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2006 Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix |
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The First Race of 2006We are now less than a week away from the start of the 2006 F1 season. The Formula 1 teams have covered thousands of kilometres in testing to have their cars both fast and reliable for the first race but we know that only a few teams actually manage to achieve that target on time. Trying to figure out which team is on form and which is not is always hard but this season it is even harder due to a number of
changes in the regulations. There is the new V8 engine, the re-introduction
of tyre changes and the new (and somewhat confusing) qualifying rules. Testing times are hard to read at the best of times but it is the only data available. Renault and Honda have been the most
reliable and both have also been very fast. McLaren started their pre-season testing with little reliability but improved
dramatically in the last few test sessions. The expectation was that lap times would be around 2.5 seconds slower in 2006 due to the
reduced engine capacity. Those 3 teams set time much closer to the lap records for 2005. In fact Honda set a time even faster than
the lap record of 2005 in Valencia! So who is hot and who is not ? Check out the Pre-season analysis of the final Barcelona Test The Sakhir track (track
layout) offers a combination of long straights and slow speed corners offering a number of overtaking opportunities. Cars will
run a high downforce configuration. Ferrari, Honda and Toro Rosso actually tested at this track in February giving them an advantage over the rest of the field at this race. How much of an advantage remains to be seen but at least they will save some mileage on their engines during the practice sessions and that may help them the following week in Malaysia. Here is a team by team preview: Renault: Seem to have both reliability and speed. That despite being the last team to actually run their V8 engine in the
car on the track. Testing showed they are consistently fast over long distances and that is more important than setting a single
superfast lap. Drivers: Fernando Alonso is the new World Champion and will try to defend his title and will most likely succeed in a similar way to 2005. He has proved to be a top class driver and he will try his best. His move in 2007 to McLaren shouldn't affect things at Renault as both himself and the team want to win. Of course things could be different if he struggles early in the season but there is no reason to expect that. Giancarlo Fisichella will be closer to Alonso this year but will still be slower. His only hope is for Alonso to struggle early in the season and that isn't likely to happen. McLaren: They were very unreliable early in pre-season testing but improved dramatically in the last few tests. The
earlier problems must have set them back a bit but it does look like they have a very fast car, possibly the fastest. The question
remains though, can the McLaren be reliable in the first few races ? I am not too confident! Drivers: Kimi Raikkonen having finished 2nd in the Drivers' Championship twice he wants to do one better. If the McLaren
is reliable, he could do it, otherwise he may have to attempt winning the title with another team. (Rumours have it that Raikkonen
is heading to Ferrari in 2007) Juan Pablo Montoya has to at least match Raikkonen. Of course he would want to beat him but that would be difficult. Montoya needs to be more consistent and avoid backmarkers then he may have a chance!. Ferrari: They didn't really impress in pre-season testing but were not slow either. It is unlikely that Bridgestone will
have the tyres to match Michelin and that means Ferrari will be behind the Michelin top runners. Drivers: Michael Schumacher remains as committed as ever doing the majority of the testing for the team. If the car is fast and reliable, he will challenge for the title but I suspect it will be a bit behind and that may trigger his decision to retire, move to another team for a new challenge or (as rumours have it) set up his own F1 team for a totally different challenge! Felipe Massa will be hoping to stay as close as possible to Michael. That will be difficult given the little amount of time he spent testing the new car. That is a strange one as a new driver would need as much time as possible in a new car but I suspect that the team need good technical feedback when testing the new car and Massa isn't experienced enough!. Toyota: The didn't look impressive in testing and it is thought they are struggling adapting to the Bridgestone tyre.
They've been testing the new car for nearly 4 months and one would expect them to be strong but so far they don't appear to be. They
may surprise though! Drivers: Ralf Schumacher can have a few good races each season. He has been consistent in that. Can he move a step up and make most of his races good races ? I doubt it. Jarno Trulli is probably the best qualifier in the field and last year he demonstrated some consistency during the races as well. If he can maintain that consistently, he'll beat his team-mate but he won't challenge for the title and that isn't only due to his car. Williams: They should capitalise on the power of the Cosworth early in the season as that engine is believed to be the
most powerful at this stage. That is unlikely for Williams as they struggle with a new gearbox that has given them major problems in
testing. If and when they fix the problems with the gearbox it may be too late as the manufacturers would have caught up with
Cosworth. Drivers: Mark Webber has to deliver this year and that doesn't necessarily mean race wins if the car isn't fast enough. He must be consistent and stay focused despite the problems with the car. The skill is there. Nico Rosberg is the GP2 Champion and has the potential to be a force to reckon with in a few years. This will be a learning year for him and going head to head against Mark will give us an idea of how good he is. Don't expect miracles though but he might match Webber later in the year on familiar tracks. Honda: Despite the stunning times set in testing and the impressive reliability from the new car, I still doubt that Honda
will challenge for the title. They may win a few races later this season but the car doesn't appear to be consistent enough in race
trim. The current team don't have much experience in winning and that will take some time. Drivers: Jenson Button in a similar (if not worse) position to Webber. He needs to win races this year. Button has had
good seasons and bad ones. If this is to be a good season for him then he will have to win a few races! Rubens Barrichello will be eager to prove his critics wrong who claim he can only be a good support driver. He has the full support of Honda and is a proven winner. It will take him a bit of time to settle at Honda but after a few races we should see him close to Button beating him occasionally. Red Bull: Have had problems with their cars in testing and it will take Adrian Newey a while before any of the changes he
makes are felt on the track. Expect a much stronger car later in the season. Drivers: David Coulthard is a very consistent driver. If the Red Bull is capable of points finishes, he will deliver. He better keep an eye on Klien though! Christian Klien has a secured drive this year and none of that driver swap stuff. He will excel further and possibly surprise many. BMW Sauber: Along with Honda, they will most likely fight for the title of most improved team of 2006 (compared to the
Sauber of 2005 of course!). The new team has been working hard and the results from testing indicate they are on the right track.
They are downplaying their chances but they too will surprise many. Drivers: Nick Heidfeld will impress at BMW Sauber and if the car is very good, you'll see some very good results. Jacques Villeneuve will have to match Heidfeld otherwise he may not even make it to the end of the season. Given that he's been with the team for a whole season, the two should be close but it really depends if Villeneuve still has what it takes and in the past few seasons he didn't show that. MF1 Racing: They will have an interesting fight with Toro Rosso and later on Super Aguri. Don't expect them to compete
with any other team. Drivers: Christian Albers moves to MF1 from Minardi. He'll probably be quicker than his team-mate Montreiro but not as consistent. Tiago Monteiro isn't fast but is consistent. He'll probably score a few points for the team over the season but won't impress with his speed!. Toro Rosso: They will be the only team running a restricted V10 against the wishes of many of the other teams who argue
that Toro Rosso can afford to buy V8 engines. They will run the Red Bull of last year with some modifications. But even then, they
will not achieve any better than 9th. They remain a small team so don't expect them to start challenging the midfield runners all of
a sudden. Drivers: Vitantonio Liuzzi will start his first full season in F1. His performances in 2005 weren't anything impressive but that could have been due to the driver swap situation with Klien. This is his chance to show what he can do. Scott Speed makes his F1 debut with Toro Rosso. It will be interesting to see how he compares to Liuzzi. It is great to see an American make it to Formula 1. Now lets hope he impresses. Super Aguri: A 2002 Arrows modified for 2006 regulations running a 2006 Honda V8. I wonder if the car can handle that
powerful engine!. Drivers: Takuma Sato has the speed but seems to go over the limit too often. He shouldn't bother the rest of the field though. Yuji Ide is virtually an unknown. He raced in the Formula Nippon series in Japan last year finishing second in the Championship. He has a steep learning curve ahead and hopefully he will gain experience without harming the chances of the other drivers. Bridgestone News - Michelin News Discuss this preview on the Bahrain Grand Prix Thread on the Forums Join 8 'n' Pole and see how your predictions stack up against the others. Register now!
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