21/04/2012
NEWS STORY
Ahead of today's practice session the air temperature is 27 degrees C, while the track temperature is 39 degrees. The big problem this morning is the strong wind which is blowing dust and sand everywhere, in places visibility is quite poor. There was talk of a sandstorm, as there was yesterday, but it appears to have passed by.
While Nico Rosberg was quickest yesterday, there is a general opinion that the Mercedes will not be as competitive here. This is due to the fact that drivers are unable to use their DRS here as much as they did in China. Consequently, without the benefit of its double-DRS system Mercedes will struggle to get the best qualifying positions and will therefore start further down the field leaving the German cars running in the dirty air of others and thereby pushing their tyres that little bit harder.
Stefano Domenicali has admitted that his drivers will be lucky to make it to Q3 today therefore it appears to be a simple case of McLaren versus Red Bull with the Woking outfit the obvious favourites.
There's always a lot of hype in F1, but when drivers say that tyres are crucial here they mean it.
Pastor Maldonado will take a five-place grid penalty after Williams opted to change the gearbox on his car, much like Lewis Hamilton suffered in China, and we all know how much that cost him.
There were violent clashes in Manama between police and protestors during the night however, thus far there are no reports of F1 personnel getting caught up in it. Nonetheless, the atmosphere in the paddock is palpable.
Having missed yesterday's second practice session for "logistical reasons" it remains to be seen whether Force India will suffer, however, the fact is that few blame the Silverstone outfit for its stance and everyone will be glad when the event is over and they can get out of here.
Behind the big guns, Sauber and Lotus appeared well matched yesterday, ahead of Toro Rosso, with Williams disappointing.
Tyre options are medium and soft, while the sole DRS activation zone is on the main straight.
Vergne is first out when the lights go green, followed by Ricciardo, Perez and Glock. "Cross wind on the main straight and tail wind into Turn 4," Pic is told. Webber and Button are among the early risers.
Seven minutes into the session, everyone has been out, most drivers reporting that grip is worse than yesterday.
Di Resta is the first driver to post a time, the Scot crossing the line at 1:41.356. Moments later teammate Hulkenberg posts a far more respectable 36.481. Both are on prime (mediums)… naturally.
Di Resta raises the benchmark with a 35.698 as the rest of the field looks on, content to allow the Force Indias to help clean the track. Glock and Pic head down the pitlane, followed by Raikkonen.
Having gone quickest in S2, Raikkonen crosses the line at 35.239 to go quickest, as Pic goes fourth ahead of his Marussia teammate.
A 35.116 sees Grosjean go quickest, however, Raikkonen quickly re-takes the top spot with a 34.807. Senna posts 44.531 to go seventh.
At 40:28, Hamilton leaves the McLaren garage as Grosjean posts 34.401. Perez goes fourth and Kobayashi fifth.
As the Mercedes duo head down the pitlane they are warned that it's "quite windy". Elsewhere, Ricciardo runs wide.
Having gone quickest in S3, Vergne goes third overall with a 34.977, while Rosberg and Schumacher both makes mistakes at Turn 1 and run wide.
Webber goes fourth with a 35.237, Button ninth (35.582), Rosberg fifteenth and Schumacher nineteenth.
As Hamilton goes eighth (35.456) and Vergne runs wide, Schumacher is told to "beware throttle/brake overlap". The German subsequently posts 34.552 to go second ahead of Webber and Vettel.
As Vettel goes quickest in S1, with 32:00 remaining, still no times from Maldonado, de la Rosa or the Ferrari duo. Vettel crosses the line at 34.225 while Rosberg posts 34.938 to go sixth.
At half-time, it's: Vettel, Grosjean, Schumacher, Webber, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Vergne, Button, di Resta and Hamilton. The top eight are covered by 0.769s.
On his first flying lap Alonso goes eighteenth and teammate Massa twentieth. We've yet to see the option tyres make an appearance.
In the Lotus garage Raikkonen has a little more front wing added to counter his understeer.
Vergne is the first driver to switch to the option rubber, while in the Mercedes garage Schumacher is sitting waiting, his car fitted with the softer tyres.
No surprises that Vergne posts a PB in S1 and again in S2, even though one might have expected at least one purple. Following a poor final sector, in which he runs wide at Turn 14, the Frenchman fails to improve. His subsequent lap compromised, he eases off.
Schumacher is on track on softs, as are Rosberg, Hamilton, Ricciardo and Senna.
Schumacher goes quickest in S1 as Ricciardo goes quickest overall, the Toro Rosso driver posting a 34.197. Moments later, Schumacher crosses the line at 33.796 despite losing time in the final sector.
Rosberg goes quickest in S1 and again in S2, at the line the Shanghai winner posts 33.254 having done the treble. Replay shows he made a minor mistake on that lap, so one has to wonder what he has in reserve.
Hamilton splits the Mercedes with a 33.782, while Vettel continues on the primes.
All the usual suspects at the bottom of the timesheets, along with Massa, Hulkenberg, Maldonado and Alonso.
A big lock-up for Hamilton while Vettel runs wide in Turn 13. Button is on track on options.
With 13:00 on the clock drivers are now focussing on qualifying, though we've yet to see the Red Bulls on options. Come to that, we've yet to see the Lotus or Saubers and Ferraris on the softer rubber.
A PB for JB in S1, while at the second split he's 0.550s down on Rosberg. At the line the Englishman posts a 33.899 to go fourth. Kobayashi goes eleventh with a 35.128.
In the Red Bull garage mechanics are working on Vettel's car which appears to have an overheating problem. The German is one of ten drivers yet to run on the softer rubber.
Difference of opinion at Sauber, Perez is happy with his car while teammate Kobayashi isn't.
On his first lap on the softer rubber Raikkonen goes fifth (33.976), as Grosjean and Perez begin their first laps.
Alonso improves from fifteenth to tenth, Domenicali's warning appearing to ring true as Massa improves from nineteenth to fifteenth.
Webber, now on softs, posts a PB in S1, while at the second split he's just 0.308s off the pace. At the line the Australian posts 33.663 to go second, 0.409s off the pace.
All eyes on Vettel who is back on track and on softs. At the first split he's 0.146s down on Rosberg, and by the second the deficit is 0.143 despite having to overtake a slower car. He crosses the line at 33.401, just 0.147s off Rosberg's time, a great lap from the world champion.
With over a minute on the clock, Rosberg is already out of his car, smiling and chatting with his engineers.
The session ends with Rosberg quickest, ahead of Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Schumacher, Button, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Grosjean and Alonso.
Maldonado is eleventh, ahead of Vergne, Perez, Kobayashi, di Resta, Massa, Senna, Kovalainen, Hulkenberg, Petrov, Pic, Glock, de la Rosa and Karthikeyan.
Rosberg does appear to have the edge, but will clearly have a fight on his hands this afternoon. Surprisingly however, this looks more likely to come from Red Bull than McLaren. Then again, write off Nico's teammate at your peril.