F1 - What the Bahrain Grand Prix Tells Us About the 2010 Season

The Formula One season is now well under way withlook like much of a threat to anyone.
the running of the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 14,And what of the king? Michael Schumacher returns to
2010. The first race of the season is always a tell taleFormula One after a three year retirement. He had an
sign for what the season will look like. Let's take a lookuneventful race. He didn't make a charge, but he also
at what we learned.didn't fall back into the field. It could be a frustrating
There are two top teams once again. Whereas it wasyear for him as the Mercedes just doesn't look very
Brawn and Red Bull last year, it looks to be Ferrari andfast. Of the four big teams, it currently seems to rank
Red Bull in 2010. The Scuderia came up with a 1-2a distant fourth. Things should improve since it is only
finish, but only after the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettelthe first race, but Red Bull and Ferrari appear to be
started having engine problems. Before this, however, itwell in front which makes it a large hill to climb.
was clear that both teams were well ahead of theThis was also the first race where we saw the
others on the track and were simply marking timeprodigy of Max Mosley. He pushed hard to get rid of
while trying to save the tires. The fact Fernandothe manufacturer dominance so privateers could join
Alonso said he had more speed after the race meansthe field. As expected, they were terrible. Of the six
there fight between Red Bull and Ferrari should be acars from the three new teams, only two made it to
good one. That being said, the flimsy Red Bull has tothe finish line - the Lotus cars. This is a good
stay together from a reliability stand point or Vettel'sdevelopment for Formula One? I think not.
championship hopes will be ruined.So, what can we predict for the 2010? Well, Red Bull
What of McLaren? Well, we learned the car performsseems to be the fastest car, but also very iffy on
much better of a race distance then it does on thereliability. The Ferrari is also very fast, but much more
one lap qualifying. While that is generally good news, itreliable based on the history of the team. Given this, I
also does not provide much hope for the season. Thiswould think the driver's championship will come down
appears to be another season where passing is goingto the end between Alonso and Vettel. I'll pick Vettel,
to be difficult. If Hamilton is qualifying in the fourthbut Ferrari for the constructor's championship since
through sixth position each race, it is asking a lot forMassa appears to be a much more consistent driver
him to somehow catch and pass the Red Bull andthan Webber and is thus likely to rack up far more
Ferrari cars. His teammate, Jenson Button, appears topoints. It will be interesting to see how things play out
still be enjoying the 2009 championship and does notover time.