We have managed to get hold of some high-res images of yesterday’s Bahrain Grand Prix which served as the 2010 season opener. Fernando Alonso was the first driver to cross the finish line in his scarlet Ferrari followed by his Brazilian teammte Felipe Massa making it a 1-2 victory for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton of McLaren was the other driver who made it onto the podium as Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel suffered from a spark plug problem which forced the pole-sitter to finish in fourth place.
Apart from familiar faces, the Grand Prix also featured new faces on the grid including Virgin, Hispania and Lotus Racing. Among these three teams, Lotus emerged on top as both of its drivers managed to finish the 49-lap race. Virgin and Hispania did not enjoy the same as they were part of a retirement sandstorm.
The race also marked the return of 7-times World Champion Michael Schumacher to the sport since 2006 with the Mercedes GP Petronas outfit. Although I was looking forward to the race, I am disspointed with the lack of entertainment as overtaking was very minimal. Despite having more teams the race was quite boring. I believe the race would have been better off without the mid-race refueling ban.
Nevertheless continue reading to view the image gallery.
at 12:45 am
what ??? 2 laps behind ?? Is that true ?
Thats bad !
I didnt see the race. Will need a miracle now
How did Schuey Petronas finish ?
at 5:04 am
Aiyoyo… Toni
Mahathir mau jumpa you !
"Lotus must perform well in Bahrain" … finish last bukan perform is underperform !
You ada mood celebrate lagi ?
at 5:13 am
where all the pretty girls? got ban also huh?
at 5:27 am
So this is the standards we set for ourselves eh? Finish last and finish with both cars running and we're 'over the moon'? I know Lotus fanboys here are gonna object and say 'it's their first race, bla bla bla' but I ask: so what? Can't we have set higher targets for ourselves? If we don't benchmark ourselves against the best, we'll never be the best.
Typical Malaysian mentality. Proud to be mediocre. This circus is sucking the Malaysian coffers dry and you boleh-boys are too blinded by manufactured 'pride' to see it. Pfft.
at 5:47 am
thecarman,
Why not you go and prove yourself instead of saying other not able to do it ? I believe in people who carry out the action. Not the one use the mouth to complain others.
for malaysia f1 team, keep it up and don't waste our money. I am please that thecarman is not the person who drive or who sponsor it or else it would be my country's shame.
at 5:49 am
Whats with all the negativity? Its our virgin race, and Lotus F1 is the only team to fimish with the new Campos engine. Give them some more time I suppose? Pfft.
at 5:50 am
1) Well done PETRONAS. SYABAS & TAHNIAH !!
2) Lotus team image sucks big time ! Team principals who wants to live-up to the rich and celebrity lifestyle akin Sir Richard Branson's ….. and team members who are either F1 yesteryears or just enjoying the free-holidaying globetrotting at Malaysia's expense – One word – Pathetic
at 5:55 am
thecarman said,
March 15, 2010 @ 9:27 pm
So this is the standards we set for ourselves eh? Finish last and finish with both cars running and we’re ‘over the moon’? I know Lotus fanboys here are gonna object and say ‘it’s their first race, bla bla bla’ but I ask: so what? Can’t we have set higher targets for ourselves? If we don’t benchmark ourselves against the best, we’ll never be the best.
Typical Malaysian mentality. Proud to be mediocre. This circus is sucking the Malaysian coffers dry and you boleh-boys are too blinded by manufactured ‘pride’ to see it. Pfft.
==========================================
Dude..they have target for first race and they are not target to be LAST at all race.. they collecting data from the first race and to improve.."Typical Malaysian mentality" like u said before always bash others..let them improve..wait and see the improvement if not then u can say…
at 5:58 am
thecarman said,
March 15, 2010 @ 9:27 pm
So this is the standards we set for ourselves eh? Finish last and finish with both cars running and we’re ‘over the moon’? I know Lotus fanboys here are gonna object and say ‘it’s their first race, bla bla bla’ but I ask: so what? Can’t we have set higher targets for ourselves? If we don’t benchmark ourselves against the best, we’ll never be the best.
Typical Malaysian mentality. Proud to be mediocre. This circus is sucking the Malaysian coffers dry and you boleh-boys are too blinded by manufactured ‘pride’ to see it. Pfft.
————————————————
Dude…they gather data from first race wait for thier improvement if not they u can say wtever u want to said.."Typical Malaysian mentality" always bash other…
at 5:58 am
Very very boring race….look like A1 GP…
at 6:07 am
First commentor is an idiot of the highest order. The fact that they managed to finish the race with no prior experience, says a lot. They in fact performed very well considering that contrary to what people believe, the Lotus team's funds are very low. Do not be douchebags and simply speak like you are worldly wise.
Stupid people should be banned from procreating. and that means you, if you are gonna comment something stupid.
Back to post.
Why no pictures of Mclaren? But really nice pictures.
at 6:09 am
thecarman…
u r a typical malaysian….!!!!!!
never ending complain……..
sighhh,……………..
search on the net.. everyone in the world said is a good start…
u want ur child to run a minute after born…?
impossible..!! is step by step process…
this is just the 1st step… =)
at 7:04 am
Seriously all cars looks ugly with short rear wings/spoilers…
BTW thecarman.. targeting to complete the race without any failure is quite a good target for a NEW TEAM with a NEWLY DEVELOPED CAR in LESS THAN 6 MONTHS…. if they sets their target higher and not being able to achieve it.. you'll still bashed them…
berpijak di bumi nyata… ukur baju di badan sendiri… know your capability and sets target based on you capability… not by you ridiculous dream… at least Lotus performs better than all the other new teams….all four virgin n HRT did not even finish the race….
at 7:08 am
Actually not bad lah for Lotus to bring both cars to the finishing line in the first race. If i am not mistaken many other first timers did not finish at all.
Anyway, I purposely install Astro just to watch F1 because it has all the elements to be an exciting season – return of schumi, many strong contenders like Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren; but unfortunately those new regulations have made the race so incredibly boring. The cars are slow due to the heavy fuel load and there is no room for tactical play whatsoever.
Hopefully all these are because the race is still new and the teams are playing safe just to size up the actual dynamics of the new regulation.
at 7:08 am
People Who make Cynical Comments Are Failure in their own lives and has nothing to offer. Go Lotus!, You guys Make us proud. Ignore those cynics as they have nothing to contribute Except being loudmouth, failure in their own life and wanting the Same of people
at 7:15 am
guys, lotus is not proton, save the bashing for another day.
at 7:25 am
Hmm… Tony Fernandes did say he won't be principal for long… maybe a super genius like thecarman can replace him? And if Lotus under thecarman cannot finish 1-2, he should commit harakiri. Let him taste his own medicine.
at 7:38 am
Lotus sure can win ! …. if the rest crashes and breakdown lor
Collect data on 1st race excuse ?? Bangun la , you think F1 is your PC hardisk ?
They are 2 laps behind la… the podiums finishers can drink coffee and eat roti canai before they even arrive !
What a good laff !
Full of excuses for failures – we are always good at that
at 7:42 am
2 laps behind ! thats a good one
Macha, Satu tehtarik sini !
at 7:55 am
most of guys here who bash lotus must be never heard abt f1. it's not a small sports event. there'r lots of other sports tht u guys should be concern abt, such as football(we used to be one of the greatest team in asia) hockey(used be among elite), sepak takraw(already lost to laos team)..badminton(no backup to chong wei)..but not f1 because we never had a f1 team before. besides winning, f1 also become a moving advertising..it's a big accomplishment to the new team tht can finish the race bcause ur car on tv(or in front of live spectators) until the race finish. as long as the car can remain on track until the race is over, i'm good abt it. good luck!
at 7:57 am
since when they use our money!!….huhuhhu
at 8:05 am
yeh….malaicia bolei !!!
at 8:15 am
Still the morons keep rolling in.
Lotusmenang.
This guy thinks he is hilarious. You must be a clerk or a salesman or a flipping druggie.
Every-fking-thing needs constant data updates. Esp in F1 where the stats are very important. You probably do not know jacksh!t about anything but you want to come off as the smart schmuck.
Only in malaysia do we have morons numbering into the millions.
Do you go to sleep at night feeling happy that you have said some fakeass sh!t such as malaysia sucks and blablabla..
Do tell what makes a person like you happy?
Legalization of prawn? hookers?
GTFO if you wanna say some senseless sh!t.
at 8:24 am
just ignore all these good for nothing douchebags. they are still living under their tempurung and croaking blindly. they can't tell daylight from night time, crap from fact, seasoned teams from new teams, etc. just stay hidden under your tempurung and shut the croak up. you guys are just being plain immature and croaking just for the sake of croaking.
at 8:24 am
some people are plain stupid and blindly ignorant…
if are you are so good, then go establish your own f1 team… dont simply bash others (who by the way can afford to have their own f1 outfit)…
at 8:28 am
Neverever know history of F1 and just want simply comment….LotusMenang if you know lot in F1 i think u never post that kind of comment….dont bash if u have zero information…
at 8:31 am
LotusMenang said,
March 15, 2010 @ 11:38 pm
Lotus sure can win ! …. if the rest crashes and breakdown lor
Collect data on 1st race excuse ?? Bangun la , you think F1 is your PC hardisk ? They are 2 laps behind la… the podiums finishers can drink coffee and eat roti canai before they even arrive !
What a good laff !
Full of excuses for failures – we are always good at that
——————————————
can you write before you learn? maybe your brain can't even think.
Tony Fernandes bought Air Asia which indebted by over RM40million and transformed it to a company with profit of over RM400million per year. can you do that? if not, then shut up!
Lotus team have proven that they're on the right track, and progressing steadily. for that, they deserve praise, not blind bash by stupid bashers.
at 8:55 am
Was very lucky that our hard earn RM give some result and managed to maintain the race. Malaysia name can be seen for another race or two. Lets pray so they will be able to continue for few more race so our hard earn RM provide a better return.
at 8:59 am
Alex Yoong i bet you can do better if not equal time even in your A1 car !
Alex you are wanted as Team Principal…. but les forget we dont pay well dude
at 9:51 am
yeah we know the outfit is new… and finishing is an accomplishment by it self. Through the past few seasons we've seen new outfits come n go… hmmmm… can't help wonder if they should at least tone down the enthusiasm a bit. 'Aim high for there is no virtue in easy victories' – Sir Edmund Hillary.
at 2:52 pm
thecarman said,
March 15, 2010 @ 9:27 pm
So this is the standards we set for ourselves eh? Finish last and finish with both cars running and we’re ‘over the moon’? I know Lotus fanboys here are gonna object and say ‘it’s their first race, bla bla bla’ but I ask: so what? Can’t we have set higher targets for ourselves? If we don’t benchmark ourselves against the best, we’ll never be the best.
Typical Malaysian mentality. Proud to be mediocre. This circus is sucking the Malaysian coffers dry and you boleh-boys are too blinded by manufactured ‘pride’ to see it. Pfft.
——————-
Typical Malaysian mentality, negative thinking, belittling other people achievements. I dare you to design an F1 car in 6 months and have that car run among the big boys, RELIABLY. I doubt you can! For the first couple of races, it's imperative for Lotus to run reliably. The speed should come soon.
at 4:43 pm
I dunno about you ppl here, just saves up for another 18 races result then you can rant anything you want.
at 5:33 pm
Guys..Lets look at what this:-
"I am just very, very proud of everyone."
And with Gascoyne ever keen to push his team on, his says is target is now on closing the gap to Scuderia Toro Rosso over the forthcoming races.
"We have to start qualifying better," he said, "The Toro Rosso was the car ahead of us and the gap was a couple of seconds, but now, as is right in motor racing, we are focusing on the next team we have to beat. We have to close that gap down and start ticking that one off next."
Lotus have their next target. No more battling for the newcomer but catching up the pace of more established team.
at 5:41 pm
i hv been complaining why did they remove the kers, system, that gave me so much excitement!!!!
at 5:49 pm
I'm hoping that MercGP Shcuey could take the win in next race… looking at the race last weekend the 7 time world champs still got his sleek touch on the track and corners…go MercGP Petronas…oh Go Lotus F1 as well…make us proud..(hope Fairuz Fauzy can drive in the race)..
at 5:59 pm
weird people
its like the end of the world
a good start what?
cakap saja kerja tak mau
at 6:42 pm
Good Start to Lotus!!!.. Finish The Race…. Support Lotus FI.. 1Malaysia!!… and Well Done to My Favourate Team … Mercedes GP Petronas!!
at 6:49 pm
Hahaha… This is the problem with malaysian mind…
want to get everything fast and big but with less effort…
Open a shop today, rich tomorrow.
Buy a car today, can go racing tomorrow.
Married today, got children tomorrow.
FAILURE is not an option to malaysian, even the one who are condemning also a FAILURE.
at 6:54 pm
I must say, if Lotus Racing ever use our money, I want to chip in for more. At least give me a small percentage share of the team.
I really don't know where some of you guys got the idea that our money being used? How much do you guys pay the tax actually? A million a year? Stop politicising everything. Maybe you guys should call a ban on every sport there is in Malaysia because one way or another the government is supporting them every year without any tangible result. Well, except for badminton and squash maybe. And we should close down Ministry of Sport since you guys don't really prefer our tax money being wasted on sport.
How do you want your tax money to be spend? On a plate with caviar?
at 7:09 pm
Its obvious that those who are blindly promoting probably working in Lotus or Naza, or simply contented with mediocrisy.
Facts are facts this is F1. There is no room for error or second chances
7 world time champion Shuey + McLaren can't even make it to the podium. Shows how much more competitive F1 has been of late
And here comes Lotus with a bunch of inexperience drivers and team members who plans to win on a shoe string budget ?
So unless Lotus technology have somehow surpassed McLaren in the last 6 months, Lotus should have stayed away from the F1 world like BMW, Toyota and Honda. At least then, Lotus reputation will remain intact !
And for those who are overly patrotic, just remember that the Lotus car has more Tune and Naza stickers on it than the Malaysia flag. So what was supposed to be a 1MalaysiaF1 car , ended up as a billboard on wheels for others… at the expense of our country as usual !
My bet is with Petronas to promote Malaysia, thank you
at 8:34 pm
6month to build a f1 car from scratch was already superb performance…
and to run the car in the first race and finishing without any major problems was also an achievement……
since now f1 turning into fuel endurance test, race data collection was important as eating for breakfast…if u don't take your breakfast sure u can give the reason to your boss when your job failed the first time…
-sure they don't want a fast car but will run out of fuel 10laps before the race finish…
-engineering is not as simple as typing stupid comments here my friend…
even u can't prep a race winning track car in that short time….UNLESS….u got unlimited budget AND the best person to work in the field….
in lotus…they didn't get the best with the budget…BUT….it wasn't the worst either…they have to work fully get the best of everything they had now…IMO…we would see them progress to the middle pack by mid-season…(as more sponsor pouring in allowing more R&D to be made)
at 8:44 pm
TruthHurts said,
March 16, 2010 @ 11:09 am
Its obvious that those who are blindly promoting probably working in Lotus or Naza, or simply contented with mediocrisy.
Facts are facts this is F1. There is no room for error or second chances
7 world time champion Shuey + McLaren can’t even make it to the podium. Shows how much more competitive F1 has been of late
And here comes Lotus with a bunch of inexperience drivers and team members who plans to win on a shoe string budget ?
So unless Lotus technology have somehow surpassed McLaren in the last 6 months, Lotus should have stayed away from the F1 world like BMW, Toyota and Honda. At least then, Lotus reputation will remain intact !
And for those who are overly patrotic, just remember that the Lotus car has more Tune and Naza stickers on it than the Malaysia flag. So what was supposed to be a 1MalaysiaF1 car , ended up as a billboard on wheels for others… at the expense of our country as usual !
My bet is with Petronas to promote Malaysia, thank you
___________________________________________________________________________
I've never comment on this web before.. but you really ticked me off…
Inexperienced driver??? duuudddeeee… Jarno Trulli raced in F1 since 2000 with Jordan… in 2009, starting from pitlane, gaining 3rd place finish before penalty… still inexperienced??
Heikki Kovalainen, join F1 since 2004… collecting 22 points in 2009 with McLaren… not good enough for you???
just STFU if u dont know what u're talking…
at 9:14 pm
A1GP was more exciting to watch than this rain in Bahrain.
at 9:34 pm
TruthHurts said,
March 16, 2010 @ 11:09 am
Its obvious that those who are blindly promoting probably working in Lotus or Naza, or simply contented with mediocrisy.
Facts are facts this is F1. There is no room for error or second chances
7 world time champion Shuey + McLaren can’t even make it to the podium. Shows how much more competitive F1 has been of late
And here comes Lotus with a bunch of inexperience drivers and team members who plans to win on a shoe string budget ?
So unless Lotus technology have somehow surpassed McLaren in the last 6 months, Lotus should have stayed away from the F1 world like BMW, Toyota and Honda. At least then, Lotus reputation will remain intact !
And for those who are overly patrotic, just remember that the Lotus car has more Tune and Naza stickers on it than the Malaysia flag. So what was supposed to be a 1MalaysiaF1 car , ended up as a billboard on wheels for others… at the expense of our country as usual !
My bet is with Petronas to promote Malaysia, thank you
———-
First of all, what is mediocrisy? Do you mean mediocracy? Maybe you shouldn't speak or write in English because you haven't mastered the spelling of English words, and according to you, people should not attempt to do things that they haven't mastered yet.
Secondly, Schumi's driving for Mercedes GP. NOT McLaren. Big difference. Maybe you shouldn't follow F1, because as before you couldn't even differentiate between McLaren and Mercedes GP.
Thirdly, ever heard the saying before you run, you must first learn how to walk? Do you really think the successful F1 teams got to where they are now right away? Williams' first F1 win came 10 years after Frank Williams first started participating in F1. Red Bull Racing was first Stewart GP, who only won one fluke race in 1999, before turning into Jaguar and finally to its current iteration. Even then it took them 4 years to get to where they are now. If they did as you told Lotus to do, we wouldn't have Williams or Red Bull or even McLaren and Ferrari for that matter! Lotus finishing a race after only a 6 month gestation period is an achievement not to be sniffed at, especially since the other two new teams retired! They know that they can't rest on their laurels and are targeting for improvement. Go read further on other website about them before commenting!
at 10:02 pm
Well brothers, after this paul can snap a photo of tony wearing Air Asia stewardess dress…
kwang kwang kwang
at 12:36 am
Dude, F1 is almost everything about learning from failures. Look at yourslef bashers, yes maybe you are a clever engineers, or architects… or anyone, but i bet, sometimes, you never get something new to you right. What i meant is, its hard to ensure everything is on its peek of quality and performance. 6 month is not a long period to built a car. To design a Kancil (mira), i bet it takes more than just 6 month. Try to design a super fast car like F1 car in 6 months? They performed good enough.
Furthermore, Ferrari, Mclaren, BMW, STR, they are well experienced team. They have a layout how to make an engine to obey the rules. Lotus? they have to start from an A4 paper and a pencil back. To make everything work. Have you ever realised that?
Stop bashing. Give 'em support. You dont like it, here is not the place for you to bash. This is not paultanbashers.org blog. keep it to yourself, or make other blog that might be this popular just for you to bash. ok?
at 1:26 am
I think all these stupid LOTUSF1 bashers expect LOTUSF1 to use 90's LOTUS F1 race car data to implemented onto 2010 LOTUSF1 race car
hahahahahahahahahahaha
at 1:39 am
for 6 months, they got the car up and running, and finished A RACE.(Our previous F1 driver didnt achieve much.). Their very first and proper race. Not bad la. give them some time.
at 1:44 am
Come guys, do u remember the first season Vijay Mallya established Force India team 3 years ago? How did the team fare? Similar like what Lotus is facing rite now u know…. Rome wasn't built in a day!
Come on Lotus!
at 1:59 am
I can see a fat guy in lotus's pit crew…Shouldnt all of them be fit??
hehehe just joking..
at 2:05 am
dzulx, You're very observant! Probably that guy's job was just to wipe the helmet visor of the driver, don't need to be fit for that I guess!
at 2:33 am
A coal would turn into a diamond under intense pressure. Give them some time to progress. I think we could acquire the strongest and shiniest diamond we could ever have in our sport history.
at 3:06 am
hurm.. mean i also qualified for visor-wiper job. haha
at 3:47 am
They are not established team as the big boys but they still on track and can manage finish the race. Sure they know what the point to improve. Hope the next race will be better
at 6:53 pm
I hate it that so many people here who doesn't follow F1 closely make smart comments on how crap lotus is and making inaccurate statements which they claim as fact. I should know, I have followed f1 for the past 11 years, check F1 websites I have bookmarked every 3-4 hours and have not missed watching a race since 6 years ago, only missing races prior to that because I had school, even then I recorded them. They all think that it's so easy for first timers to be better than established teams. Guys, try being a beginner at anything, ANYTHING at all and see how good you fair compared to people who have been doing it for years. I guarantee you that you will fail. It is only fair to compare people on the same level as you. Everything takes time, there is no such thing as an instant success.
at 8:40 pm
It depends what the targets are that they have set themselves up against.
Yes, Lotus should be very satisfied and pleased to have both cars finish in their first race especially in a place like Bahrain. I am sure that was the target they set for themselves for this race and it was a fair target.
BUT to celebrate with champagne popping as seen in the post race pics?? C'MON??!
Read the autosport article below especially the last 2 paragraphs. Good read.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82186
at 9:08 pm
LOTUS BOOSTED BY 9$ MILLION PETROBRAS DEAL
at 10:29 pm
anyyzen said,
March 17, 2010 @ 1:08 pm
LOTUS BOOSTED BY 9$ MILLION PETROBRAS DEAL
——————-
Heh, Petronas tak dapat, Petrobras boleh.
at 10:34 pm
Well since they couldn't get PETRONAS they went to for the closest sounding alternative, PETROBRAS
Lets wait until such news become official otherwise I would treat it a the usual under the radar gossip talk.