Fastest laps scoring: Bahrain

[Schummy]

Scores according to fastest laps in race (1st=19, 2nd=18, etc...)

                     A  M  B  T
Rosa        McLaren       19(57)•••••••••••••••••••
Alonso      Renault 19 16 18 53 ------------------
Raikkonen   McLaren 16 19 17 52 -----------------
Trulli      Toyota   6 17 16 39 -------------
Barrichello Ferrari 17 10 12 39 -------------
Rschumacher Toyota  11 13 14 38 -------------
Montoya     McLaren 13 12    38 -------------
Heidfeld    Williams 8 18 11 37 ------------
Webber      Williams12 15 10 37 ------------
Mschumacher Ferrari 15  8 13 36 ------------
Button      BAR     14  6 15 35 ------------
Fisichella  Renault 18 14  2 34 -----------
Coulthard   RBR      9 11  7 27 ---------
Massa       Sauber   7  7  8 22 -------
Sato        BAR      4     9 20 -------
Klein       RBR     10  9  0 19 ------
Villeneuve  Sauber   5  5  6 16 -----
Monteiro    Jordan   2  3  5 10 ---
Kartykeyan  Jordan   3  4  1  8 ---
Davidson    BAR         2    (6)••
Friesacher  Minardi  1  0  4  5 --
Albers      Minardi  0  1  3  4 -


           A  M  B  T
McLaren   29 31 36 96 -------------------
Renault   37 30 20 87 -----------------
Toyota    17 30 30 77 ---------------
Ferrari   32 18 25 75 ---------------
Williams  20 33 21 74 ---------------
BAR       18  8 24 50 ----------
RBR       19 20  7 46 ---------
Sauber    12 12 14 38 --------
Jordan     5  7  6 18 ----
Minardi    1  1  7  9 --

• De la Rosa has done absolute fastest lap in his only GP, so he is a sort of "anomaly": too few data to know where he is.
• Behind the dominating Alonso and Raikkonen, there are a virtual tie between 9 drivers: Toyotas, Ferraris, both Williams, Montoya, Fisichella and Button.
• Villeneuve is definitively doing a pretty bad job.
• McLaren has a faster car than it appears just judging by grids and championship points: I expect them to be the dark horses in the next GPs.
• Renault, and particularly Alonso, has not needed to use the car at full speed. They have got three "easy" wins. Its true potential is yet to see.
• Toyota (specially Trulli!) is fast and reliable, but it is not so fast in race as we can think: Ferrari and Williams have approximately the same pace. It is in risk of being overtaken by them in the next GPs.
• RBR is "calming down" to normality after a very good beginning.
• BAR is only "saved" by good pace by Button. Sato and overall reliability are its weak side.

Just by now IMHO I expect this season to be a fight between Alonso and Raikkonen, with the great uncertainty about Schumacher/Ferrari. If Ferrari has a decent car then I would think it is an interesting three-part fight.

Formula 1 evolves so fast that all this can easily be changed in the next GPs, so... let's wait and laugh at this forecast at the middle of the season!

This is one of the funny things about F1: making "theories" and demolishing them later!

[ralf fan]

AT least RS is only one pt behind Trulli in this points system

[krt917]

Good work Schummy. I think that this could be quite interesting as the season develops.

It also shows that the McLaren does have raw pace - they obviously haven't made the most of the car's potential yet.

[Dog Faced Boy]

Button IS looking good even if it has been masked by circumstances so far. A Win may still be on this year.

[Hugh Jarce]

Interesting stats - however, one thing to add to the mix is that it appears that some of those most capable of burning outrageous laps, such as Alonso, have been dialling the revs down once in secure positions to save the engines for the two race format.

Trulli did the same and settle for second rather than potentially harming his engine. Mike G said from the pitwall they were operating on orange and didn't want to take it in the red.

So, it is possible that fastest laps do not tell us who's car is really performing well at the mo.