2010 Bahrain GP: Alonso takes maiden Ferrari win
Fernando Alonso kicked off his 2010 campaign in style, taking victory on his Ferrari debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix (full results). Kimi Raikkonen did so in 2007 and that year he went on to win the championship. The kind of form that Alonso displayed in today’s race does indicate that he will be a tough competitor all year along.
There were two moments that mattered and the two time former champion made them count. The first came at the start, when he overtook team-mate Felipe Massa at Turn 1 on the outside and gained an important second place going into Turn 2 behind Sebastien Vettel’s Red Bull. The second came on Lap 33 when Vettel’s car suffered a cracked exhaust and the German lost too much power in his unit. Needless to say he was overtaken easily by first Alonso, and then Massa, and later went on to lose another place to Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren to round off the disaster completely. What was noticeable immediately afterwards was Alonso stretching his lead over Massa as soon as he got in front of the Red Bull. A series of quick laps and within two laps he had opened up a six second advantage over his team-mate, who was battling an aero problem by then.
The point is Alonso didn’t even let a chance come by where Massa could think about making a move on the race leader. Although he didn’t admit so in the press conference (televised) but later in the season, when we sit down to pin-point the moment when he pushed Massa into number two, this is where we will start.
The battles behind them were interesting in their own way. There was Nico Rosberg coming in at 5th, but looking far more comfortable than Michael Schumacher who was hounded all race long by Jenson Button and Mark Webber. He did manage to keep them behind in the end but one thing is for certain, Mercedes GP were right when they said podiums were not an immediate possibility, atleast not for rusty Schumacher.
While McLaren will be happy with Hamilton’s podium, world champion Jenson Button would be thinking along Massa’s lines – same machinery, same track conditions, beaten by team-mate in what will be a high stakes season. While the Brazilian will still be able to console himself, Button won’t because he was more or less unnoticeable during the race. The only time he came into the picture was when Webber closed up on him or he made his one pit stop. Webber’s pace was good throughout; clearly he was quicker than the two cars in front of him, yet wasn’t able to find his way through which becomes more telling because Red Bull’s day got away from them at the front.
Even though he didn’t get a point, Renault’s Robert Kubica was the liveliest driver out there. He was blinded by smoke from Webber’s car at the start and bumped Adrian Sutil, getting them both to the back of the grid. But he recovered fine to finish 11th, pulling off some fine overtaking moves along the way. Sutil himself finished 12th but he must be disconsolate for he was pretty strong on strategy having started the race on hard tyres at 10th. His team-mate Tonio Liuzzi got the points Force India were looking for which is a good start to the season for them.
Although Rubens Barrichello got the last point on offer, Williams will be disappointed that their other driver Nico Hulkenberg was classified lapped once in the final results and this because it put him in the league of the rear-rung teams. Jaime Algeuesuari (Toro Rosso) finished ahead of him and Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus was just behind. For all the pre-season promise it won’t be a happy Williams’ garage tonight. Kovalainen’s result is actually something for the Lotus team to celebrate about. None of the new teams finished the race as all of them retired one after the other expectedly. Virgin couldn’t get rid of their hydraulics problem as Sauber found out they had them too. Hispania Racing had Bruno Senna running for 17 laps but Karun Chandhok couldn’t even complete two laps, the weekend ending in a total loss for the team.
There are two chief conclusions that you can take away from the Bahrain GP weekend. One, that Red Bull and Ferrari are the teams to beat with the Scuderia just ahead because they seem more reliable over race distance. McLaren and Mercedes have to catch up big time to avoid making this a two-horse race. And two, the new rules and regulations aren’t really lighting up the on-track action. The cars were off very slow in the beginning – in fact that is the slowest first lap of a Formula One race one remembers seeing. The season will be won or lost due to tyre degradation – how best the drivers use them or look after them. That is not what the fans would want to see and the man responsible for effecting these rule changes should really be getting ugly looks right about now.
2010 Bahrain GP Qualifying: Vettel takes pole
Red Bull’s Sebastien Vettel took the first pole of 2010 for the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix. He slotted his car, christened Luscious Liz this year, at 1:54.101 in Q3 – only 0.141 seconds ahead of Felipe Massa’s Ferrari. Massa upstaged team mate Fernando Alonso by another 0.4 seconds and that is quite an achievement for the Brazilian who is driving his first competitive F1 race after that accident in Hungary last year (full times).
Vettel got his sixth career pole on a single hot lap in the final session which is so to say becoming quite a habit with him. Last year also, playing fuel strategy games, he did so on more occasions than one can remember. He was on the option tyres (or the soft ones as they are generally known) today, while Massa and Alonso too had visible green bands on their tyres. The Spaniard seemed disappointed during the press conference (televised) but seemed quietly confident about their race pace. And that is no surprise, for Ferrari have been talked about being good on their tyres with heavy fuel loads, all winter. Vettel may have done his job on Saturday but there is so much more to do on Sunday.
The major surprise was the final standing of the McLaren cars, especially world champion Jenson Button down in 8th while Lewis Hamilton was fourth. One thinks it was down to the tyre-wear problems that Hamilton complained about during Friday practice and the team really has some work to do if they are to make their rear wing advantage count in these initial races, given that their best placed car is one second behind Vettel’s time. The fourth top team in the mix, Mercedes GP had a decent outing in Nico Rosberg’s hands. It has been amply clear that the new aerodynamic package they have brought to Bahrain, inclusive of the new diffuser design, doesn’t give them the edge that Michael Schumacher (7th) would have been hoping for. If we know the seven time world champion, and I think we do, he wouldn’t be happy about Nico trumping him.
Force India’s Adrian Sutil surprised every one with a third best time in Q1 before finishing 9th ultimately. The big point here is that Sutil set his final time on hard tyres and that is going to be an advantage during the race because all other nine drivers in the top ten will all start on soft tyres. The next man who will have the option to start on hard tyres – which are the preferred choice this weekend – is Rubens Barrichello in his Williams at 11th. The team would be disappointed that they didn’t finish higher with the highly rated Nico Hulknberg also ending 13th on the grid. Robert Kubica’s Renault at 10th and the news that both Saubers are good on tyres in the race trim, makes the battle for ‘best of the rest’ tag an intriguing one.
There isn’t much to talk about the new teams as they need a hell lot of time to get upto speed and Hispania Racing needs that time most of all. Amidst all this, Karun Chandhok finally had the opportunity to make his F1 debut. He had missed out on all three practice sessions so far and needed atleast five laps to qualify for the race on Sunday as per FIA regulations. He managed seven laps which began with a horrifying gap of 21 seconds to the top runner in Q1 but ultimately managed to bring in the car within 1.7 seconds of Bruno Senna who has had much more time in the cockpit. Decent start one would say and now it’s a waiting game!
Bahrain Grand Prix 2010: Friday Practice
The first Friday practice of the season turned out to be on expected lines. You can call them two sessions ‘mini-me’ versions of pre-season testing if you want, for nothing much different could be said about the times racked up by the teams and drivers. Nothing different from what we saw in those four tests atleast except maybe the odd surprise!
The Bahrain circuit has been extended after corner four into the desert – a tight, twisty mix of some five-six corners which then joins back the original circuit at the old corner five. This has increased the length of the circuit to 6 kilometers plus, second longest on the calendar after Spa, Belgium. Of course lap times will increase obviously but it was a rude shock to see the first timed lap of the day by Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus read 2:04.225. One wondered if we were still watching Formula One!
The quickest time in first practice was set by Force India’s Adrian Sutil. He was 0.183 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari and in a surprise third place was Renualt’s Robert Kubica (full times). In second practice, Nico Rosberg put his Mercedes on first spot, followed by Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren and the returning Michael Schumacher in third (full times). The combined quickest time from both practice sessions was Nico’s 1:55.409 and one must admit it was a relief to see times below two minutes from the top teams atleast.
While in the second practice session, teams did some heavy fuel running, times from the first session suggest that on a green track – sand flying all around – the teams weren’t as light. This again points out to the dilemma of those watching: what is the real order as per raw pace of the cars? We will know a lot more after Saturday practice which is when teams will want to do set-up runs for light weight running in qualifying. And then there is the qualifying to come after that, probably the most anticipated such session in the last decade or so. On Fridays everywhere, we will see much of what we saw today in Bahrain and this cycle will repeat all year round.
Talking up Indian interests, Force India seem to be on the pace and given the times in both sessions they might be the ones to get a grip early on the ‘best of the rest’ tag, ahead of Williams and Renault. That is not a judgment yet but will become one as early as Monday if the team shows such consistent pace throughout the weekend. For the lone Indian driver on the grid, the day didn’t even start. Karun Chandhok’s car was being worked upon by Hispania mechanics the entire day and they might only get it ready in time for the third free practice on Saturday. That they managed to get Bruno Senna out for a few laps shows the team’s determination. Hoping to see more of them this weekend!
2010 IPL Diary: Deccan Chargers trumped by Kolkata Knight Riders
As if the IPL wasn’t loud enough over the last two years, what with the likes of Ravi Shastri, Danny Morrison and company bellowing commercials into their microphones, SET MAX kicked off their 2010 coverage with Navjot Singh Sidhu back in the experts saddle, after like an eternity. 
The other day on Twitter I came across the channel’s marketing VP’s (don’t remember her name!) tweet that they had a surprise in their line-up. I thought Mandira Bedi was going back to wearing sarees – with noodle straps of course. But now that it has come to light, no one can trump up our Member of Parliament Mr. Siddhu. The hosts on MAX should ask Siddhu his views on the Women’s Reservation Bill as well, while they are at it!
Lalit Modi’s ceremonial opening day speech rested on the banal and frankly does anyone care? By the time he stopped talking, everyone I know wanted to see the action unfold. And when it did, I thought Adam Gilchrist made a blunder not batting first. It is all very fine knowing what target to chase but this is the first day of the tournament and you are the champions. Dude, make a statement! After all they were up against last year’s hapless side – Kolkata Knight Riders.
It so happened that the statement came from the Shah Rukh Khan camp. Rather one should call it the ‘Sourav Ganguly camp’. The match see-sawed for the first thirty overs and both teams looked like wanting to gift the other a win. But when it came down to the last ten overs, suddenly Ganguly was seen frantically making changes, bowling and fielding ones, and they brought him results. You could see he was pumped up and had decided late that he wanted the win, badly.
Probably that was the difference between the two sides today and that can happen when one of the teams has had a previously bad enough season. This opening match takes me to last year’s opening game where Bangalore Royal Challengers beat 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals. Bangalore came through thanks to Anil Kumble’s intensity who picked up five wickets in that T20 game, yes! When you see guys like Kumble and Ganguly perform with their fire of old despite having retired from the international game, then you know watching the travesty that is IPL has turned out to be productive.
On a different note, I experienced my first on-air “cricket expert gig” with Radio One 94.3 today (12th March). It felt good to be talking cricket when you know more than one person might be listening in. The hilariously good part was the alias assigned to me, Dr. IPL! The bad part I would say was that the bites were too small, four of them stretched not more than two to three minutes each spread across one hour of programming. I would have loved to keep talking cricket incessantly but it is a music channel first and foremost. The best part is there are 45 more days to go yet!
Hispania Racing needs mileage: Karun Chandhok
When the Bahrain pit lane is opened for the first time in the 2010 season on Friday, a mega Formula One season awaits us. It is going to be a vintage year and that has been confirmed by the four pre-season tests, which paradoxically didn’t really reveal much. All they helped us do was speculate and anticipate what is going to happen in nineteen races where as many as four teams and eight drivers might be in contention for the world titles up for grabs. 
Somewhere on the circuit, lagging behind the action for the podiums will be Karun Chandhok – India’s only second Formula One driver ever. He is super excited to be part of this mega year where he will be sharing track space with four world champions, but knows only too well that jostling for grid position with these seasoned racers is something he will have to wait for.
“Our goals are a bit different this season. While these teams will be competing for race wins and podiums, we will be focusing on targets that are totally different from the top teams. I think the challenge really is to do well where you are on the grid and our goal is to beat the new teams by the end of the season. Race wins are of course not our expectations and we are very realistic in terms of our goals on track. But talking in general, I think we have a tremendously exciting season lined up for Formula One fans across the world”, he said on the eve of departure for his first ever F1 race.
Besides, he is only too aware of the time when last an Indian was on the grid. It was 2005 and Michael Schumacher was struggling in his Ferrari while Fernando Alonso rode to the title. It could well be expected again this season with Ferrari flying and Mercedes GP a tad slow during testing, but that is least of the two-time GP2 race winner’s problems. Chandhok is more intent on making sure that what happened with Narain Karthikeyan doesn’t happen to him.
“I think it is unfair to compare Narain and me. The two of us are very different individuals in two different situations. The only similarity is that we are both Indian Formula One drivers. The team he drove for, Jordan was a proven race winner in the past and it was just a case of him coming on board when they were on a decline. My first priority with Hispania Racing especially in the first few races is not to do anything stupid, to stay out of trouble, learn quickly and whole heartedly, and at the same time be fast enough to prove and show that I belong here in the top league”, he says stressing on the need of gaining experience in the initial races.
One remembers the time when Narain drove. Although only a few hundreds in number then, Formula One fans across the country were disappointed not to see him drive away to glory. And then there were those who were writing off the fastest Indian at that time without fully understanding the reasoning behind Jordan’s poor run. When one pointed out the possibility of a similar verdict this year as well given the buzz of anticipation going around, Karun sounded quite optimistic.
“There are three new teams in the fray, Virgin, Lotus and us, and I think once we get the first few races out of the way, we should be competitive with them and should be looking to score some points in the second half of the season. I believe as a team we have the resources and capability to do just that. However that said, Hispania Racing will be treating the first four races of the season beginning Bahrain for getting useful mileage. I think we are five to ten thousand kilometers off from being upto pace. Once we get there, we can start talking about the potential of the car from Barcelona onwards”, he signed off.
IPL 2010: Kolkata Knight Riders Preview
2009 Record: Eighth 2008 Record: Sixth
Squad: Sourav Ganguly Sourav (captain), Varun Aaron, Iqbal Abdulla, Ajit Agarkar, Eklakh Ahmed, Ashoke Dinda, Chris Gayle, Rohan Gavaskar, Brad Hodge, Harshad Khadiwale, Murali Kartik, Charles Langeveldt, Angelo Mathews, Brendon McCullum, Ajantha Mendis, Chirag Pathak, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha, Owais Shah, Ishant Sharma, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Manoj Tiwary, Ganapathi Vignesh.
Strengths & Weaknesses:
With the return of Sourav Ganguly to the helm of affairs, Kolkata Knight Riders have one of the best captains in modern day cricket and his presence alone makes sure that a great thinking process is behind each and every move of the franchise. With him in the side they are not only assured of an amazing leader of men but also a brilliant batsman and a crowd puller, all in one. But he has his limitations too, especially since he retired from international cricket some time back and has been trying to stay in shape for the IPL games. It is his last year contracted to the franchise and he ought to have sets his sights on winning the IPL crown, to re-affirm that he is still the best when it comes to donning the captaincy hat.
Along with Rajasthan Royals, they were the worst hit in terms of losing their Pakistani players. Umar Gul and Shoaib Akhtar could have been very useful with the new ball and this year they have parted ways with Ricky Ponting as well. But in come Shane Bond and Owais Shah (through a transfer) and the two can prove to be good assets if given a longer run in the scheme of things.
They have pretty heavy firepower in the likes of Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle but the downside is that the duo won’t be available for much of the first few weeks. That time is enough to dislodge their challenge but Ganguly and Brad Hodge being propped up the order seems to be an ideal pairing. Their Sri Lankan players Angelo Mathews and Ajantha Mendis will be key to their fortunes and just like this duo, it can be said that the Knight Riders are indeed the dark horses of the tournament.
Note: This is an extract from the Kolkata Knight Riders preview first published at www.cricketworld.com. To read the full article, click here.
IPL 2010: Rajasthan Royals Preview
2009 Record: Sixth 2008 Record: Champions
Squad: Shane Warne (captain), Swapnil Asnodkar, Johan Botha, Faiz Fazal, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Kamran Khan, Michael Lumb, Damien Martyn, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Morne Morkel, Sumit Narwal, Naman Ojha, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Amit Paunikar, Syed Ahmed Quadri, Abhishek Raut, Amit Singh, Graeme Smith, Shaun Tait, Siddharth Trivedi, Shrikant Wagh.
Strengths & Weaknesses:
The return to home conditions this third season of the IPL will surely play to their strengths once again. Shane Warne is a shrewd man and he will know that the confidence he inspired in his team two seasons ago was mostly down to the same reason. Now that they are back, all he needs to do is revise his pep talks from 2008 and get the adrenaline pumping again. Only this time he can add to it by saying that the title that was theirs has been taken away.
It is a side that has a lot riding on its foreign players. But that is true for any side in the IPL. What stands them apart is the fact that they need their young guns to fire if they are to do well. And that is a heavy ask if they cannot find any form. But that shouldn’t really be a problem for they have endured a hard domestic season and are more or less aware of where they stand. T20 should help them feed off their learning and it could be an event to watch out for the youngsters from Rajasthan.
The other highlight would be two Australian players in the side apart from Warne. Damien Martyn and Shaun Tait will return to high profile action after considerable time. Martyn is indeed a good purchase for the side for they let go off Mohammad Kaif. The former Australia middle order batsman can pace the innings and at the same time attack the bowling with flair. The only question remains is whether he will be able to bring it to the table?
We know Shaun Tait will. He has been in stupendous from this past season, especially in the KFC T20 Bash, and has even managed to return back to the national fold thanks to that. In 2008, Shane Watson benefited from playing under Warne and his international career just shot from there. This could be Tait’s year.
Note: This is an extract from the Rajasthan Royals preview first published at www.cricketworld.com. To read the full article, click here.
IPL 2010: Mumbai Indians Preview
2009 Record: Seventh 2008 Record: Fifth
Squad: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Dwayne Bravo, JP Duminy, Shikhar Dhawan, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya, Zaheer Khan, Dhawal Kulkarni, Chandan Madan, Lasith Malinga, Ishan Malhotra, Ryan McLaren, Ali Murtaza, Graham Napier, Abhishek Nayar, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Rajagopal Sathish, Syed Sahabuddin, Rahul Shukla, Harbhajan Singh, Aditya Tare, Saurabh Tiwary.
Strengths & Weaknesses: They are strong right at the top of the team line-up where two of the greatest batsmen bat for them together, Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. If they get going, then it is curtains for the opposition without even facing a ball and it will only seldom happen that both of them will fail. Generally it has so happened in the last two seasons that Tendulkar built the innings while Sanath blazed away, but what was missing in the first season, was support to them from the batsmen coming later in the order.
That was sorted out by bringing in Shikhar Dhawan and JP Duminy last season although the latter is yet to prove his worth to the side. They have also recruited Ambati Rayudu from the players returning from the ICL fold and he could be a useful player in the middle order. They had also previously gotten Zaheer Khan from the Bangalore side and with Dilhara Fernando and Lasith Malinga form a potent fast bowling attack well complimented by Harbhajan Singh and Abhishek Nayyar’s military medium stuff.
But for the two seasons, while things have been slightly confused for them, they have also been missing a spark in the side. And that might come this year from Keiron Pollard, the hard hitting cricketer from Trinidad. Now take a look at the side and it appears to be complete with Pollard the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle. The only point that remains to be seen is if the pieces will be in place when the third season kicks off for this finely balanced side.
Note: This is an extract from the Mumbai Indians preview first published at www.cricketworld.com. To read the full article, click here.
IPL 2010: Kings XI Punjab Preview
2009 Record: Fifth 2008 Record: Semi-Finalist
Squad: Kumar Sangakkara (captain & wicket-keeper), Yusuf Abdulla, Love Ablish, Adrian Barath, Manvinder Bisla, Ravi Bopara, Piyush Chawla, Karan Goel, James Hopes, Mahela Jayawardene, Mohammad Kaif, Brett Lee, Vikramjeet Malik, Shaun Marsh, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Bipul Sharma, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Amanpreet Singh, Yuvraj Singh, S. Sreesanth, Shalabh Srivastava, Tanmay Srivastava.
Strengths & Weaknesses:
One of the biggest debating points for the team was the captaincy of Yuvraj Singh. Amongst the eight franchises, probably this was the only team wherein the skipper wasn’t actually in the scheme of things to lead his county. Seen from a different point of view, that is a weakness for captaincy is an art just like batting or bowling, and you need to practice that a bit as well.
This year Kumar Sangakkara takes over the reigns making it the fifth team in the fray to have a foreign player as captain. For the point discussed above, this is a very good thing. They will have some one with experience in T20 cricket as to how to lead the troops on the field when push comes to shove.
Also as compared to the last season, when they had to make do for long without their foreign players, this time quite a few of them will be available plus injury concerns seem not to be an issue either. A full squad for a competition this long is always desirable and the owners’ prayers seem to have been answered for once.
They haven’t made any big purchases in the off-season but a low key one – that of Mohammad Kaif and he alone is the reason for cheer. As a T20 player, Kaif won’t find many takers but the players who know him will tell that he is a complete player. One feels that Rajasthan Royals made a mistake letting him go in South Africa last year just as they have done this year and their loss will be Punjab’s gain. He will play the anchor role in the middle order which is fast becoming increasingly important in T20 cricket as well and will allow the batsmen around him to play shots at will. His inclusion will also mean that the combination of four foreign players to be chosen can be tinkered around with as per the requirements. Any team that affords this sort of balance is a fantastic prospect.
Note: This is an extract from the Kings XI Punjab preview first published at www.cricketworld.com. To read the full article, click here.
IPL 2010: Delhi Daredevils Preview
2009 Record: Semi-Finalist 2008 Record: Semi-Finalist
Squad: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Rajat Bhatia, Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB de Villiers, Moises Henriques, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Sarabjeet Ladda, Farveez Maharoof, Mithun Manhas, Amit Mishra, Andrew McDonald, Dirk Nannes, Ashish Nehra, Wayne Parnell, Shashi Ranjan, Aavishkar Salvi, Virender Sehwag, Pradeep Sangwan, Sarandeep Singh, Joginder Singh, David Warner, Umesh Yadav.
Strengths & Weaknesses:
Over the last couple of years, just one look at their squad was sufficient to know that they didn’t really have a well balanced side. In the first year they had some really good players who are well known exponents in their respective arts. It was forgivable for the competition was only in the first year and several lessons would be learnt. But Delhi did not learn theirs. In 2009, they again went out to play with a side that was top heavy and very weak in the middle order. That proved to be their undoing last year just as it was in 2008.
In Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, they boast of two very fine batsmen at the top of the order and some equally gifted ones in Tilakratne Dilshan and AB de Villiers. While these four will fire on most occasions and sometimes Dinesh Karthik will chip in as well, on the rare occasion they do fail, Delhi collapse. And in the last two seasons that has happened in the semi-finals without fail, otherwise they would have been champions. This is their weakness and one which was thought to have been addressed when they bought both Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah. But the two didn’t get to play much and we know what happened.
They have offloaded Shah and brought in Moises Henriques into the side but along with David Warner and Dirk Nannes, there will be plenty of foreign names to choose from and it will be a selection headache for new captain Gambhir. One solution could be to allow Warner and Sehwag to open and the skipper himself coming in at number three, allowing the batting to run deep. But that will again be dependent on which four foreign players they choose to play in their eleven.
This is a puzzle for they have two bowlers Dirk Nannes and Wayne Parnell who would be contesting for a spot alongwith Ashish Nehra. Henriques and Ferveez Maharoof are also in the fray and it is good to have so many options with the ball in what will be a keen challenge for the bowlers given that the Indian pitches won’t really support them. One advantage though could be playing at home, in Delhi, where the pitch will be under scrutiny once again and lack of bounce is to be expected since it is under continuous work.
Note: This is an extract from the Delhi Daredevils preview first published at www.cricketworld.com. To read the full article, click here.
