Poll: Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 - Race 1

Rate the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix out of ten

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Mr Jack

Mr Jack

Mr Jack

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First race of the season! Are we excited, folks?

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For those without Sky:
CSMonkeh said:
Channel 4 qualifying highlights 7:30 Saturday
Race also 7:30
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(@Shimmy indicated that he didn't want to continue making these threads so I've made this one, I don't intend to replace Shimmy in doing this every time and I'm also nowhere near as enthusiastic about adding detail)
 
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Predictions?

Having watched all 3 days of the Bahrain testing, I'll go with the boring predictable Red Bull > Ferrari >>> Merc > McLaren/Haas/Aston Martin

Adrian Newey's (and Teams!) extremely well executed design and feeling the engine development is going to have them very much on top from day 1.
Ferrari are looking really good, another well executed design and actually have some hope their engine has taken a step forward.
Merc have IMO lost the plot.. Clever 'spin' on aero design, but as an overall design, it looks so wanting.. horiffic low speed manners, can't handle the curbs, and looks awash at sea.. It's still probably enough to beat the mid-field, but I would say 0.8s off Redbull and 0.5s off Ferrari, and I'm seeing that Haas/Aston Martin had some flashes of performance that may trouble Merc! Their engine is a bit unknown, that might mitigate things, but I get the sense of a Team with more issues than answers and I'm on the fence about the no-pods overall design, I suspect it compromises too much as an overall package.

I am so ambivolent about Red Bull, I am OK with Max, what I can't stand are Horner and Marko.. Horner's already crowing about Merc too much and Marko has a face/demeanour you love to hate, if they just outwardly seem more magnanimous and sporting..


Still, the fact there are so many unknowns and all we have are the general 'look' of the performance during testing, it's going to be an interesting first few races.
 
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Demon said:
Predictions?
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Max, Leclerc, Lewis on the podium in that order. Red Bull have the best car, but Pérez will struggle to make the most of it, and Ferarri aren't far behind. Merc look to be some way back but I think Lewis will still manage to drag it up the order. Russell will impress in Quali but fall behind his more experienced teammate in the race. Both Haas drivers will score points.
 
I hope Merc manage to pull something out of the bag but I'll take a Ferrari victory. Their car looked like it was on rails during testing, so if they come out of the blocks well in quali then I'll be happy.

My prediction is a RB 1,2.
 
My hope is that Ferrari will have a run at it, then maybe McLaren. I suspect however, even if they're fastest, they'll find a way to balls it up.

My prediction is Max (cause they look confident), Hamilton (if he can keep it pointed in the right direction), Sainz (arguably looked the best in testing)

Also predicting a few disqualifications for excessively worn planks :p
 
Thanks for the thread @Mr Jack and thanks to @Shimmy for his long service. :)

Looking forward to the start of a new season and interested to see how the new regs affect things.

Still bitter about the end of last season and for that reason I really want Hamilton and Mercedes to do well. I would also like to see McLaren up there and Williams doing better. Never been that fussed about Ferrari, and RBR can do one.

Given the above, I'm concerned after seeing how the Merc performed in testing. I'm holding onto the hope that they always seem to struggle in testing and then smash it out of park on race day, but I'm not entirely confident this time.

I won't make any predictions but looking forward to seeing where everyone is at the end of Q3.
 
I think we're going to see a lot of cars not finishing the race. Many of the cars in testing were avoiding the kerbs. Those that weren't, and survived - I think will do well when it comes to Sunday's race.
 
Have I been watching a different test? Why are you all saying Merc are behind? They down play everything each year and are obviously sand bagging to an extent. The times are meaningless until Q3 really. The Ferrari does look stable but so what...is it fast? Nobody really knows. I think the arm chair warriors are predicting too much based on a pint of nothing.
 
Anyone other than red bull. I’m curious more than anything whether cars can follow and overtake. I’m still on the fence about this season.

Much of the talk seems to be RB and Ferrari for now, then merc once they fully understand the car. Who knows.
 
Bug One said:
I think we're going to see a lot of cars not finishing the race. Many of the cars in testing were avoiding the kerbs. Those that weren't, and survived - I think will do well when it comes to Sunday's race.
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Yes it was said somewhere during the many hours of testing broadcast a) these cars can't/don't like to be hustled. They will reward a Jenson Button type driver b) kerbs risk damage, and aren't going to help them time wise.
 
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jaybee said:
Have I been watching a different test? Why are you all saying Merc are behind? They down play everything each year and are obviously sand bagging to an extent. The times are meaningless until Q3 really. The Ferrari does look stable but so what...is it fast? Nobody really knows. I think the arm chair warriors are predicting too much based on a pint of nothing.
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All the journos that have been track-side are saying the same thing; Merc looks rough around the edges and has been suffering the most with porpoising.

Whereas Ferrari look good on the GPS data (suggesting they’ve got a decent engine) and RB looks stable across the kerbs.
 
EVH said:
All the journos that have been track-side are saying the same thing; Merc looks rough around the edges and has been suffering the most with porpoising.

Whereas Ferrari look good on the GPS data (suggesting they’ve got a decent engine) and RB looks stable across the kerbs.
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Brundle stood on the apex of one of the corners (sorry forget which one) and was saying the complete opposite, that the Merc looked to have the best traction in the acceleration zone.
This is what I mean.... I think it's all very much over analysis of the slightest thing. Nobody really knows yet fully until they unleash their A game in quali 2/3.
 
It's impossible to say, the Merc looked sketchy as he'll and the RB rock solid, but we've been here before.
Apart from the williams fire and a couple of breakdowns, very few red flags so everyone was being super cautious which is understandable.
I'm expecting 2 to 3 seconds faster than in testing, if Merc make the thing more stable they should be ok. I don't get all the fezza and McLaren optimism, they weren't that fast.
 
Never saw anyone really pushing in pre-season testing.
It's a tough call, but maybe Gasly may be in for a podium.
Hoping Haas also have solid pace, best looking car on the grid for me.
 
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