Formula 1’s Bahrain GP is arguably the worst event for spotting attractive, scantily clad grid girls. But then it is a Muslim country – in the words of Tony Soprano, what are you gonna do? Instead, the race has more of a “fake champagne & headscarf” vibe going on, which gives it a weirdly non-racy, buttoned-up feel, especially coming so soon after the party-hard weekend that is the Australian GP. This Gulf Air hostess looks delighted to have been selected to hold the great Jarno Trulli’s grid board. Did she offer him a blanket & flight pillow set too?
Renault deny that Alonso slowed deliberately during Bahrain GP
Lewis Hamilton’s slim chances of winning the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday were scuppered by his evil ex-McLaren team-mate, Fernando Alonso. Hamilton drove his McLaren into the back of Alonso’s Renault on the second lap. From where Grid Crasher was sitting, it looked like a typical racing accident: Hamilton was hell-bent on recovering from a poor start, Alonso was not about to let him past. Martin Brundle suggested on ITV that Alonso might have brake-tested Hamilton, but after the race Renault were more than happy to show the telemetry print-out to anyone who queried their driver’s actions. According to AFP, “the telemetry showed Alonso was flat on the throttle from the exit and did not touch his brakes. He accelerated in a totally predictable manner”.
Who emerged with credit in the land of fake champagne?
Five winners:
1. Felipe Massa The little Brazilian was faster than anyone else throughout the entire weekend – he consistently outperformed Kimi Raikkonen, his world champion team-mate, and no one could argue that he didn’t deserve his second straight win at Sakhir.
2. Martin Brundle ITV’s wing man came up with the quote of the GP. Whilst on his customary grid walk, Brundle chatted with Eric Clapton, who revealed that he had been asked to wave the chequered flag at the end of the race. Clapton admitted that he didn’t know whether to ‘hold it [the flag] in one or two hands’. Brundle, who had no doubt been looking for the opportunity to make a sly reference to the Max Mosley debacle, replied: ‘That’s very topical at the moment’. Sharp, Martin, very sharp.
Statuesque singer attends Bahrain Grand Prix, has no idea why
Macy Gray seemed to have no idea why she was at the Bahrain Grand Prix, but that’s par for the course from a women who generally seems to have no idea who she is, let alone where she is. ITV’s Martin Brundle interviewed her during his pre-race grid walk, and he was also clueless about her identity, or how she came to be on the grid in the first place. Did Tiny Bernie Ecclestone, a man so small he could fit into Macy’s handbag (see photo, above), know who he was talking to?
McLaren’s team of mechanics stayed up all night to repair Lewis Hamilton’s car after this nasty encounter with a tyre wall – which, as the commentator points out, could have been a lot more damaging, had the McLaren hit the solid Armco barrier. Hamilton then put in a searing lap to qualify his patched-up McLaren on the second row of the grid, behind Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa. Lesser drivers might have been affected by the 150mph smash, but not Hamilton, who admitted to going faster on that stretch of the Sakhir track in Saturday’s qualfying session than when he crashed in Friday’s practice.
Grid Crasher has some exclusive pics of Hamilton’s pranged car…
BMW driver talks you through Bahrain’s circuit. Yes, YOU!
Let Nick Heidfeld (and BMW’s driving simulator, which frankly has as much personality as Nick) take you for a spin around Bahrain’s Sakhir International Circuit. Amazing how he manages to be so chatty – and so German: check out that classic mullet – whilst doing 200mph. I am less impressed by his admission that one of the corners is difficult because it requires both “steering and braking at the same time”. Duh.
Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday from 11.30pm (ITV1), bet here
McLaren and Ferrari, F1’s two big dawgs, have shared the spoils in the first two races of the 2008 season: Lewis Hamilton cruised to victory in the season opener at Melbourne, but Ferrari roared back in Malaysia, thanks to Kimi Raikkonen’s dominating drive. Something’s got to give in Bahrain this weekend, unless one of the other teams can find a way to beat the two front runners.
Here are five handy facts that might influence what you write on your betting slip for Sunday’s race…
Scuderia leave F1 rivals in the dust, Lewis Hamilton crashes
Ferrari, fresh from a storming win in Malaysia last month, already look in great shape for this Sunday’s Bahrain GP. Felipe Massa, who won the race in 2007, and Kimi Raikkonen, who has finished third in each of his last three races in the desert, were first and second respectively in this morning’s opening practice session. Nico Rosberg’s Williams set the third-fastest time, with the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen in fourth and fifth place, around half a second of Ferrari’s pace - if that translates to race pace, McLaren will struggle to get a driver on the top step of the podium. For the full rundown of the first session, follow the link below…
