F1 teams keep focus on racing amid Bahrain troubles

**Admin** Thu Apr 19, 2012 12:47 am

A view of the Bahrain International Circuit where the upcoming Formula One race Political
unrest threatened to overshadow this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix as
Formula 1 teams began arriving in the Gulf state Wednesday.
Bahrain's opposition and international rights organizations charge that
little has changed since last year's bloody suppression of
anti-government protests, demanding that the Formula 1 event should not
be held in the kingdom. Despite misgivings from some of the teams
the sport's controlling body FIA has insisted the race should go ahead -
after it was cancelled last year - maintaining the focus on the
racecourse. The uncertainties have taken some of the gloss of what
has been an exciting start to a season which has produced three
different winners in as many races including a maiden victory for Nico
Rosberg in a Mercedes at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday. Rosberg's
team-mate Michael Schumacher said: "Having experienced a race such as
China gives everybody in the team a big push, and we certainly will give
our optimum to repeat our performance in the next races. "However,
the season so far shows that you can never be sure of anything, and
having had three winners in three races demonstrates how close together
the teams are this year." Mercedes' head of motor sport Norbert Haug
said: "This is the best Formula 1 season of all times, and more hotly
contested than ever." Rosberg's win had ben preceded by victories
from Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in Malaysia, and Jenson Button of McLaren
in the opening race in Australia. "We've had three very different
races and I think we are going to have potentially 20 very different
races this year," said McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh. "That's
fascinating." McLaren drivers Button and Lewis Hamilton - who has
come third in each race this season - arrive in Bahrain at the top of
the standings, but Hamilton predicted a tight race. "Mercedes, Red
Bull, Ferrari, Lotus and Sauber are all up there – that's a serious
championship," the 2008 world champion said. All eyes are on Rosberg
after he gave Mercedes its first Grand Prix victory since 1955 in
Shanghai on Sunday. "I have really good memories of the Bahrain
Circuit," Rosberg said. "I won the Formula Three Macau-Bahrain Cup,
GP2 Championship and finished seventh on my F1 debut with the fastest
lap of the race. I like the track a lot. It's quite low downforce with
lots of big stops and some faster corners too. "The track layout
definitely fits our car but it's really a big challenge for us to manage
our tyre work well again and find the right set-up as the temperatures
will be much higher than in China." Red Bull, meanwhile, were still
struggling for peak performance ahead of Sunday's race, as world
champion Sebastian Vettel has failed so far to enter the top three this
season. In Sakhir, Vettel will not be able to use his favoured model
of exhaust. Instead he has to use the modified version adopted by
teammate Mark Webber. Hamilton currently ranks first in driver
standings, with 45 points, followed by Button with 43 and Alonso's 37
points. Vettel ranks fifth and Rosberg sixth. Alonso said anything
was possible at this stage. "The past counts for nothing in this
sport," the Ferrari driver said. "The championship is very open and
there are a lot of teams that can aspire to victory."

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