One other thing did catch my attention about Bahrain, and that was the performance of Nico Rosberg. Sure he knocked his nose off
in the first corner, but what a fantastic drive back through the field to finish seventh. He had pace the whole race, and proved that he belonged in that seat. Plus he earned a little respect along the way.
You see, early on BMW's Nick Heidfeld tried to pass David Coulthard, and soundly shoved him off the road on the exit. Sure enough, some laps later, after the stops, Heidfeld shows up on the rear wing of DC's Red Bull again, this time DC goes to extraordinary lengths to not let Heidfeld through. Rosberg on the other hand caught DC in the late going, passed cleanly - even though it took three corners to do it - and gave the veteran driver some room. It looked good
on Rosberg, and for a rookie to start earning respect this early on in a season is good form.
"I really enjoyed myself today and the final result was a good outcome," Rosberg said. "Unfortunately I made a mistake at the first corner, expecting that Heidfeld might leave me more room and the incident put me right back. However, it was a super effort by the team and I really enjoyed fighting my way up, particularly battling with Coulthard. The final result - seventh place - and the fastest lap of the race is more than I could have hoped for in my first race. Today was a great start and I'm looking forward to the next race."
I personally think Rosberg will be on the podium by mid season, and he looks to be the next big thing in Formula 1.
At the other end of the grid, the Toro Rossos looked nothing like reincarnated
Minardis. The rev limited V10s had everyone scared by their straight line speed, and many thought they were sandbagging, and were going to pounce on race day.
Scott Speed - who was giddy with enthusiasm on the pre grid, did a good accounting of himself in his first GP.
"I'm pleased to have got through to the checkered flag in my first Grand Prix without making any mistakes," Speed said. "The balance of my car was not quite right during the first stint, but we were able to fix that at the first pit stop. After that, I think our pace improved and was good."
Speed looks to have it - speed - and to be honest, his car is not that bad. In fact, they could be much better off in Malaysia this weekend as I expect many
of the V8s, the new Cosworth which is said to spin higher than 20,000 rpm, to expire a little early under the strains of a hot weekend in Malaysia.
Finally, Canadian Jacques Villeneuve actually has a car that could see him on the podium, and that would be a welcome sight for all Canadians. Villeneuve was running strong until his BMW exploded, but still he seemed content with his weekend. His actual qualifying time for 11th on the grid was 10th fastest, so I'll have to check my 100 page notepad on how that actually happened - I believe I saw something about it on page 86.
"My start was not particularly great, but I managed to find my way through the first few corners and to stay out of trouble there," Villeneuve said. "The race set-up was fine and I settled into a good rhythm. I overtook Coulthard and stayed in front of Raikkonen for quite a while. Then all of a sudden I started to lose power, and that was it."
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| Nico Rosberg put on a surprising display in Bahrain, exposing his own talents to F1 fans and showing the power behind Cosworth's new V8. (Photo: Willams F1) |
You see, early on BMW's Nick Heidfeld tried to pass David Coulthard, and soundly shoved him off the road on the exit. Sure enough, some laps later, after the stops, Heidfeld shows up on the rear wing of DC's Red Bull again, this time DC goes to extraordinary lengths to not let Heidfeld through. Rosberg on the other hand caught DC in the late going, passed cleanly - even though it took three corners to do it - and gave the veteran driver some room. It looked good
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| American F1 rookie Scott Speed kept positive despite not enjoying as good a day as Rosberg. (Photo: Red Bull "Toro Rosso" F1) |
"I really enjoyed myself today and the final result was a good outcome," Rosberg said. "Unfortunately I made a mistake at the first corner, expecting that Heidfeld might leave me more room and the incident put me right back. However, it was a super effort by the team and I really enjoyed fighting my way up, particularly battling with Coulthard. The final result - seventh place - and the fastest lap of the race is more than I could have hoped for in my first race. Today was a great start and I'm looking forward to the next race."
I personally think Rosberg will be on the podium by mid season, and he looks to be the next big thing in Formula 1.
At the other end of the grid, the Toro Rossos looked nothing like reincarnated
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| Canadian Jacques Villeneuve was running strong until his engine expired toward the end of the race. (Photo: BMW Sauber F1) |
Scott Speed - who was giddy with enthusiasm on the pre grid, did a good accounting of himself in his first GP.
"I'm pleased to have got through to the checkered flag in my first Grand Prix without making any mistakes," Speed said. "The balance of my car was not quite right during the first stint, but we were able to fix that at the first pit stop. After that, I think our pace improved and was good."
Speed looks to have it - speed - and to be honest, his car is not that bad. In fact, they could be much better off in Malaysia this weekend as I expect many
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| Is Alonso the champion of champions? A season-opening win proves he's fast once again, but it looks to be a long and exciting 2006 season before we know for sure. (Photo: Renault F1) |
Finally, Canadian Jacques Villeneuve actually has a car that could see him on the podium, and that would be a welcome sight for all Canadians. Villeneuve was running strong until his BMW exploded, but still he seemed content with his weekend. His actual qualifying time for 11th on the grid was 10th fastest, so I'll have to check my 100 page notepad on how that actually happened - I believe I saw something about it on page 86.
"My start was not particularly great, but I managed to find my way through the first few corners and to stay out of trouble there," Villeneuve said. "The race set-up was fine and I settled into a good rhythm. I overtook Coulthard and stayed in front of Raikkonen for quite a while. Then all of a sudden I started to lose power, and that was it."