***SPOILER***Qualifying Bahrain

After listening to Massa's comments, maybe his fuel level is not so different from RK after all. I assumed the tightness of their times on both qualifying runs indicated a heavy vs. light load, however it sounds like he had traffic problems. Of course, I'd imagine everybody would have to deal with that.

It'll be interesting tomorrow. Maybe the Kimster will end up being the winner in the end...the three guys in front of him are most likely running with less fuel than he is.

 

EEk, not the result I was after!

Still congrats on BMW's 1st Pole finally we have a 3rd team.

Lets hope he doesn't stuff up the start! (well let Massa pass, but not Lewis )

 

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Damn, you're fast.

I'd love to counter with a pic I found in a spezial fan mag about the team, but I don't have my scanner with me right now.

 

+1

 

Great job, Kubica!

 

great job by ice cube! he missed an pole in Aussie, at least he's on pole now. will be interesting to see what Kimster can do tomoro. i assume that the top 3 drivers are on light fuel, Kimster was always on the heavier side since practise 1.

 

I dont think Kimi has that much more fuel. Massa probably has more as he was so much faster all weekend that he may have added a bit too much and missed poll because of it. We will see tomorrow morning.

 

i doubt that. Massa was quoted saying that he and Kimi were both on 'different programs' during practise. i reckon that Massa's lighter...

 

well done bmw and kubica. im still guessing he might be running a bit light on fuel but we'll see what happens. the grid looks spaced out very well for an exciting GP tomorrow I cannot wait!

 

I doubt that as well simply because Massa was very disappointed in the post qualy interview and mentioned something about traffic etc. It sounded like he expected the pole.

 

I agree. I think the team knows Massa performs best without any cars around him to deal with and the goal is to get him on pole at all costs. Clearly he was very disappointed in P2. The further back he starts, the less likely he is to finish the race, let alone score points. The kid is definitely quick against the stopwatch, but just can't hold himself together in traffic. Kubica is probably also light on fuel so it will be an interesting drag race to the first corner, with heavy Hami and Kimi keeping an eye on things from behind.

 

Good point Steve.

Congratulations Robert. Surprising and well deserved pole .

 

Great job for the Pole to be on Pole, good lap by Massa as well.

 

Brian, from autosport:




Felipe Massa believes a small error at the end of his final flying lap cost him pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver lost out to BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica by just 0.027 seconds, the Pole securing his and his team's first Formula One pole position.

Massa had to settle for second place after going slightly wide near the end of his flying lap.

The Brazilian was disappointed to miss out on the top spot but, having been strong all weekend, he reckons he is in a good position for tomorrow's race.

"Definitely I lost," Massa said of his error. "I did incredible laps during the whole weekend and the car was perfect all the time.

"In Q3 it was the only time I was behind cars and I did the first try, which was a pretty good laptime as I was the whole lap behind Nico (Rosberg) and it was a shame as I managed to get a big gap and he got past me and I was behind him. And the second lap I was in traffic.

"It was a shame as I had a great car and I think we can be very strong tomorrow."

Teammate Kimi Raikkonen will start from fourth place, behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

 

Seems to me the video of Massa and Kubica wheel-to-wheel in Japan would be enough to disprove that time-worn and faulty belief...

See: http://www.c00lstuff.com/934/Massa_vs__Kubica_in_Japanese_F1_GP__last_lap_/

Not sure too many people realize the "headroom" required to process not only a) driving an F1 car but b) in the rain with no visibility and c) thinking strategically to beat the guy you're racing with by calculating a few chess moves ahead.

He'll be fine.

 

Form the past, Felipe and Massa usually pit within a couple of laps of each other, we're just guessing about their fuel loads, they seem very similar. Seems like Massa qualifies better than Raikkonen, Raikkonen does slightly better during the race. But then Phil's motivation Sunday will be interesting to watch.

The only thing that would cost Felipe his job is if he takes out his teammate.

 

"Felipe and Massa pit within a couple of laps of each other" Ron, I think you have identified a weakness in FM's pit strategy.

 

Yeah, running other driver off the road shows mental ability. Add a gun and it's raod rage or just poor driving.

 

I don't know, I think another opening lap unforced error might serve him poorly...

 

+1
He was very disappointed indeed. He almost sounded worried.
I sure hope he can keep it on the track tomorrow. My fingers and my toes will be crossed...






yes, I know that's hard to do.