice was a good thing to see! The race was interesting and kept me wondering but there wasn’t much action after all.

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