F1 - Official Formula 1 Bahrain GP Fantasy Recap
#1
04-28-2009, 06:43 PM
F1 - Official Formula 1 Bahrain GP Fantasy Recap
Introduction
With the first pictures of the beautiful Bahrain sunrise I could tell that it was going to be special weekend of racing. No clouds, no rain and no safety cars meant that we were finally going to see what these drivers could do in a race where the weather didn't dictate the outcome. When the boys lined up for the start and those lights went out the thrill of F1 racing that we had largely missed in Malaysia and China came roaring back! From the first turn to the checkered flag, the race came at us at a blistering pace. And when all was said and done, what is still new seemed all too familiar - another win for Brawn GP!
For those of us who predicted that chinks would start to develop in Brawn GP's armor, we were sadly mistaken. For the third time in four races this season Brawn GP seized victory and stood atop the podium. What makes this win all the more impressive is that race winner - Jenson Button - completed the task from the 2nd row of the grid! The first row was filled by the two Toyota cars driven by Trulli and Glock. Yet both Toyota drivers had their struggles which gave Jenson Button just the opening he needed to slip by and arrive at the finish line victorious. Starting from 4th on the grid, Button had one of the most technically sound first laps I have ever witnessed. Most impressive was Button's move on Lewis Hamilton - who got a tremendous start - in turn 2 of lap 1 to take second place. Button actually out-braked his fellow Brit to overtake him and snag the position. Who would have thought that Jenson Button would be out-braking Lewis Hamilton? It is one thing to have a faster car and overtake another driver in the straight or coming out of a turn. But the move Jenson put on Lewis was pure driver ability and skill. After lap one, the race was basically over. Jenson Button - my friends - has finally arrived.
With yet another tremendous drive Sebastian Vettel snagged second position. Despite the fine finish, you could sense that Vettel was unhappy during the post-race press conference. And he probably should have been. Vettel allowed himself to get stuck behind a slower Lewis Hamilton during a crucial stint. This allowed Jenson Button to create the gap he needed to stay ahead during a crucial pit stop. Vettel never recovered and just missed his second win in a row. I wouldn't feel too bad for Vettel. He will be challenging for wins the rest of this season and for many to come.
Tire strategy ended up plaguing Toyota all day in Bahrain and it cost them a victory. Choosing to stay on the prime tire during their longer stints cost them both precious time that could have been gained on the softer compound. Afraid that the softer tire would buckle under heavier fuel loads, the Japanese team took a conservative approach and lost valuable time. Even though Toyota didn't win in Bahrain, they have to consider the weekend a true success. Trulli ended up on the podium in third place and Glock snagged a very impressive 7th place. A great points-scoring race indeed.
In fourth was World Champion Lewis Hamilton. When the lights went out, it looked like we had the old Lewis right back where he belongs - in the spotlight and overtaking mere mortal drivers. His use of KERS at the start of the race was incredible as he vaulted from the third row into second place. The glory was to be short-lived, however, as Jenson Button outdrove Lewis in turn 2 to take the position right back. But Lewis held his own fighting off an obviously faster Sebastian Vettel for much of the middle portion of the race - costing Vettel the win - and nearly scoring a podium finish. The McLaren clearly isn't where it needs to be. But before the season is over, we should see Lewis win at least a few races.
I don't believe I recall seeing Rubens Barrichello on television once all race weekend. It is like the press has forgotten that he is on the grid. But he once again impressed with a 5th place finish. This support role is something Rubens knows all too well. He is largely invisible, but continues to score lots of points for his team. If Brawn GP wins the constructor's championship, they owe it to Rubens Barrichello. After Rubens on the grid was Kimi Raikkonen, the aforementioned Glock and Fernando Alonso. Kimi had his best race yet but couldn't keep up with the front runners. Alonso has to be considered a big disappointment as he brought up the rear of points finishers with a pretty lackluster effort.
What a beautiful country Bahrain is! Cheers go to this great island nation for hosting a tremendous Grand Prix. And congratulations to Jenson Button for becoming the one constant factor in what is turning out to be a season full of unpredictability. Brawn is back folks. And it is like they were never gone.
STATS
Here are the fantasy stats updated after the Bahrain GP.
TommyBahamma retained his position at the top of the league this week with a very impressive score of 748 points giving him a season total of 2805 points! That is good for 88th out of nearly 5,000 players participating in the Fantasy Racers game.
But the week's winner was once again Formula MD2009 (The Doctor) with an amazing score of 803 points! He scored that whopping number with the following lineup:
Note that the good Doctor picked 1, 2, 3 and 5 on his way to the win. His field fillers both finished as well. Way to go! Do we still buy his claim that this is all just dumb luck? I don't think so! All I can say about that performance is OH DOCTOR!!
The overall leader amongst all Fantasy Racer players scored an untouchable 905 points!!
Note the 7-driver lineup. It overcame the fact that the player only picked 1, 2, 3, in the finishing order. Something to think about.
TEAM SPEED REMAINS THE 12th BEST PRIVATE LEAGUE!
Team Speed held its position as 12th best private league this week. Let's shoot for the top 10!
Fantasy Strategy
Don't overvalue drivers.
This week three drivers surged up in value due to hype from the rain-soaked GP in China. These were Mark Webber, Sebastian Buemi and Sebastian Vettel. Webber made an incredible surge from 8.00 m to 10.20 m between China and Bahrain. Buemi made a more conservative but still massive gain going from 6.00 m to 7.00 m. Likewise, Vettel jumped from 9.40 m to 12.20 m. But one of these things is not like the other. Of these three, only Vettel truly deserved his surge in value. Webber and Buemi have not performed with the type of consistency that would warrant such a large jump in price. And their respective performances come race day in Bahrain prove it. Webber and Buemi had a blocking issue in qualifying that prevented Webber from getting out of Q1 and resulting in a penalty for Buemi. Neither of them were able to finish in the points and their values suffered. Webber has dropped back to 9.30 m and Buemi has dropped to 6.70 m. If you bought either of these drivers just before Bahrain, they did nothing for you and have now ruined your budget by tanking.
Webber, in my opinion, is still vastly overvalued whereas Buemi is just about where he ought to be. Those who bought at the top of the market are hurting with very slim pickins out there to trade for. Watch with care when a driver starts to surge in value. Don't jump the bandwagon. Look at the driver's history - he isn't likely to outperform it within the matter of a few races. And even if a driver does have a performance that is uncharacteristically good, the rise in value will likely be short-lived and volatile. Try to look for solid, long-term value increases instead of trading in on hype.
Speaking of long-term value, a few drivers could have been picked up cheaply who have sustained legitimate and solid value increases. Kimi Raikkonen was able to parlay his points finish into a tidy 1.10 m increase. I don't see Kimi trading at less than 7.00 m again this season. Now may be a good time to pick him up. Also, Lewis Hamilton has gained another .70 m to rise above 12.00 m again. He will not trade at less than 12.00 m again this year. But his price makes him a tough add if you don't have him already - he is too close to Vettel who will likely outscore him in the long term. Here are the driver values at the time I write this recap:
The big question mark out there right now is Jarno Trulli. Is he worth the amazing 1.5 m increase putting him in rare air at 10.10 m? Rubens Barrichello can be had for nearly the same and Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa are all much cheaper. Trulli is a harder puzzle to figure out than Webber and Buemi. It is a tough call. I think that the chips could fall either way on Trulli's season. He is a big gamble. But he is a gamble may very well be worth making. It is up to you.
NOTE A MAJOR RULE CHANGE IN THE LEAGUE FROM FANTASY RACERS!
This morning if you logged into the Fantasy Racers site you would have received the following message:
These are pretty critical rule changes and everyone should take note of them. Let's discuss what we think of these rule changes - and their timing - in the Fantasy Discussion thread:
https://teamspeed.com/forums/pit-sto...on-thread.html
WEEKLY RACE BANTER AND DISCUSSION THREAD
It is a bit of a wait for the next race in Spain on May 8, 9, and 10th. But the banter and discussion thread is up and running! Let's help each other get through this racing drought with some interesting speculation, fantasy analysis and smack talk! Once again, we will keep it all in one thread.
https://teamspeed.com/forums/pit-sto...-thread-s.html
Check Post #1 of the above thread for race times and the SPEED TV schedule.
SPECIAL THANKS: I want to express my special appreciation to GrayTT for posting pictures from the race. It is a rare opportunity to see a race live. I know that we all wish we could have been there. But GrayTT's photos brought us all a little closer to the action. He was even kind enough to donate a commemorative coin and stamp set from the inaugural Bahrain GP in 2004 that will go to the league winner! I will post pictures of these fine items a little later today. Thanks GrayTT! You are a credit to our forum, our league and your fine nation!!
Good luck to everyone in the next race and thanks for playing!!
Dana
Last edited by Barrister; 04-28-2009 at 07:15 PM.
#10
04-28-2009, 09:40 PM
Great job Dana. Informative and interesting as usual. Next week's race should be interesting. My "investment" drivers are paying nicely, but big changes are going to happen at BigE racing come race time in Spain. 