Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2012: Race Report - Nico Rosberg 5th, Michael Schumacher 10th

Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher both scored points in the Bahrain Grand Prix today as the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS pair finished the 57-lap race in fifth and tenth places respectively.

• Nico had a hard-fought race, running in P9 through the opening stint, then gaining places as the race unfolded
• He completed three stops on laps 8, 22 and 36 running an option/option/prime/prime tyre strategy
• Starting from P22, Michael climbed 12 positions through the field over the course of the race to finish in P10
• Michael made three stops on laps 9, 23 and 37, also running an option/option/prime/prime strategy
 • The team averaged 22.216 seconds in the pit lane over six pit stops, with Michael the day’s fastest three-stopper

Nico Rosberg
“I had a pretty bad first lap today, but after that I was able to recover and get the most of our race. We had a good strategy and the pace of the car was pretty strong compared to the start of the season, although it was difficult to make progress as there were a lot of cars fighting for the same positions. Overall I’m happy with our weekend as fifth place gives me a few more points and I can see that we are making progress. Now we have a short break where we can work hard in the factory ready for the start of the European season. Before that, I’m looking forward to visiting the DTM opening race in Hockenheim next Saturday. It’s my first chance to return to Germany after two good weekends, particularly of course the win in China, and I look forward to celebrating that together with our fans.”

Michael Schumacher
“Considering where I started the race today, it’s a positive that I was able to fight up to 10th place, score a point and finish a dry race this season. The tyres obviously played a large part in the race today, and in the conditions here, we had to adapt the driving style to keep the tyres together. It will be good to have the time now before Barcelona to sort out some issues and prepare our updates for the test days in Mugello. Next weekend, the DTM starts in Hockenheim and I am looking forward to my first visit to a DTM race for twenty years.”

Ross Brawn
“That was a tough but ultimately rewarding race today. Nico didn’t get the best of starts and lost some positions which made the early part of the race difficult, but he had a very good drive to fight his way back up to fifth place. Michael did well to recover a point in 10th place, considering that he started at the back of the grid in 22nd. We saw again today that if you get the car right on the day, it makes a great deal of difference, with Red Bull and Lotus clearly getting their cars in better shape than we did. We will learn more lessons from today, however we made the best of what we had so I’m reasonably happy. Now we can look forward to some time back at the factory to improve the car before the next race.”

Norbert Haug
“Having started fifth, Nico was running in ninth by the end of lap one. More than to recover to fifth place was not possible afterwards. Following Nico´s victory in China, we handled the tyres quite well on this track in hotter temperatures, and we showed that we have a good base to work from. Michael came home in 10th place after starting in 22nd, which is a good result considering the extremely high level of competition this year. We are now looking forward to the next race in Barcelona where MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS will, like most of the teams, introduce upgrades which will be evaluated during the Mugello test.”

~ Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS ~

Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2012: Qualifying Report - Nico Rosberg 5th, Michael Schumacher 18th

Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher will start the Bahrain Grand Prix from fifth and 18th places following today’s qualifying hour.

• Nico qualified fifth and will start on the third row, having completed a single run in each qualifying session
• Nico is the only top-five starter to have a fresh set of option tyres available for tomorrow´s race
• Michael was knocked out in Q1 after a DRS failure on his quickest lap cost him around half a second
• The top 18 cars in Q1 were separated by just 1.051s, and eight different teams are represented in the top ten for the race

Nico Rosberg
“In general, I felt very comfortable during qualifying today. However, as we have been focusing on our race pace, there is always a compromise in the qualifying set-up. I think that I’m in a good position for the race for tomorrow. I am the only driver in the top five who has a set of new option tyres which can be very useful at this circuit. It will be very important to drive carefully, and find the right tyre management in the race, as the conditions are very tough out there.”

Michael Schumacher
“I am obviously very disappointed to have qualified in 18th position on the grid for a race which looks to be quite competitive for us. Unfortunately on my fast lap, which was looking quite good, my DRS broke in the last sector. We tried to fix it in the garage but were not able to go out again. Trying for a lap without DRS on different tyres would not have made sense. We now have to try to see what we can do from here and push as much as possible.”

Ross Brawn
“A session of mixed fortunes for the team this afternoon. In Q3, we made the strategic decision for Nico to do just one lap and, although his starting position is not optimum, he is the only driver in the top five to have a new set of option tyres available. This could prove valuable in the race, and we will learn tomorrow if our strategic decision pays off. Looking to Michael, he experienced a failure of the DRS rear wing flap, just before he entered the back straight on what would have been his quickest lap. This cost him around half a second, and with little more than a second separating the top 17 cars in Q1, that proved decisive. Unfortunately, we were unable to repair the system in time for him to run again, and he was bumped down to P18 at the very last moment. It will be a long and interesting race tomorrow, in demanding conditions, and we will look to make the most of our opportunities to achieve the strongest possible team result.”

Norbert Haug
“From the outset, our focus at this circuit, where tyre usage and availability of new tyres are crucial, was to be in a good position in that respect during the race on Sunday. We think this is even more important here than on the three circuits that we have already raced at this year. As a consequence, Nico completed just one run in Q3 in order to save a set of fresh options for tomorrow. We knew that this strategy would likely compromise his position on the grid. However, knowing that we will be well-placed tomorrow on the tyre front, I am convinced that this was the right thing to do. Last year, there were occasions when we were more than one and a half seconds behind pole position. Today, with one attempt compared to the two made by the teams ahead of us, we are behind pole by not quite four tenths. We are heading in the right direction, and our team is working in a focused and systematic way in order to achieve our targets. I feel sorry for Michael who had the pace for a good starting position, as he has proven with a fourth place and two third places in Q3 at the previous races. A problem with the rear wing mechanism prevented him from getting a good result - but he can achieve this tomorrow. Michael showed good pace during our long runs and he will be well equipped with fresh tyres. After our great result last weekend with Nico securing pole on Saturday and victory on Sunday, I am quite happy with our performance this weekend so far. Our team has demonstrated that we can be competitive in quite different circumstances. Well done Sebastian on your pole today.”

~ Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS ~

Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2012: Friday's Free Practice Report (MBAMGF1)

The first two practice sessions for the Bahrain Grand Prix took place today at the Sakhir International Circuit.

• The team completed a total of 106 laps in the two practice sessions today - nearly two race distances
• The focus was on comparing and understanding tyre performance in much hotter conditions than in China last week
• Six Mercedes-Benz powered drivers finished in the top seven in P1; and four in the top six in the afternoon session

Nico Rosberg
“That was a good start to the weekend, and whilst it’s nice to be quickest today, we know that doesn’t count. The most important thing still is to improve our race pace. For the moment, it looks reasonable but we need to analyse where we are on high fuel levels compared to our competitors and draw our conclusions. The conditions are really tough out there, so the race will be quite demanding from the tyre perspective.”

Michael Schumacher
“We started well today, and our long runs are satisfying as well as our overall times. Unfortunately I could not complete my fast lap properly due to traffic. We will have to see what the outcome will be tomorrow and on Sunday as the tyres go away very quickly. You really have to stay within the limit of them, that´s going to be the main issue. Let´s see what we can make out of it but the start of the weekend has definitely not been too bad for us.”

Ross Brawn
“We had a very solid day of practice here today, completing some good work on both low and high fuel. We made some progress over the day with the set-up of the car, there were no issues and, all in all, it was a very reasonable day. We’ve done our homework and know what our priorities are, so that should enable us to work out what we want to tomorrow.”

Norbert Haug
“We had a pretty good first day learning quite a lot about the big challenge of how to use the tyres in the best possible way and make them last during the necessary number of laps in the race. There was more grip in the second session which helped. We still have room for improvement but I think our team has a good understanding of what will be required here on Sunday. Having said that, it is much too early to judge where we are compared to our competitors.”

~ Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS ~

Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.