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Jenson Button took his points tally for the season to 31 out of a possible 35 with a fourth career victory in Bahrain. But the rest of the grid are beginning to close. For the first time this season pole position was taken by Toyota, while Sebastian Vettel's second place confirmed Red Bull as a clear championship contender after their domination of the rain-hit Chinese Grand Prix.
McLaren, too, seem to have made progress: Lewis Hamilton was quick all weekend, and managed to set the sixth-fastest lap on his way to fourth place. But this was always a circuit expected to suit their car: with few high-speed corners their relative lack of downforce was less exposed, while the long straights allowed them to maximise the advantage of their KERS. The Circuit de Catalunya, with its mix of corners, will be another matter.
How much Brawn GP were hindered by the particularly high air temperatures witnessed in Bahrain is unclear. Though their pace over a full race distance is still better than their rivals, their speed over a single lap is currently behind that of Toyota, perhaps on a par with Red Bull. Both drivers again endured poor starts, although Button was able to quickly repass Hamilton by the end of the first lap. There still remains much to work on.
The competition will only grow tougher in Spain, where a number of teams - including McLaren, Ferrari and BMW - are planning to introduce completely revised aero packages, incorporating newly redesigned diffusers. Of course Brawn have their own updates to come as well, but whether they will be enough to keep them ahead of the pack remains to be seen.
McLaren, too, seem to have made progress: Lewis Hamilton was quick all weekend, and managed to set the sixth-fastest lap on his way to fourth place. But this was always a circuit expected to suit their car: with few high-speed corners their relative lack of downforce was less exposed, while the long straights allowed them to maximise the advantage of their KERS. The Circuit de Catalunya, with its mix of corners, will be another matter.
How much Brawn GP were hindered by the particularly high air temperatures witnessed in Bahrain is unclear. Though their pace over a full race distance is still better than their rivals, their speed over a single lap is currently behind that of Toyota, perhaps on a par with Red Bull. Both drivers again endured poor starts, although Button was able to quickly repass Hamilton by the end of the first lap. There still remains much to work on.
The competition will only grow tougher in Spain, where a number of teams - including McLaren, Ferrari and BMW - are planning to introduce completely revised aero packages, incorporating newly redesigned diffusers. Of course Brawn have their own updates to come as well, but whether they will be enough to keep them ahead of the pack remains to be seen.
Photo reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 license from an image uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by Kelvin Wong.
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