2 APRIL 25 2012 motorsport-news.co.uk

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THE VOICE OF BRITISH MOTORSPORT ISSUE JA2818

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ISSUE

“Bahrain was a positive message”

P8 FIA chief Jean Todt defend F1’s controversial race

HONDA HIT HARD BY NEW BOOST RESTRICTION

P10

Honda star Shedden upset by new equalisation rules

SORDO CAN HELP

FORD STAY IN WRC MAKES’

TITLE RACE

P18

Spaniard set to shine as he replaces Latvala in Fiesta

HUNTER ENJOYS A STROLL BY THE BEACH TO SOMERSET GLORY

P30

BTRDA title fight hots up in front of the Redcoats

P24

Bahrain Grand Prix report

4

Historic race and rally news

17

Insight:Finns in the BRC

23

Interview:Rob Austin,movie star 24 SUBSCRIBETOMOTORSPORTNEWS 26 Insight:How to Hillclimb 27 Racing reports 28 Report:BTRDA Somerset Stages 30 Rally reports 32 Karting round-up 33 Sporting Scene round-up 34 Letters/Comment/What’s On 36 Wanted:Non-slip wheel guns and cooperative wheel nuts.Apply:L.Hamilton

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Formula One returnee says he’s ready to

ByMatt James Lotus F1 ace Kimi Räikkönen says he will be able to win grands prix this season after securing a battling second place in Bahrain last weekend.

The Finn, who has made his top-flight comeback this year after two campaigns in the World Rally Championship, finished just seconds behind the rejuvenated Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel. Räikkönen had raced wheel-to-wheel with the German andmade a failed attempt to wrest the lead towards the end of his second stint.

The 2007 world champion, whowas followed across the line by his LotusRenault team-mate Romain Grosjean, says the result shows that the Enstone team is ready to win again in F1. ”Hopefully we can put ourselves in this position more often,” said the 32-year-old. “We had the car already in the first three races to be up there, but wemade some small mistakes and that cost us too much. In Bahrain, weweren’t far away at all.” Aswell as Räikkönen’s strong performance, Vettel’s first win of the year has shown that Red Bull has made substantial progress with the RB8. The German has scored points in three of the opening four races and now leads the championship standings by four points ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who could only manage eighth place in Bahrain after two pit stop problems.

Räikk önen star re d w ith second place in the Bahr ain GP

Kimi promises more Räikkönen said the pace that Lotus unlocked at the Sakhir circuit had been in the car throughout the season and that the team had a good base to develop potential grand prix winning chassis.

The car had shown promise in the early races but various operational andmechanical problems had blighted Räikkönen’s charge. He finished seventh in Melbourne from 17th on the grid after a qualifying mix-up and was docked five places on the grid in Malaysia, when he went from tenth to fifth. Hewas outside the top ten in Chinese Grand Prix after a tyre gamble backfired.

“It is a great result for the team and we deserve it because everyone has been working very hard,” said Räikkönen. “I am slightly disappointed that we didn’t take the win because we had the pace. I only had one chance to overtake Vettel and unfortunately I chose the wrong side to try and get ahead.”

Räikkönen said that a poor start from 11th on the grid, when he slipped behind the Ferrari of Felipe Massa, also stymied his early progress in Bahrain. Despite sacrificing qualifying pace, the Finn had saved newer tyres for the race and that tactic allowed him to sear up through the order once he had dealt with the early traffic.

“Maybe it would have been a story if that hadn’t happened, because I spent quite a lot of time fighting with Massa,” he said. “Still, it is good to have two cars on the podium, especially after the last race, and honestly I think we could have taken the victory here.”

Team boss Eric Boullier said there was a sense of optimism as the team, which recently lost backing from Lotus Cars, had finally managed to unlock consistent speed from the Renault-powered E20 chassis.

“The first three races were very frustrating as we knewwewere

Lotus was quick, bu t Red Bull and champ Ve ttel took the honours capable of a result like this,” said the team principal. “Until now, small details have hindered our performance, so it is almost a relief to finally show what we are capable of. We took a bit of a gamble on strategy and it paid off. I am immensely proud of what we achieved today.”

Grosjean’s delight Aswell as Räikkönen’s pace, team-mate Grosjean scored his second successive points finish and banked his first podium in Formula One in Bahrain.

The Frenchman, who has been drafted back into the outfit after two years on the sidelines, said that he had been aiming for a top five finish at the Sakhir circuit and was delighted with the third step of the rostrum. He is also confident that he will be able to push for honours in the Lotus.

The 26-year-old said: “I was saying [to myself] first points, then a top five, then a podium, so I have jumped up a step. The next step will be victory but that will take time. Now I think we can be happy and nowwe can have aweek off to enjoy the time and to work a little bit at the factory Classified advertising: 0208 267 5355

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HEADLINE NEWS

get back to winning ways with Lotus get back to winning ways with Lotus

RAIKKONEN SA YS LOTUS CAN BE

WINNERS

POINTS FIA Formula OneWorld Championship After 4/20 rounds

POS DRIVER

TEAM POINTS

1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 53 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 49 3 Mark Webber Red Bull 48 4 Jenson Button McLaren 43 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 43 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 35

Photos: LAT

to find the gap to Red Bull and Sebastian [Vettel].”

Before the next race of the season, which is the Spanish GP in Barcelona onMay 13, all F1 teams will decamp to Mugello in Italy for three days of in-season testing, starting on Tuesday.

“The pace will be decided by who brings the best updates,” said Grosjean. “I think the rest of the season will be as tough as it has been so far and you will have to get the last hundredths and the last tenths to make sure that you are on the podium.”

Vettel praises team Aswell as the buoyant mood within the Lotus team, reigning world champion Vettel said hewas confident that Red Bull has turned a corner with the RB8 chassis.

The German’s victory, with team-mate MarkWebber in fourth place, means that the Milton Keynes team has overhauled McLaren at the head of the constructors’ table. Despite Vettel’s win, the Red Bull was still struggling for outright speed at Bahrain and was 6mph slower than the Lotus on the straights.

Grosjean scored first podium

Vettel paid tribute to the team’s hard work to turn the car into a winner: “The first time I drove on Friday morning, I felt happier with the car’s balance so I think we have found a reasonable package.

“The team have done an incredible job over the last four races, the amount of work they had to do was so much. Weasked for this and that, for tweaks here and there and they camewith new parts, then old parts, then new parts again. We spent a lot of time trying to get everything to our liking but we got there. I am extremely proud of the team.”

Räikkönen came close to overhauling Vettel’s Red Bull

REMEMBERWHEN?

SebastianVettel’s win in Bahrain means there have been four different winning makes in the first four rounds of the season.The last time that happened in Formula One was way back in 1983.

Round one

Brazilian GP Where: Jacarepaguá, Rio When: March 13, 1983 What happened:Nelson Piquet took the gorgeous Brabham BT52 to

Round three

French GP Where:Paul Ricard When:April 17, 1983 What happened: No one could stop Alain Prost on home ground as its maiden win by powering ahead of Keke Rosberg’s Williams and soaring to an untroubled victory. Rosberg was disqualified from second place for a push start.

Round two

USGrand PrixWest Where: Long Beach, California When: March 27, 1983 What happened:John Watson charged from 22nd on the grid to victory for McLaren using the demon Michelin tyres to haul his way to the front, and he finished in front of his team-mate Niki Lauda, who had started 23rd. René Arnoux was third for Ferrari.

he lead a one-three for the patriotic Renault team. Piquet and Riccardo Patrese were the only ones to challenge. Patrese retired, while Piquet was second.

Round four

San Marino GP Where: Imola When: May 1, 1983 What happened: This should have been Patrese’s race, but two errors swung it in favour of home crowd hero

Patrick Tambay in his Ferrari. Firstly, Patrese overshot his pit marks to lose his early advantage and then he crashed under pressure from the Frenchman. Prost’s Renault finished in second place.

READ SIMON ARRON’S EXCLUSIVE REPORT

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