Bahrain Grand Prix – race report

on April 22, 2013 On the track news with 9 comments
Car 1 SEBASTIAN VETTEL, Finish Position: WINNER! Start Position: 2nd
“It was good fun at the beginning with some very tight wheel to wheel racing. At the start you don’t know if you will be quick or not, as everyone is a bit all over the place, including yourself! It’s important to get to the front; we saw at the last race that if you get stuck behind someone then it does have an impact on tyre wear and today it was important to make use of the tyres we had saved from qualifying yesterday. I love to be in clean air, so I was pushing hard to get into the lead and, with the speed we had mid-race, it was quite comfortable today. Well done to the whole team, to everyone here, to the factory in the background and especially to those who were working on the strategy today; it worked just as we expected, so we obviously got the numbers right.”
Car 2 MARK WEBBER, Finish Position: 7th, Start Position: 7th
“The beginning wasn’t too bad, but we lost quite a bit of time in the second stint trying to clear people. We went aggressive on the first few out laps, which meant we jumped people, but the tyres didn’t like it. That meant the second stint was a disaster really in terms of pace at the end and that loaded the other two stints up. In the middle of the race I thought I could get on the podium, but then it was about pace management and it’s a fine line between racing and saving tyres. Others pitted a bit before me at the end, but it wasn’t enough for me to get home. If you race people hard then you run out of tyres, but if you don’t then they come through. In the end it was a pretty good battle with Lewis for both of us; neither of us had any tyres left, but we were trying to race as best we could.”
CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal: “An absolutely impeccable drive from Sebastian today. He executed two brilliant overtakes, one on Fernando and the other on Nico Rosberg. After that he dominated the race until the finish and managed his tyres brilliantly. The strategy worked perfectly with the tyres that we conserved in qualifying, which ended with a dominant win on a three-stop strategy. For Mark, after racing very well in the first stint and making progress through the first round of pit stops, in the second stint he pushed very hard on the first few laps which effectively elevated him into second position. Unfortunately he couldn’t achieve the longevity in that stint, which put him under pressure for the final two. His last stop put him in the range of those on two-stops, and then it was a matter of making it to the end. Despite fighting fantastically well and racing very hard with Lewis, he ran out of rear tyres before the end of the race, but still got some valuable points.”
THIERRY SALVI, Renault: “Today Seb and the team called a perfect race. All the same it wasn’t easy; racing here is tough, with a lack of grip, high temperatures and the humidity was more than expected. Delivering the right engine settings for these conditions and fuel consumption rate while maintaining stability is a careful balance but everything seemed to work well today, although it was a shame Mark lost a couple of positions on the last lap. It’s the 36th win for the Red Bull Racing-Renault partnership, and the 154th for a Renault engine, plus a clean sweep of the podium for the RS27, so there is a lot to be happy about today.
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9 Comments

  • Dec
    on April 22, 2013 Reply

    Why don’t they just give Mark the same car set up and put him on the same strategy? He always seems to get a worse deal

  • Marcus
    on April 22, 2013 Reply

    You were great today Mark, raced well and clean and delivered great TV moments.

    Unfortunately you weren’t given the track position or strategy to get a podium, but with luck it’s all up from here.

    Now can I request you lend me some money so I can get a license and hopefully race for MW Arden or AU Formula 3? Maybe just be a assistent at races?

    *one can hope can’t he…*

  • RAIWOIT Philippe
    on April 22, 2013 Reply

    Have a VERY VERY VERY good race in Spain, Mark! You will be the first, I’m sure!

  • Chris
    on April 22, 2013 Reply

    Congrats on your 200th Mark and irrespective of where you decide to take the rest of driving career, be it F1 or not, you will always be in my eyes, on of the true gents in the sport. From all your fans at the Scottish Parliament – good on you mate. See you in Barcelona x

  • Deborah Bolognesi
    on April 22, 2013 Reply

    Mark, you drove like only true champions can do today!! What a fantastic battle with Lewis in the end, always proud to be your fan! Can’t wait for Barcelona… ciao from Italy

  • stuart
    on April 22, 2013 Reply

    I am actually leaning towards the conspiracy theory
    Why? Because irrespective of tyres and strategy , the MW car has not got the race pace of the SV car. The Lotus, Ferrari, Merc and Mac cars are matched as far as straight line speed go.
    Anyone with me on this?

  • Trevor Parrott
    on April 22, 2013 Reply

    good wheel to wheel racing a lot more fun than just being out front – good luck for the next race from all in oz.

  • Pauline
    on April 22, 2013 Reply

    All Research and Development expenditure is reserved for Sebastian.

  • Adrian
    on May 1, 2013 Reply

    Please please please beat Vettel at the next race. I can’t stand the guy!

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