BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - POST RACE SUMMARY
GRID STOPS (LAP) BEST LAP RESULT
N ROSBERG P8 2 (17, 40) 1:34.072, 6th 8th
K NAKAJIMA P16 1 (32) 1:35.433, 17th 14th
SYNOPSIS
After minor reliability issues had compromised track time
and thereby the optimisation of set-up two weeks before in
Malaysia, the AT&T Williams team came to Bahrain with
a clear ambition to manage their weekend preparations without
undue interruption. This goal was met, with both cars having
a full 180 minutes of potential track time in the Friday sessions.
Between the morning and afternoon sessions, significant set-up
changes were made to both Kazuki’s and Nico’s
car and by the close of the first day of the meeting, both
drivers declared themselves satisfied with the progress made.
On Saturday morning Nico Rosberg, running on new tyres and
low fuel, was able to set the fastest time of the session,
but it was understood that on a longer run the competitiveness
required to be at the top of the time sheets would be much
more of a challenge.
Qualifying was relatively straightforward tactically, with
no interruptions or flags that required run plans to be altered
on the fly. Rosberg held station in P8 in all three qualifying
sessions, somewhat less competitive than perhaps both driver
and team had hoped for given the morning practice. By the
time fuel had been added for Q3, Nico’s Q2 time that
would have given him pole increased by almost two seconds
and he would line up on the fourth row of the grid on Sunday.
Kazuki, by his own admission, was disappointed by his qualifying
form, albeit that in only his fourth race it would have been
difficult to progress into Q3 when his more experienced team
mate had managed to finish the day in only P8. Based on the
qualifying outcome, the strategists elected to send Kazuki
on a one-stop strategy and Nico on a more conventional two-stop
plan for the race.
Unfortunately for Nakajima, his anti-stall system kicked
in off the line and relegated him down towards the back of
the field. Trying to recover his poor start, he hit the oil
on lap two which caused a number of drivers problems in the
early part of the first stint. Rosberg claimed a place from
the start and held P7 until the first round of stops where
he was unfortunately jumped by Webber in the Red Bull. This
was due to Webber having a free choice of pit strategy after
starting outside the top 10, and then getting past Alonso
following the Renault driver’s clash with Hamilton.
Knowing that, it would have been better to have run longer
in the first stint, but that decision is made on Saturday
afternoon if you’re in the top 10. Ultimately, Rosberg
claimed a point finishing in eighth, while Kazuki pitted on
his one stop plan on lap 32 and ran to the flag to finish
fourteenth.
TYRES & FUEL
Nico Rosberg Medium-Soft-Soft Stop 1: lap 17, stop 2: lap
40
Kazuki Nakajima Medium-Soft Stop 1: lap 32
SYSTEMS & RELIABILITY
The team’s two FW30s ran reliably throughout all the
sessions in Sakhir. Both cars ran new engines for the Bahrain
Grand Prix and both completed their third race in succession
on the same transmission (regulatory requirement is to complete
four races in a row).
NEXT EVENTS
The team will travel to Barcelona next week for a four day
test commencing on Monday 14th April. Kazuki Nakajima will
run on days one and four, with team mate Nico Rosberg undertaking
testing duties on days two and three. The team will use the
test to validate a number of new developments, both aero and
mechanical, to come to the car for the start of the European
season.
SAM MICHAEL
“Although we managed to avoid any reliability issues
compromising our preparation, this will remain a watching
brief for obvious reasons. There is no room for complacency
with reliability. Our focus as always is on improving performance
and that’s what we are doing now we are back in Europe.
We have a good number of new releases coming to the car for
the start of the European season which we will test in Barcelona
next week.”
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