Fernando Alonso's victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix exposed
potential problems with Formula One's rule changes, with some
drivers saying they could lead to duller racing this season.
F1 introduced a ban on refueling in order to reduce costs
and encourage more passing and create more exciting racing, but
Alonso's win seems to have reinforced the belief that it might have
the opposite effect as the sport goes into a highly anticipated
championship fight.
Sebastian Vettel's engine failure allowed Ferrari driver
Alonso to overtake in Bahrain, but seven-time champion Michael
Schumacher believed there is very little that drivers will be able
to do to make up positions.
Drivers will tend to be more cautious, ensuring they have
enough fuel to finish the race.
"Overtaking was basically impossible unless somebody made a
mistake," Schumacher said after his first race back in F1 after a
three-year retirement. "That is the action we are going to have
with this kind of environment of race strategy."
Schumacher finished sixth after starting seventh for
Mercedes — Red Bull's Mark Webber dropped back with an engine
issue after the start.
Lewis Hamilton, who finished third behind Alonso and his
Ferrari teammate, Felipe Massa, took advantage of Vettel's engine
problem to pass, although he had earlier passed Nico Rosberg to get
back to fourth.
"It is a different challenge," the McLaren driver said. "It
definitely didn't make racing more exciting in terms of being able
to overtake."
McLaren and Mercedes are among the teams hoping that changes
can be made before the racing becomes too boring, suggesting that
Bridgestone could alter tires so they have to be more carefully
managed by drivers or that all teams could be required to make two
stops.
"What I fear is that we will end up with many one-stop
races," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said on Wednesday.
"I was pushing very hard for two stops because with how the cars
are and how the fuel regulations are we will see a lot of races
like this."
If changes aren't made, Massa believes races could be
predetermined by the Saturday qualifying sessions, when a car's
pace and position on the grid could dictate its final result.
"Obviously the qualifying and the starts are maybe the two
key points this year," Massa said. "After the first corner, more or
less, the positions will be settled."
Apart from Vettel's failure, that was the case on Sunday.
Former champion Alain Prost, however, said teams will eventually
adapt and learn to take advantage, a sentiment Schumacher echoed.
"The drivers have never experimented with that before, so
they are a bit confused, even the teams," said Prost, a four-time
champion. "They need to get used to it. It may take some races but
it will be better."
Hamilton said the in-race ban on refueling made tire
management more important.
Drivers must use one set of hard tires and one soft option
during the race, which means one pit stop is mandatory. But even
those made no difference on the desert track as all teams executed
their stops with great precision.
"Bit by bit everybody is learning how to use the tires,"
Hamilton said. "I think that is probably the most interesting part,
trying to understand the tires, trying to conserve your fuel load
and know when to attack and not to attack. I think this is a real
challenge."
Even Schumacher was learning to adapt his style to the new
rules in his comeback from retirement.
"Everybody has to cope with (it) - I struggle a little bit
with those," he said. "But after three years I guess it's natural
you have to find your way into new bits and pieces."
