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The Friday free
practice sessions were in marked contrast to each other in Bahrain. The
opening FP1 session at 2pm was held in ambient temperatures in excess of 35
degrees centigrade and track temperatures in excess of 50 degrees
centigrade, while FP2 at 6pm took place in darkness, with ambient
temperatures below 30 degrees and track temperatures in the region of 32.
As qualifying and the race will take place at 6pm, only the second session
was truly representative of competitive conditions. In this session, with
track temperatures in the region of 32 degrees centigrade, the P Zero White
medium and P Zero Yellow soft compounds nominated for the race displayed
rates of thermal degradation in line with expectations, despite the roughest
track surface of the season and ambient temperatures that were still as high
as 29 degrees.
There is usually a high degree of track evolution in Bahrain, due to sand
from the surrounding desert blowing onto the surface. Currently, there is a
performance gap of around two seconds between the medium and soft compounds,
which opens up several possibilities for strategy. However, this gap is
likely to come down if the track rubbers in with help from all the support
races.
One rogue element that could upset this is the possibility of a sandstorm,
which has been forecast for tomorrow. This would diminish grip, as Pirelli
also discovered during a winter development test in Bahrain at the end of
2010, when running was actually interrupted for a day while the storm
dispersed.
Mercedes drivers were first and second fastest in FP2, with Nico Rosberg
leading Lewis Hamilton, but the Ferrari drivers monopolised FP1, with Kimi
Raikkonen in front of Sebastian Vettel. Initial analysis of the long-run
pace suggests quite a close contest between the two manufacturers.
Paul Hembery: “The pattern of wear and degradation today was exactly as we
expected, especially in FP2, which was the only really relevant session.
From a tyre perspective, there was less to be learned from FP1, which was
nearly 20 degrees warmer. While the pattern of data collection is a little
bit different to other races because of these temperatures differences,
we’re seeing that the soft tyre will be key to the race – which is around
two seconds quicker than the medium. However, there is talk of a sandstorm
tomorrow and that’s not generally good news for tyres or anyone! So we’ll
see what qualifying brings…” |
FP1: FP2:
1. Raikkonen 1m37.827s Medium 1. Rosberg 1m34.647s Soft new
2. Vettel 1m38.029s Medium 2. Hamilton 1m34.762s Soft new
3. Bottas 1m38.390s Medium 3. Raikkonen 1m35.174s Soft new
Tyre statistics of the day:
Medium Soft Intermediate Wet
kms driven * 3206 1836 0 0
sets used overall ** 59 20 0 0
highest number of laps ** 25 22 0 0
* The above number gives the total amount of kilometres
driven in FP1 and FP2 today, all drivers combined.
** Per compound, all drivers combined.
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