1. Bahrain GP

[GavinT]

Good job to all at Lotus Racing. Both cars finishing is really really encouraging. Again, job well done. To hear Lotus mentioned again, I listened to the race on the radio, during an F1 race was just fricking awesome.

Edited March 14, 2010 by GavinT

[Mr_John111]

To finish first, first you have to finish....

Well done to all at Lotus F1

Brilliant first effort

[Mark Blanchard]

Well done Lotus! A good start to the season . I'm looking forward to some points.

[Petrol feet driven]

Well done team, can't wait to see how it all turns out for you.

[jfitz981]

Great job to Lotus on the first race! I really enjoyed seeing them being reliable and finishing the race....in due time the climb to the podium will happen!

[red vtec]

Good results, nice to see the Green and Yellow back on track. Wish the Beeb had mentioned the fact that one of the great names was back in F1.

How does the Lotus handle round the corners? as Eddie Jordon was saying if a car handles round the corners at the begning of the season sraight line speed is just a case of aerodynamics being tweaked.

Looking forward to next race.

[Kenji_37]

tony is very happy with the result.

but what caught my attention was:

"From here we keep going. Before the race Clive Chapman gave me Colin Chapman's old Lotus cap and said 'when you win the first race you'll be the man to throw this up in the air like my Dad used to.' "That meant a lot to me, it was a wonderful gesture and it's like handing over the mantle of one of motor racing's great dynasties."

Edited March 14, 2010 by Kenji_37

[mayevora]

I recon Trulli's car finished no less that a couple of hundred metres from the finish line ( you could see it in an ariel shot as Alonso was finishing his lap of honor)

Also a lovely bit of diceing with a Williams mid race.

Great job for the first race.

[Mark Blanchard]

Anyone got any nice pics of the Lotus from the race?

[Petrol feet driven]

Wish I took them, but alas no..

[Advantage]

So, Lotus Racing aside, was that a dull race or what?

[sky_cz]

looking for some hires lotus f1 desktop wallpaper any idea?

[Hippo]

Even the BBC commentators sounded bored...but well done to Lotus for finishing

[mr.oogieboogie]

car looks nice but no points is no points

[x6gas]

Ok. Help someone. How does Buemi get credited with 16th when he pulled off the track before Trulli who kept running?

Depends on how many laps they have completed including finishing the lap they were on when the winning car crossed the line.

[Gasman GT3]

So, Lotus Racing aside, was that a dull race or what?

Yep sure was, I admit to a small feeling of anticlimax. I think taking out refuelling is a mistake, tyre changes only are not going to lead to overtaking in the pits unless a team makes a mistake. I also wonder how many cars are going to sprout small scoops linked to the rear wing when they get back to the factories after China?

I think engines are going to be a big factor later in the season when teams start running out, Ferrari are already on their second and were obviously worried about overheating late in the race.

However what a performance from Lotus six months after setting up they get 2 cars to the finish and 3 secs of the leaders pace, they need to make Wiliams the target as they are the leading Cosworth runners, theirs is the sort of pace possible with aero improvements. Well done boys & girls roll on Oz

[rogerch]

Did I really sit up late to watch that one big yawn.

But well done to Lotus for getting both cars home.

[USAndretti42]

Well the Lotus cars met their design targets, i.e. be reliable and not embarrassingly slow with fastest laps only about 3% greater than the overall fastest lap so a very good effort by the team. Unlike what others have said about the BBC, Speed in the States mentioned it at the start of the coverage when talking about new things for the season and they also mentioned them several times during the race such as when running with the Williams and, unfortunately, being lapped by Alonso. They did say what an excellent job the team had done in getting both cars to the finish.

The race wasn't very interesting but I don't think Bahrain ever has.

All the pre-race fretting about the new teams being super-slow and getting in the way came to nothing. There wasn't a huge accident at the first corner as everyone arrived with heavy cars and cold brakes got there. Schumacher did a very good job on his first race. There are some concerns about the Red Bull and Ferrari reliability but not about their speed. Looks like the season is going to be very interesting.

P.S. It was good seeing Emerson Fittipaldi in the Lotus 72.

[Paul C]

So, Lotus Racing aside, was that a dull race or what?

No event of any shape or form to talk about. Without doubt the most boring F1 race i have ever seen, in fact out of me Bibs and Punky i was the only one that did not doze off for a bit while watching. I could not bear a season where i have to watch another 36 hours worth of that and find any point in watching it. I only have so many toenails to cut and i've given up picking my bum and eating it for lent.

...licking your wounds and feeding off the scraps with tosh like 'good try' or 'shows promise' or 'best of the rest' etc...

Sometimes it's like everybody is blind and i am the only one that can see, i'm not like normal people i swear.

[fmxa]

Nice work and an outstanding first race for Lotus

[robertcosta]

Did I really sit up late to watch that one big yawn.

But well done to Lotus for getting both cars home.

Ditto....

If this is what F1 is reduced to...control tires, every car from the same body shop, can't do this, can't do that....

I saw almost nothing of the Lotus cars in the telecast down in OZ, do you guys get a different feed?

Rob

[espritmania]

Thank God Sky plus has 30x f/f.I hope things will get better as the season gets underway or else I will be watching paint dry on Sundays!!!

[molemot]

Not only dull, but slow, too. Must admit I went to sleep as well...only woke up when something fell off Vettel's car, and I had to rewind to see what had happened! Must say that everything they do to "improve" things has the opposite effect. I dearly love the technological aspect of F1, but it does seem to me that it's self defeating..all this emphasis on aerodynamics has done for the overtaking, and specifying "no refuelling" hasn't helped much either.

I would suggest that ALL aerodynamic downforce be banned, nothing to increase the car's downforce above that provided by its weight, all cars to have 3 proper pedals and a proper gear lever requiring the drivers to move their hands off the wheel to change gear. All grip to be provided by the contact between rubber and track...no restrictions on tyres, perhaps? I remember how things were in the days of Clark, Hill, Moss, Fangio etc. I found it interesting when Coulthard remarked that he was too tall and too small for Fangio's Mercedes from the fifties..."Fangio used to fill the cockpit!" he said. Whatever...something has to be done to prevent the sport choking on it's own cleverness.

[Kimbers]

Despite being an avid fan of F1 I can't help but agree with everyone else. Lotus were "best of the new Teams" of that there is no doubt and with Kovey only 2 secs off the front pace there is definate promise there. Especially when you consider that they found 3 secs from Friday morning practice to qually.

On the negative side the race was soooo tedious. Not made any better by the production! Was it just me or did the "No graphics" approach to Qualifying annoy anyone else? You never knew where anyone was or who was on a good lap, unless they were focussed on them.

The new, no refuelling" rule has come back to bite them on the ass. Because cars have less space internally and their tyres now have to last, whenever they get in the slipstream their cars overheat and tyres go off! This means much less overtaking....and it wasn't exactly prolific last year!

They need to do something quick or it will just be procession after procession, made exiting only by break downs and crashes.

[Jonathan]

Bahrain is a shite long circuit though.