A very good start for the Italian manufacturer in the 2010 F1 World Championship with a one-two finish for Alonso and Massa in the Bahrain F1 GP yesterday.
Fernando Alonso finished first after completing 49 Laps in 1:39.20.396 followed by Felipe Massa that ended the race in 1:39.36.495. A very important victory for Alonso as this was hes first race with the Prancing Horse as well as for Massa who recovered very well after last year’s accident in Budapest.
The 3rd podium position belonged to Lewis Hamilton and even though it is to early to make speculations we think Ferrari and McLaren Mercedes might be among favorites at wining the F1 World Title this year.
As for Michael Schumacher, after a 3 season absence from F1, he managed to finish on the 6th position, followed by Jenson Button si Mark Webber.
2010 Season Formula 1 Results after Bahrain’s Grand Prix.
1 – Fernando Alonso – Ferrari – 25 Points
2 – Felipe Massa – Ferrari – 18 Points
3 – Lewis Hamilton – McLaren-Mercedes – 15 Points
4 – Sebastian Vettel – RedBull – 12 Points
5 – Nico Rosberg – MercedesGP – 10 Points
6 – Michael Schumacher – MercedesGP – 8 Points
7 – Jenson Button – McLaren-Mercedes – 6 Points
8 – Mark Webber – RebBull – 4 Points
9 – Vitantonio Liuzzi – ForceIndia – 2 Points
10 – Rubens Barrichello – Williams – 1 Points
2010 F1 Season – Team Results after Bahrains Grand Prix
1 – Ferrari – 43 Poins
2 – McLaren-Mercedes – 21 Poins
3 – MercedesGP – 18 Poins
4 – RedBull – 16 Poins
5 – ForceIndia – 2 Poins
6 – Williams – 1 Poins
7 – Renault – 0 Poins
8 – Toro Rosso – 0 Poins
9 – Lotus F1 – 0 Poins
10 – Sauber F1 – 0 Poins
Ferrari press release :
F. Alonso 1st 1:39.20.396 -, 49 Laps, Chassis 283
F. Massa 2nd 1:39.36.495 +16.099, 49 Laps, Chassis 281
Weather: air temperature 34 °C, track temperature 47°C, sunny.
A
one-two finish for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in the Bahrain Grand Prix,
the opening round of the 2010 World Championship. Fernando Alonso
finished first on his race debut with the Prancing Horse, while Felipe
Massa came second on his comeback after the accident in Budapest last
year. This is victory number 211 for the Scuderia from 794 Grand Prix
starts, the fourth in the seven editions of this race. For Fernando, it
is win number twenty two from 141 Grand Prix starts, his third at the
Sakhir circuit.
Stefano Domenicali: “A
fantastic start to the championship! This amazing one-two is just
reward for all the work of the team, both at the track and the factory
in Maranello, over these past few months and I dedicate the result to
them. Today, we had to manage a very complicated situation with
Felipe’s car, because of the high temperatures, but we did it and I was
very happy to see our driver on the podium on what was a very special
day for him. As for Fernando, what can I say? There could be no better
way for him to start his adventure in red! I also want to thank our
technical and commercial partners, first and foremost Philip Morris and
Shell, who have always supported us, even in the most difficult times
and I think there is no better way to also welcome on board a new
important sponsor like the Santander Bank. Now we can enjoy this
wonderful day for a few hours, but as from tomorrow, we must start
preparing for the next round in Australia, adopting our usual approach
which involves keeping calm, with our feet on the ground and working
hard. We have a very long season ahead of us, in which reliability will
be crucial, as indeed we saw yet again today and where we will be
fighting very strong and determined adversaries.”
Fernando Alonso:
“I want to dedicate this victory to President Montezemolo, who believed
in me and to our mechanics who did a really great job, especially this
morning, when they changed the engine on my car in a very short time.
Jumping onto the top step of the podium was a special feeling and I
hope I have matched the expectations of the whole team. We worked so
much this winter and now we are beginning to see the results of that.
The first races of the season are very important: we must get to the
European part of the year with a lot of points in the bag and a high
level of understanding of how the tyres work at various types of track.
The key to winning will be to continue to develop the car race by race.
Today, on the harder tyres, we went very well, but with the softer
ones, I was struggling a bit to stay close to Vettel. I was planning to
attack in the final ten laps, but luck gave me a hand: you always need
a bit in every race. At the start, I got away well, making the most of
being on the clean side of the track and I managed to pass Felipe,
going for a space that was big enough to pull off the move without any
risk. Then I was lucky not to have any problems with the car, while my
team-mate had a more difficult time and had to ease up a bit. Now it’s
time to think about Australia. We will see who has the best car at that
track, but I think the four top teams will all be in the fight.”
Felipe Massa: “I
am very happy with this result and I want to thank all the team and our
fans. It is my best opening race of a season since I started in Formula
1 and, given all the problems we had, I am very pleased. We had to
manage the temperatures on the car and, for around thirty laps, I was
not able to push as hard as I could. At the start, I lost a place to
Alonso, but then the car worked well with both types of tyre. With the
softer tyres, the Red Bull was quicker than us, but on the harder ones
we were much better. I want to thank one more time all those who have
been close to me over these past months, writing and sending me
messages. Now we must look to Australia to be as well prepared as
possible.”
Chris Dyer: “A
fantastic result for the whole team. We worked so hard over the winter
– in the wind tunnel, in the design office, the engine department, on
track, everywhere –and today we reaped our reward. It was a great
welcome for Fernando and an equally nice welcome back for Felipe: it
would be hard to have asked for more in the first race. It was not an
easy weekend, because we had to tackle a whole series of problems which
we controlled thanks to the efforts of everyone at the track and back
home, but I really hope we have fewer of them in the future. Because of
the high temperatures, we were not able to run the race we wanted, but
especially with Felipe, we had to adopt a very conservative approach,
although I don’t think we were the only ones faced with that particular
difficulty.”
15 Mar 2010
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