The Small Picture
Away from the big issues of championships and race wins, a thing I find great to see personally has been Felipe Massas resurgence to form. After a difficult time in 2012, he has really flourished again with a strong finish to 2012 and start to 2013 with three solid qualifying sessions, beating Alonso in two of them, and points finishes in all three races so far. As a Felipe fan this really makes me smile and also helps Ferrari build a significant championship challenge for this season. Long may it continue. Looking Ahead
With Bahrain just a week away, theres little time for the teams to regroup and find extra pace before the next race is upon us. With four teams clearly competitive at the front of the grid and hot conditions awaiting them, its hard to predict who might have the edge. With the Lotus light on its tyres and the heat gifting them grip, Kimi may again excel in the tough conditions of the desert, or if this weekend is anything to go by then Fernando Alonso will be a strong contender, especially given the powerful Ferrari engine at his disposal. With Bahrain being particularly hard on tyres last time we visited, Mercedes may find themselves struggling to make them last, and Red Bull with their fundamentally higher levels of downforce may find it works against them. With its long straights, McLaren may find they can limit the damage by using their strong Mercedes engine to make up for their lack of pace with straight-line speed. Deep down theyll likely wish for an unlikely rainstorm to intervene. Strategy is again likely to play an important part in the outcome of the race next weekend to close the opening of the fly-away season. Webber and Gutierrez will have a three and five place grid penalties respectively for Bahrain for causing accidents during the Chinese Grand Prix. Whilst several other drivers were investigated for overtaking under yellow flags and using DRS in yellow flag zones, none of the drivers were penalised following a post-race investigation Bahrain will be the last race before the return to Europe and a raft of major updates to all the teams, particularly with their aerodynamic packages. For some of the teams it clearly cant come quickly enough. Lastly, I will hope that theres no trouble surrounding the event in Bahrain, an area of the world that is still undergoing significant change and turmoil. Formula 1 might have its own politics, but it shouldnt be included of those of the world as some kind of statement.