Formula One 2010: It’s Ferrari at Bahrain
Finally, the F1 season has begun, and as usual it’s a delight to listen to the revving of engines at 15,000+ rpm, screeching of tyres, pit stop poker and what have you! 
There is a whole new set of drivers and teams this year, not to mention some radical new changes and regulations too. Just to quickly touch upon some of them;
The most significant change of all is the ban on refuelling during a race. Cars will now be equipped with a larger fuel tank ~ 250 litres or so. This will also change the bodywork and structure of the car, not to mention the weight distribution. Pit stops will be allowed only for tyre changes. I think this will be the single biggest killjoy of all changes, simply because when to refuel, how much fuel to start with, how many stops etc used to contribute hugely to the strategy aspect. This will also eliminate a key differentiator among teams in terms of ‘pit lane poker’ and keeping the competition guessing.
Usage of KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) has been disallowed in this season. The number of dry tyres any driver may use has been decreased from 14 to 11 sets per weekend. During qualifying, a driver who participates in Q3 must start the race on the same tyres he used to set his grid time.
This year will see 12 teams – 24 cars take part, so from the qualifying perspective, seven are to be eliminated in Q1 and Q2, leaving the top ten to battle for pole in Q3.
Another BIG change is in the points allocation and scoring system – from the earlier one where the top eight got 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point to the present system, where the top ten will get 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 point. I’m not sure if this makes any sense other than providing an incentive to more drivers who finish the race. However, on a positive note, I’m happy to see a significant gap between the #1 and #2 scores. There HAS to be a premium on winning the race and the previous system even rewarded a driver who rarely won a race but consistently finished #2.
The actual race of course marked the return of Ferrari to the top of the leaderboard after a lacklustre 2009. Fernando Alonso, driving a Ferrari for the first time, joined Nigel Mansell and Kimi Raikkonen as the only other drivers to win on their Ferrari debut. This Grand Prix also marked the return of the maestro, Michael Schumacher, well into his 40s now, as he came out of retirement to race in a Mercedes. It was quite strange NOT to see him in the all too familiar scarlet Ferrari colours. 
Initially, the race seemed to be a cakewalk for Sebastian Vettel until problems with the Red Bull forced him to slow his pace, letting both Alonso and Massa through. Some 3-4 laps later, even Hamilton passed him and a podium finish, that was his for the taking, literally evaporated as Hamilton then pulled away lap after lap. I was hoping that problems with Vettel’s car and a minor scare for Hamilton (some vibrations in the car) could force both cars to pull out, leaving the way for Rosberg and Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes to come up the points.
Another debutant, India’s Karun Chandhok, had a totally forgettable outing, crashing his HRT on the second lap itself. Ferrari now lead the championship with 43 points, ahead of McLaren on 21, Mercedes GP on 18 and Red Bull on 16. Alonso leads the driver’s standings with 25 points, followed by Massa on 18, Hamilton on 15, Vettel on 12, Rosberg on 10 and Schumacher on 8.
Here’s looking forward to the next one in Melbourne on March, 28 now.
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