Massa silences his critics

While not wishing to take anything away from Robert Kubica`s excellent effort in qualifying yesterday - leading to any number of dreadful punning headlines - one has to wonder how many laps it will be before the Pole refuels today.

Then again, the same might be said of Felipe Massa, who looked set to take pole position having dominated almost every session this weekend.

There has been talk of the benefit of starting from the `clean side` here, however, as Robert said: "This year it`s more difficult to get a perfect start because without all the electronic systems there is more benefit to do everything perfectly. Even if you are on the clean side, if something goes wrong, you lose much more than someone who is on the dirty side and makes a good start."

We`re not gamblers at Pitpass, however, if we were, we`d say that the two Finns are running slightly heavier, though looking at the overall picture we`d say that Massa is favourite.

Either way, we should be in for an intriguing game at the front as BMW finally looks ready to mix it with the Ferraris and McLarens, even though it might not be a full on assault.

However, it is the battle of the midfield that really wets the appetite, with Williams, Toyota, Renault, Red Bull and Honda all making progress.

On paper, this has all the elements of a great race, however, as we know from bitter experience this means little. Despite the tweaking of the rules and the banning of drivers aids, F1 drivers seem to err on the side of caution, opting for a safe position rather than challenging for an improved position. As we saw in this morning`s GP2 race, sometimes overtaking manoeuvres end in tears, but if nothing else it`s great to see a driver give it a try.

That said, let`s hope there is no silliness at the first corner, especially in the wake of Lewis Hamilton admitting that he intends to make a "banzai start".

The Bahrain track, with its uniform grey track and beige sandy perimeter is a featureless, soulless place, let`s hope the racing doesn`t follow suit.

As the cars take their place on the grid, the air temperature is 29 degrees and the track temperature is 39 degrees. It is bright and sunny, but there are fears regarding the wind, not merely its strength but from which direction it will be coming.

Massa is very late arriving on the grid, only just getting there before the fifteen minutes warning, raising fears that there might be a problem. The team subsequently reveals that the Brazilian was merely suffering a problem with his earplugs

6.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Massa    ▪ www.pitpass.com