A thrilling late
charge by Lewis Hamilton rather disguised another underwhelming outing for
Formula One’s new qualifying system for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Hamilton pieced
together the fastest lap ever run here to win his 51st pole after a mistake on
the final lap of his first run had left him in fourth place; behind him on the
grid will be Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg and then the red cars of Sebastian
Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.
The dazzling lights
that illuminated the Sakhir Circuit were needed to keep everyone awake for much
of the time. Formula One has not so much shot itself in the foot as blasted
both its legs off with this latest piece of rule changing, which was
unanimously condemned when it made its debut in Australia last month but lives
on to fight another Sunday and could still be around when the circus moves to
China later in the month.
Jean Todt, the
president of the FIA, was hopeful that a solution could be found at a meeting
to be held before the race. But Bernie Ecclestone, the other little big man at
the head of the sport, was not so sure.
It was another
strange day, even by the surreal standards of Formula One. If anything Q1 and
Q2, which were passable in Melbourne, were more insipid this time. Q3 was
slightly better, first because both Mercedes and Ferrari managed to put in two
runs apiece – Ferrari did just one in Australia – and second because Hamilton
put in one of his trademark blitzes when he was up against it.
Hamilton, who has
won the past two races here, said: “I was really pleased with that lap. It’s
not been a smooth sailing weekend in terms of pace. I was generally struggling
to put laps together and luckily the lap I did put together was the last one.
The car felt great. It’s incredible to think we are quicker than the V10 days.
It shows how far the technology has come.”
Rosberg led the
field after the first run and the Ferraris separated him from Hamilton until
the British driver’s exhilarating thrust gave him the prize. The German driver
looked a tad bewildered when he said: “My lap felt good and I was sure I was on
pole. Lewis put in an incredible lap to beat me. This track is where pole
counts least I think. There are still a lot of opportunities.”
The challenge from
Ferrari faded in the chill of the desert night but Vettel still looked ruefully
content. “I was very happy with the first attempt,” he said “The second attempt
was more or less copy and paste, but that’s not enough if they improve by
five-tenths. Step by step we’re getting there. It’s a long race and let’s see
what happens tomorrow.”
For the rest of us,
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes head of motorsport, rather summed up the experience
when he said: “It was terrible.”
The day started
with a briefing from Todt which lasted for more than hour. He was not a
dictator, he told us, and happy not to be one. But the impression he conveyed
was one of powerlessness at a time when the sport needs leadership..
Later in the day
Ecclestone asked journalists if they had any ideas. But he could not help
having another go at the drivers who questioned the sport’s governance in a
letter following the race in Melbourne. He said: “What interest do drivers have
apart from taking money out of the sport? I’ve never seen one put one dollar
in. You go for dinner with them and they don’t even pay the bill. They
shouldn’t even be allowed to talk. They should get in the car and drive it.”
He didn’t seem too
impressed by the teams either. He said: “We shouldn’t ask their opinion. We
should have the FIA write the regulations and then we ask them if they want to
enter. And tell them if they don’t want to, don’t.”
He still found time
to have another dig at the sport in general. “I got slaughtered because I said
I wouldn’t buy a ticket for a Formula One race. Which is true. Because I know
full well before I go to the race who is going to be first, who is going to be
second. What am I going to sit in the bloody grandstand for? With the wife and
two kids. Or somebody else’s wife. To see what? Mercedes are so good they
qualify first and second and finish the race first and second.” There were few
dissenters.
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