2008 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX RESULT
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Heikki Kovalainen finished the Bahrain Grand Prix in fifth position. After 57 laps (308.238 kms), Heikki came home 26.7 seconds behind winner Felipe Massa and set the fastest lap of the race with 1m33.193. Lewis had to make an early and unscheduled pit stop (11.5 seconds) after an incident on lap two with Fernando Alonso and finished 13th. Heikki was on a two-stop strategy and came in on laps 21 (9.4 seconds) and 47 (7 seconds). Lewis made only one routine halt on lap 31 (9.9 seconds). After the third of 18 Grands Prix, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is third in the Constructors’ Championship with 28 points. Lewis is third in the drivers’ rankings with 14 points.
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
“Quite a tough race today. I made a great start and overtook Kimi coming into Turn Two but then outbraked myself in Turn Four and he regained his position. I then went in too deep at Turn Eight and flatspotted my front right tyre which caused a lot of vibration. It vibrated so much that I was worried something would fall off the car. Things improved in the second stint and the car worked really well towards the end when we changed to the prime tyre. Fifth was the maximum I could do today. However we still scored points on a difficult day, and that is the main thing. I have total commitment to the team and a good car, and I know we will keep working hard to improve for the start of the European races.”
LEWIS HAMILTON
“I am really disappointed and feel like I let the team down today as I always am the first to blame myself. The whole weekend has not been ideal starting with the accident on Friday, but I will keep my chin up and bounce back at the next race. I messed up at the start as I didn’t hit the switch early enough and therefore had not engaged the correct engine setting, and the anti stall kicked in. I lost a lot of places but things were still salvageable at that point. Then I had the incident with Fernando. I was behind him, and I moved to the right, and he moved to the right and that was it – a racing incident I guess. I am confident that we have the pace to be fighting at the front so the confidence is still there. I have had such a good run in Formula 1 until now, and it was almost inevitable that at some point things would go wrong. However there is a long way to go in the Championship and I intend to win it.”
2008 Bahrain Grand Prix Preview
Race three of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship takes place in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team arrives at the Bahrain International Circuit leading the Constructors’ table with a total of 24 points. Lewis and Heikki are first and fourth in the Drivers’ standings with 14 and 10 points respectively.
The Bahrain Grand Prix is the first Formula 1 World Championship race to be held in the Middle East, the track was officially opened on 17th March 2004 prior to the inaugural race, which took place on 4th April 2004. This race, which was won by Michael Schumacher, was given the award for the 'Best Organised Grand Prix' by the FIA.
LEWIS HAMILTON
The Bahrain International Circuit was purpose built for Formula 1 with the aim of creating exciting racing. Can you talk us through the track layout, specifically the overtaking opportunities?
"Bahrain is a really cool circuit; it is quite different to any other because you are literally driving round the desert. There are no trees or buildings as you are driving round, just desert. I really like the track, there are a lot of opportunities to overtake for example turns one, four, seven, and ten. With all the straights you can do a lot of slipstreaming and then make sure you get good exits. So in terms of racing it is a very good track. The layout is a great design, starting off with a very long straight, then down to a very tight first gear corner and then you accelerate through a slight kink before going up another long straight. It is a curvy circuit with lots of kinks and gradient changes that are quite large in some areas. Also the wind plays a big part bringing sand onto the track that means any part that is off line is very slippery. It is very hot in Bahrain, as with Australia and Malaysia, so it is ideal that these three are together at the beginning as they are all very physically demanding and you can prepare for them all at one time."
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
Bahrain is renowned for wind and the surrounding sand, how do both these factors affect the track conditions?
"The most obvious thing is that the sand makes the grip level lower and the tyres do not bite to the tarmac quite as well and it can be slippery in places. The track evolution also is quite high at Bahrain because when we start driving round the track, the sand flies away. It also puts some more stress on the engines, as there can be some dust in the air that goes into the engine. The weather is also quite changeable, and I guess this can happen very quickly because we are in the desert."
For more details go to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes website.