It’s an all-Toyota front row for the first time ever with Jarno Trulli then teammate Timo Glock chalking up two stunning last-minute quali laps in Bahrain this afternoon.
Shanghai’s winner Sebastian Vettel took third for Red Bull, with Jenson Button fourth and fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton on the third row.
Ferrari’s nightmare start to the season – the team’s worst since 1981 – showed no real sign of improvement as Massa and Kimi managed only 8th and 10th respectively.
The biggest casualty today, though, was Red Bull’s Mark Webber, stuck down in 19th after his hot lap in the first knockout phase was blocked by Adrian Sutil. The Force India driver marched across to Webber immediately after the session to apologise and looks unlikely to face a penalty.
Rubens Barrichello came in 6th ahead of Fernando Alonso with Nico Rosberg – who showed real pace in practice yesterday – having to settle for 9th.
So, a historic day for Toyota then, but what’s the form going to be tomorrow?
1 and 2 TOYOTA all the way… they deserve it..
Looks worrying for Brawn unless they’re running very heavy. They clearly can’t match the Toyota and Red Bull in the high speed corners in Bahrain. We could see Ferrari fighting right in there come Barcelona, depending on the upgrades issued, same with McLaren
Bloody Hell!
Well done Toyota!
Cheers,
Nod
I thought Hamilton did pretty well in Qualis. Every time he put down was impressive. He was quicker than the Ferraris 95% of the time (though these days that’s like saying you’re quicker than Force India). Kovaleinen was weird – he’d start off with a quick pace, and then his time would just freeze at that point whilst everyone else improves their times. Still, Hamilton has done amazing things from 11th place, so all is not lost for Kovi (though I doubt he’ll do too much from there).
I thought it was good of Sutil to go find Webber and apologise. Personally i’d have stayed away from Webber until after he cooled his heels because Sutil completely wrecked things for Webber there. I reckon he’d have cleared into Q2 if not Q3 if it wasn’t for him.
Well done Toyota. I’d congratulate Trulli on getting Pole, but unfortunately I can’t stand the bloody git. Well done Glock for getting second, and Vettel – do us a favour and kick Trulli’s ass tomorrow?
Ferrari need to improve. this is just plain annoying. come on Massa, Raikkonen and Vettel. and the rest can crash out or something cool…
cmon ferrari!
u can do better!
It gets more interesting every race! So happy with these new changes. and the BBC are doing so much better than ITV. even with the few problems some people have been moaning about.
BBC are doing better than itv, except when it comes to highlights on the internet. Normally, itv would have it posted within 1 hour of the programme finishing, the BBC won’t have it on until this evening.
I think Hamilton will win. He has KERS and will use it off the line to take the lead and extend it. Toyota will win if there is a sandstorm tommorow.
Interesting thing is Toyota and Red Bull are equally fast in fast corners, and they have similar ’shark fin’ engine covers, might be a gain to the other teams…
Brawn should get back on top after the Spanish GP. They claim they have a new air intake that boosts lap times by .3 second, plus a few other noticable upgrades.
Button did admit that the Brawns were running light. This could be a worry for them. Also, congratulations to Piquet for making it into Q2, and congratulations to Ferrari for getting both cars in the top 10 shoot out.
i cant believe ferrari’s performance..!
Sutil got Penalized
Great improvements from Hamilton and Ferrari, bravo!
On the Sutil-Webber incident, I think Sutil tried to move over for Webber and at the same time Webber decided to go round him, 50-50 really.
Lets hope for a good, dry, race
Now noone can say my corrola is boring
Now noone can say my corolla is boring
pre-race weights:
1. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 648.5 kg
2. Timo Glock, Toyota, 643
3. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 659
4. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 652.5
5. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 652.5
6. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, 649
7. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 650.5
8. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 664.5
9. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 670.5
10. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 671.5
11. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 678.5
12. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 680.9
13. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 698.6
14. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 696.3
15. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 677.6
16. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 678.5
17. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 652
18. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 656
19. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 679
20. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 667.5
It’ll be an interesting fight between Hamilton and Button for sure!
Gorgeous George- Corolla’s aren’t F1 cars, so they are boring, sorry
Toyota suck today, they suck tomorrow and they suck toyF*****gota.
But Red Bull… Designed by Newey+Driven by Vettel= world championship win
rb will come thru if the toyota’s aren’t running light.
Funnily enough, the brawns aren’t much heavier than the Toyotas. I’m guessing that Kimi and Nico will have better results tomorrow.
Sutil has been demoted three places for blocking Webber.
Four fastest cars on track(incl. Webber) running shark-fin engine covers. Brawns are off the front row. 3 cars in top 10 running KERS. Williams and Ferrari are heaviest in top 10 and Vettel quite heavy too. This is going to be a cracker of a race!
Anyone know for sure if Renault are running KERS or not? If I’m not mistaken this time last year pretty much everyone was agreed that the shark-fin engine covers gave noticeable performance improvement, why are only two teams running them this year? Surely the new ‘cleaner’ upper bodies of the cars do not influence their effectiveness?
Williams need to pull off something extraordinary tomorrow or else they will miss the boat on the one chance they’ve had in more than 10 years of getting back to the front of the grid. Will be a shame if after this weekend they slide back down to mid-field…
And let’s not forget Webber could upset some people if he manages to pull off a storming start tomorrow!
Hey, both Ferraris made to Q3! Shouldn’t we celebrate that? =P
But the good thing about F1 now is that no same team on the podium on every round. It was Brawns, then Red Bull, now could be Toyota…
go jarno go!!!
hang on i was lookin through some old TG mags and one of them had the lexus LF-A in it which was “this car would be launched to celebrate Toyotas first F1 win”
who knows it may be revealed at the next American or Japanese motor show
i hope they do
and Hermann Kratz i noticed that last week aswell those shark fins need to be put on the Brawns then mabey Button will win again
Anyone know for sure if Renault are running KERS or not? If I’m not mistaken this time last year pretty much everyone was agreed that the shark-fin engine covers gave noticeable performance improvement, why are only two teams running them this year? Surely the new ‘cleaner’ upper bodies of the cars do not influence their effectiveness?
……
BMW and Mclaren both stated that there was no benefit, and if anything it ruined their car’s stability if there was a crosswind (or they thought it would). It would only work as part of a package anyway. 4 teams are running it this year.
toyota did most of their pre-season testing here in sakhir so thats probably why they are so damn fast on this circuit, but when they were out testing ferrari was there too and were always quicker i honestly think a ferrari resurgance is going to happen in the spanish grand prix once they get the damn diffuser on
Good job Toyota, even if they are significantly lower on fuel than anyone else.
Also Hamilton is in a great position I think, with KERS he should be able to get a good start. If he gets a good enough start to get past Vettel as well as Button we could see him challenging for the win. Even if he doesnt he should be one to watch.
Vettel is significantly heavier than anyone else, if that doesnt effect his race pace too much tomorrow or if he holds up the pack will be something to watch for.
Its good to see Mclaren back on form though, Ferrari looks like it still has a lot of work to do.
Ferrari,Ferrari,Ferrari,Y eah right the World turns and Runs for Ferrari let them loose
Was disappointed to see the return of Eddie J’s sour mug. Was rather hoping he was going to be replaced. Nice swipe from DC calling him a part-timer. Was it me or did they seem to be bickering more than usual?
Makes for pretty uncomfortable viewing.
Wonderful that Sutil got penalised for blocking Webber, I’m sure Mark feels much happier now that he is still last row of the grid. If I’m not mistaken YankeeDoodle, Button has been on the podium each round this year.
Sorry completly irrelavent, as the drivers make their way up to the F1 podium theres always a group of girls, has anyone else seen the way Button stops and smiles at them all.
The stupid thing. The “anonymous” comment above was made by me.
So, considering the fuel loads, who has the best shot?
Pick a name…
I’m thinking Vettel. He’ll stay on the Toyotas’ tails, then make the “pass” when they pit. Then I think the Brawns and Lewis will be somewhere relatively close behind. Maybe. Hopefully.
The only factor that may be a problem for Vettel is tires.
i think vettel will probably win. on a note that nobody probably cares about, why doesn’t Nakijima start with less fuel. he always starts with alot and never qualifies very high.
I think Toyota have a chance to win, I dont think Vettel will dominate. The Toyotas have a chance to scamper away at the front with their lighter fuel loads and can possibly create enough of a gap before their first pit stops. Vettel’s fuel load could quite possibly hold him up early race and give the people behind a chance as well as the Toyotas. We will see
Vettel has to worry about tires and everyone has to worry about engine over heating and reliability. The heat I expect will take some out.
PROTIP – FERRARI IS GOING TO WIN 1, 2.
Vacouverite (35): but look at Vettel’s final lap time. He can run with the Toyotas even with all that extra fuel. The Toyotas are lighter but they just aren’t running quicker to a sufficient degree to put a huge gap on Vettel. It would be cool to see one of the Toyotas win, but I think their front row lock-out was a flash in the pan, so to speak.
Long story short, the Toyotas have about 15 laps to open up about a 24 second gap on Vettel (to pit and come out ahead), but the numbers just aren’t in their favor.
and regarding comment 34: running Nakajimi with less fuel is just bad race strategy. The advantage of running light is negated when you start far down the field. You’d just have a lot of traffic to deal with AND you’d have to pit early. More than likely, you’ll just end up where you started.
But when you’re running light and you’re near the front, you just have to worry about keeping people behind you and putting the burden on them to take the risks involved with trying to pass.
Like the old saying goes, catching a car is one thing, getting by it is a whole different story.
P.S. If there is a sandstorm, what do you think the teams will go with, intermediate sand or extreme sand tires? Eh? Eh? Get it? Clever right?
@37 you wish
I’ve not seen too many seasons of F1 but Toyota have never been very near the front so well done to them!
Disappointed for Webber, hopefully he can get some points by the end, should be interesting to see what a very fast car can do from the back of the grid…
Hamilton the same weight as Button is interesting, although the Brawns apparently didn’t have as much downforce as they hoped it’s still a good step for McMerc!
All the rule changes has done good..now we see the back pack gaining momentum and participating in the podium celebration!!! GO F1!!
As for Ferrari and Mclaren..get working guys..
Did anyone else think that eddie was implyin that DC was more important than D.Hill in savin the brit GP? kinda weird… i had got the impression Eddie didn’t like DC very much so why go say that? He’s a strange little man, who thinks DC should just chin him?
I still like those who think Ferrari have a chance. They do not.
Predictions:
Vettel and Button fighting for first around the first corner. Hamilton will burn out his tires early and drop 3 places before the first round of pitstops. Webber to get into the points. Vettel, Button and Glock on the podium in that order.
hey bruce…they might not be doin so well now but they will get better i guarentee it!
an i still think they’ve got a chance
feels like toyota are running very light on fuel
Adrian Sutil has been handed a three-place penalty for baking Mark Webber during qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
ferrari too have a good chance of podium. feels like they running heavy on fuel. will be an interesting and hot race tomorrow.
http://formula2009.blogsp ot.com/
B.T.W i think Fuel should be full to the rim and every F1 weight before qualifying each run or someone is cheating..
Thats the way i feel about Raceing!! No cheat, No gain, No podium.!!
after all they weight those who go to the podium dont they and W.T.F is that all about anyway..??
how come toyta don’t use KERS even though they created that technology for their road cars ages ago?
I think people are exaggerating about how bad Ferrari is doing, especially here on Top Gear.
It’s great how when Ferrari got 15th and 16th in Free Practice 2 they were called a “bag of spanners”, but no comment was made when they were 2 and 5th fastest in Free Practice 3 and the BRAWNS only made 15th and 16th.
Plus, considering the Ferrari’s are some of the heaviest cars in the top 10 and had to run with worn out tyres, and that they got BOTH cars in the top 10, I’d say they are at the same level as the McLarens, if not a bit better. Mclaren only got their first driver in the top ten, who was running pretty light.
Let’s not forget Massa was up to 3rd in China when his car stopped, after coming from the back of the grid none the less.
If Hamilton had done the same, I’d reckon he would have been called the second coming of Christ over here. It’s funny how everyone failed to mention the beautiful spin which lost ‘the rain master’ a ton of positions as well.
In any case, my money is on Vettel first and the Toyota’s second and third. He was bloody fast, even with all that fuel! I wouldn’t mind if Trulli wins though, he deserves it
Not exaggerating about Ferrari performance. If you asked me at the beginning of 2008 I would have said that Ferrari and McLaren are the 2 teams to take the championship. This year however they are not the contenders that they were.
So I am stating what I would see as their realistic chances. Not the fantasy of what they were. Ferrari and McLaren will be on Top soon enough. This is just not their year. This is the year of the Other Drivers, the Other Teams.
What a start. Was that enough passing for you?
It would be cool to see Glock and Toyota get a win, but I don’t know if the Toyota fuel strategy is going to work out by the looks of it.
Go Brawn and go McLaren! Great start by Lewis.
Lap 33 of 57…
If any of you doubt that the “Trulli Train” is a factual phenomenon, just ask Vettel and Lewis…
I was reading through some of the posts during a commercial break and what’s with all this “it ‘feels’ like (insert team name here) is running heavy or light?” i hate to state the obvious, but the weights of the cars are published after qualifying, so we all KNOW how much fuel they’re running.
your psychic abilities and “feelings” aren’t needed anymore.
and to comment 47: they weigh all the drivers after the race, then add their weights to the cars’ weights to make sure they are at or above the minimum weight. This keeps the teams from having the drivers do something like eating lead hamburgers when they are weighed before the race, then crapping them out before the race so they can run a lighter car. Obviously the lead hamburger senario is me being sarcastic, but weighing the drivers after the race keeps trickery of that sort in check.
jenson has another win so fun WOOW WOOW, i want him to win chamionship
lewis is alot better than jenson it is just his car. once they et that sorte lewis will be winning alot more races
Wow great drive from Jenson and Reubens in a car that was supposedly suffering from heat stroke. I am really impressed with Vettel too, he is definitely an up and coming star, if he is not already one.
Oh and that was the most hectic and exciting start to a race I have ever seen. They were still going at it as if it were turn one in Lap 2! Very exciting race.
#55 :
So Lewis wasn’t in a faster car for the last 2 years?
hahahahahahahaha Toyota lost their chance! ya im a Honda fan! lol. way to go Brawn for coming up with a terrific strategy, and well done JB for running flawless!
if only Barichello can keep up!
How more proove does one need that the ugly wings do not help overtaking at all? Come on FIA, do something positive and announce the cars will go back to 2008 shape from 2010 on, please!
I agree Randy, the 2008 shape is much better!
Thanks,
Adam
http://www.mja-cars.co.uk /
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