2014 Bahrain Grand Prix Preview - MotorSportsTalk

The Formula 1 circus arrives in Bahrain this weekend for a very special race. With 2014 marking the tenth anniversary of the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix, it is being promoted as a “celebration” for the island kingdom. Part of this ‘celebration’ sees the Bahrain International Circuit play host to just the second night race on the calendar, following in the footsteps of the Singapore Grand Prix.

It might be something of a final roll of the dice for Formula 1 in Bahrain. Although money is not a problem, the race has hardly been one that is looked forward to. Very few fans are stirred by the circuit or the racing it produces, but a night race may resolve this. Hundreds of floodlights have been erected around the circuit to illuminate the cars throughout the weekend, as we saw at the final round of the World Endurance Championship back in December.

Following his dominant victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix last weekend, Lewis Hamilton will be looking to go back-to-back and cut the gap to championship leader and teammate Nico Rosberg on Sunday. Both drivers enter this weekend’s race as favorites thanks to the immense pace of the W05 car, but with Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen all in the shake-up, it is by no means a foregone conclusion.

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix – Talking Points

Lewis versus Nico – Round 3

Round one of this inter-team battle went to Nico Rosberg as he won in Australia; round two was a convincing victory for Lewis Hamilton by a full 17 seconds in the exact same car. And so we come to round three in Bahrain. Both drivers are champing at the bit to be team leader and mount a serious title challenge, but with Red Bull rapidly catching up, now is the time for Mercedes to make the most of its advantage.

How much closer will Red Bull be?

Sebastian Vettel finishing in third place last weekend may not appear to be a momentous result given his glittering career, but following such a disastrous winter, it meant the world to Red Bull. Now, the team must use the momentum gained in Malaysia to push Mercedes even closer in Bahrain. For Daniel Ricciardo, it is merely about scoring some points. His luck makes you unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Ferrari needs to turn up

Fernando who? Kimi? Eh? It’s been that kind of start to the season for Ferrari. The erstwhile Alonso has picked up two solid fourth place finishes so far, but the pace of the F14 T has left much to be desired. Similarly, Raikkonen has – despite a slice of bad luck in Malaysia – been largely anonymous. However, write the team off at your peril. After two quiet races at the beginning of last season, Ferrari roared back into life to win the 2013 Chinese Grand Prix. It might take a bit more than aggressive tire wear this year, though.

Some dry weather answers

Wet qualifying for both the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix has clouded our idea of the pecking order (over one lap, at least), but Bahrain should remedy this situation. Given that we have never seen a wet session at Sakhir, we should finally see just how great Mercedes’ advantage is. Further to that, we’ll also begin to appreciate the impact of the new tire rules that mean drivers start the race on their Q2 compound, not their Q3 selection as per 2013.

250 not out for Jenson Button

If it’s a celebration for Bahrain, then it’s also a celebration for Jenson Button. Having made his debut in the 2000 Australian Grand Prix, the British driver will now start his 250th race this weekend. In a career full of ups and downs, he has done it all: been a rookie, a backmarker, an unlikely winner, a world champion and a team leader. He won his 200th race at the Hungaroring in 2011, so could it be another big result to celebrate a big landmark for JB?

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix – Facts and Figures

Track: Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir (5.412km)
Laps: 57
Corners: 15
Lap Record: Michael Schumacher 1:30.252s (2004)
Tire Compounds: Soft (Option); Medium (Prime)
2013 Winner: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2013 Pole Position: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:32.330
2013 Fastest Lap: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 1:36.961
DRS Zones: Main straight (T15 to T1); T10 to T11

For the complete schedule and TV times, click here. Please note that qualifying is live on CNBC.

Follow @LukeSmithF1

INDIANAPOLIS – Alex Palou had not turned a wheel wrong the entire Month of May at the Indy 500 until Rinus VeeKay turned a wheel into the Chip Ganassi Racing pole-sitter leaving pit road on Lap 94.

“There is nothing I could have done there,” Palou told NBC Sports. “It’s OK, when it is my fault or the team’s fault because everybody makes mistakes. But when there is nothing, you could have done differently there, it feels bad and feels bad for the team.”

Marcus Ericsson was a master at utilizing the “Tail of the Dragon” move that breaks the draft of the car behind him in the closing laps to win last year’s Indianapolis 500. On Sunday, however, the last of three red flags in the final 16 laps of the race had the popular driver from Sweden breathing fire after Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden beat him at his own game on the final lap to win the Indianapolis 500.

Despite the two disappointments, team owner Chip Ganassi was seen on pit road fist-bumping a member on his four-car team in this year’s Indianapolis 500 after his drivers finished second, fourth, sixth and seventh in the tightly contested race.

Those are pretty good results, but at the Indianapolis 500, there is just one winner and 32 losers.

“There is only one winner, but it was a hell of a show,” three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and Chip Ganassi Racing consultant Dario Franchitti told NBC Sports. “Alex was very fast, and he got absolutely caught out in somebody else’s wreck. There was nothing he could have done, but he and the 10 car, great recovery.

“Great recovery by all four cars because at half distance, we were not looking very good.”

After 92 laps, the first caution flew for Sting Ray Robb of Dale Coyne Racing hitting the Turn 1 wall.

During pit stops on Lap 94, Palou had left his stall when the second-place car driven by VeeKay ran into him, putting Palou’s Honda into the wall. The car sustained a damaged front wing, but the Chip Ganassi crew was able to get him back in the race on the lead lap but in 28^th position.

Palou ultimately would fight his way to a fourth-place finish in a race the popular Spaniard could have won. His displeasure with VeeKay, whom he sarcastically called “a legend” on his team radio after the incident, was evident.

“The benefit of being on pole is you can drive straight and avoid crashes, and he was able to crash us on the side on pit lane, which is pretty tough to do, but he managed it,” Palou told NBC Sports. “Hopefully next year we are not beside him. Hopefully, next year we have a little better luck.”

Palou started on the pole and led 36 laps, just three fewer than race leader Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren Racing.

“We started really well, was managing the fuel as we wanted, our car was pretty good,” Palou said. “Our car wasn’t great, we dropped to P4 or P5, but we still had some good stuff.

“On the pit stop, the 21 (VeeKay) managed to clip us. Nothing we could have done there. It was not my team’s fault or my fault.

“We had to drop to the end. I’m happy we made it back to P4. We needed 50 more laps to make it happen, but it could have been a lot worse after that contact.

“I learned a lot, running up front at the beginning and in mid-pack and then the back. I learned a lot.

“It feels amazing when you win it and not so good when things go wrong. We were a bit lucky with so many restarts at the end to make it back to P4 so I’m happy with that.”

Palou said the front wing had to be changed and the toe-in was a bit off, but he still had a fast car.

In fact, his Honda was the best car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway all month. His pole-winning four lap average speed of 234.217 miles per hour around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a record for this fabled race.

Palou looked good throughout the race, before he had to scratch and claw and race his way back to the top-five after he restarted 28^th.

In the Indianapolis 500, however, the best car doesn’t always win.

“It’s two years in a row that we were leading the race at the beginning and had to drop to last,” Palou said. “Maybe next year, we will start in the middle of the field and go on to win the race.

“I know he didn’t do it on purpose. It’s better to let that pass someday.”

Palou said the wild racing at the end was because the downforce package used in Sunday’s race means the drivers have to be aggressive. The front two cars can battle for the victory, but cars back in fourth or fifth place can’t help determine the outcome of the race.

That is when the “Tail of the Dragon” comes into the play.

Franchitti helped celebrate Ericsson’s win in 2022 with his “Tail of the Dragon” zigzag move – something he never had to do in any of his three Indianapolis 500 victories because they all finished under caution.

In 2023, however, IndyCar Race Control wants to make every attempt to finish the race under green, without going past the scheduled distance like NASCAR’s overtime rule.

Instead of extra laps, they stop the race with a red flag, to create a potential green-flag finish condition.

“You do what you have to do to win within the rules, and it’s within the rules, so you do it,” Franchitti said. “The race is 200 laps and there is a balance.

“Marcus did a great job on that restart and so did Josef. It was just the timing of who was where and that was it.

“If you knew it was going to go red, you would have hung back on the lap before.

“Brilliant job by the whole Ganassi organization because it wasn’t looking very good at half-distance.

“Full marks to Josef Newgarden and Team Penske.”

Franchitti is highly impressed by how well Ericsson works with CGR engineer Brad Goldberg and how close this combination came to winning the Indianapolis 500 two-years-in-a-row.

It would have been the first back-to-back Indy 500 winner since Helio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002.

“Oh, he’s a badass,” Franchitti said Ericsson. “He proved it last year. He is so calm all day. What more do you need? As a driver, he’s fast and so calm.”

Ericsson is typically in good spirits and jovial.

He was stern and direct on pit road after the race.

“I did everything right, I did an awesome restart, caught Josef off-guard and pulled away,” Ericsson said on pit lane. “It’s hard to pull away a full lap and he got me back.

“I’m mostly disappointed with the way he ended. I don’t think it was fair and safe to do that restart straight out of the pits on cold tires for everyone.

“To me, it was not a good way to end that race.

“Congrats to Josef. He didn’t do anything wrong. He is a worthy champion, but it shouldn’t have ended like that.”

Palou also didn’t understand the last restart, which was a one-start showdown.

“I know that we want to finish under green,” Palou said. “Maybe the last restart I did, I didn’t understand. It didn’t benefit the CGR team.

“I’m not very supportive of the last one, but anyway.”

Dixon called the red flags “a bit sketchy.”

“The Red Flags have become a theme to the end of the race, but sometimes they can catch you out,” Dixon said. “I know Marcus is frustrated with it.

“All we ask for is consistency. I think they will do better next time.

“It’s a tough race. People will do anything they can to win it and with how these reds fall, you have to be in the right place at the right time. The problem is when they throw a Red or don’t throw a Red dictates how the race will end.

“It’s a bloody hard race to win. Congrats to Josef Newgarden and to Team Penske.”

Follow Bruce Martin on Twitter at @BruceMartin_500