Should have waited just a little bit longer, apparently.

The stewards have decided to completely exclude Lewis Hamilton from qualifying. He loses his pole position, and has to start from the very back of the grid.

The reasoning? This is a breach of the technical regulation of not having enough fuel in the car. From Twitter, I’ve gathered that he had 1.3 liters left, and someone said 2 would probably be needed to get to parc ferme. The FIA was still able to get a sample.

This to me seems beyond harsh. If there’s a way to appeal it, I’d bet on McLaren doing so. It seemed a lot more reasonable to just take away pole position and say he had no Q3 time and start him 7th, but apparently not.

Kate Walker tweeted a photo of the FIA’s statement.

The FIA did not accept Sam Michael’s argument that a team member not adding enough fuel is considered force majeure. Not having enough fuel basically did give Hamilton an advantage. Still, this is pretty over the top considering all the other penalties given out this season alone, and considering Karthikeyan gets to race with that slow time.

And in any case, congratulations on the pole position, Pastor Maldonado. Weird way to get it, but still an honor!

photo credit: Flickr/Frank Starmer

Another day, another series of crap from Bahrain International Circuit officials.

Grand Prix chairman Zayed Al Zayan says it’s “armchair observers” (I’m sitting on a bed, thank you) and “scaremongering extremists” creating misconceptions about Bahrain.

Well if you want to be honest, you could just say “I have a lot at stake here and would like to this go on,” instead of blaming everyone else.

Earlier today, the circuit issued a press release via Dragon Associates, a PR firm based in London. London, as you may recall from things like maps and anything about the upcoming Summer Olympics, is not in Bahrain. If you can’t find someone in Bahrain to back you up, I think there might be a problem.

Anyway, the press release cites a number of people saying the race should go on, including a couple Lotus F1 team members.

But shortly after, Lotus said they were releasing a statement about this press release. The quotes in the press release were used without the team’s permission. They were taken from a confidential document that was only shared with other teams.

The full statement from Lotus appears on their website, and it’s short enough that I’ll include it:

Earlier today, the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) issued a press release attributing quotes to our team showing support for the Bahrain GP. These quotes were part of a full internal and confidential working document, that was also sent on a confidential basis to all F1 team managers last week. Lotus F1 Team is one of 12 contestants of the Formula 1 World Championship and we would never try to substitute ourselves for the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), which is the only party entitled to determine if a Grand Prix should go ahead or not, and we endorse the FOTA statement that was issued earlier to this effect.

Additionally, Bernie Ecclestone claims he has met with protest leaders in Bahrain, and has suggested they hold a press conference during the Grand Prix weekend.

Is it just me or does the problem never seem to be the people protesting, but what the government or police do in response to them?

As we get closer to the Chinese Grand Prix, more news about the situation in Bahrain comes forward.
Some teams have apparently given their personnel alternate tickets just in case the Grand Prix in Bahrain is cancelled. There will probably be discussions up until the morning of the race in Shanghai this weekend about what to do.

Both Bernie Ecclestone and Jean Todt will be at the race this weekend.

According to Alan Baldwin’s Reuters article, an “unnamed team principal,” most likely you can bet on this not being Martin Whitmarsh or Christian Horner, said he is very uncomfortable with the race going on as planned.

“If I’m brutally frank, the only way they can pull this race off without incident is to have a complete military lock-down there. And I think that would be unacceptable, both for Formula One and for Bahrain.

I wish I knew who this was from so I could shake his hand.

Thousands of protesters gathered in Manama this weekend, calling for the release of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. The activist has been on hunger strike for two months and was moved to a military hospital. Today, the Gulf Air Facebook page was hacked with the profile picture replaced with a photo of al-Khawaja. The page has since been removed entirely.

The chairman of Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain claims the race will bring the country back together, despite the completely obvious signs that it is not wanted by many citizens.

On Friday, Damon Hill called for the FIA to rethink the race, and Richard Burden, a Labour Party MP in the UK, formerly a special motorsport advisor to the Minster of Sport, has agreed with him. Burden’s remarks on the situation are quite good, and can be read here.

At this point if they’re not willing to just give this race up, I hope to see it postponed soon. The race is schedule for next weekend, April 20-22.

photo credit: Flickr/Jose Mª Izquierdo Galiot

2004 called, and Michael Schumacher was fastest overall in Friday’s afternoon practice session.

It of course rained between the first and second sessions. Some drivers went out while it was wet, on wet tires, but once again it came down to the last 30 minutes.

Mercedes powered teams made a strong showing, first with both Force India drivers. Nico Hulkenberg had the second fastest time overall, and while Paul di Resta was on top at one point, he finished sixth.

Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi also had a strong showing, despite the fact both almost pushed it too far in the wet. Kobayashi had an amazing save when he started to lose control around the final corner as time ran out. Perez was third fastest, and Kobayashi fifth fastest.

The two were separated by Fernando Alonso. Felipe Massa managed seventh overall, and also managed to not spin out.

Heikki Kovalainen, besides becoming an Angry Grassmowing Bird at one point, finished a surprising eighth overall, outpacing the Red Bull drivers.

Pedro de la Rosa was able to complete one whole lap!

Other things that have happened:

- The FIA is looking to get rid of the ugly noses on the cars next season. The rules in 2014 would actually kill them off, but apparently we are all a bunch of people with fine aesthetic taste and they want to please us.

- Teams want the FIA to police the RRA, or Resource Restriction Agreement. Actually, all teams except Red Bull and Toro Rosso signed the letter; previously Christian Horner has said he doesn’t think the RRA is the way to control costs. The letter asks the FIA to make teams follow the agreement through the sporting regulations.

- Pedro de la Rosa is confirmed as the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers Association, acronyms are so fun at 9am on a Friday) chairman. Rubens Barrichello was previously chair. Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa will continue to hold their roles as directors.

photo credit: Flickr/Nadir Hashmi

Yes, Maldonado. The Williams driver had the fastest time today, with a 1:22.391.

The afternoon was spent by teams as usual on long runs. Michael Schumacher completed a 59 lap run. His fastest time for the day overall was second fastest.

Kamui Kobayashi was third fastest, and Jenson Button fourth; both just under 1:24. Jean-Eric Vergne was fifth fastest, followed by Mark Webber, Felipe Massa, Paul di Resta, Timo Glock, and Vitaly Petrov.

In other plans, Ferrari and Red Bull have switched up their days at the third test. Most teams will run Thursday – Sunday next weekend, while these two will run Friday – Monday. Next week, Lotus will get another testing day since they’ve lost this entire week.

Additionally, the FIA is going to close a loophole in engine mapping that relates to exhaust blowing. This has been a big thing for the FIA to regulate, and apparently as is, it allowed an increase in exhaust flow if a team would be desperate enough to use it if they knew about it.

Aerial view over the Circuit of the Americas, February 9 (photo credit: COTA's Facebook page)

Coolest bit of news for the day: All race distances for the season were announced by the FIA. Clearly this is most interesting in the case of the United States Grand Prix. The race will be 56 laps, for a total distance of roughly 309 kilometers. In American, that’s 192 miles.

The full list of race distances, as well as schedules for Grands Prix weekends can be found here.

Work on the Circuit of the Americas has been hampered a bit by rain, but everything is still on schedule. Here is a link to last week’s construction picture update.

The seat licensing waitlist closed on Monday, and actual ticket sales should start this summer. (Well, with a race in November, you would hope for that, wouldn’t you?)

Also happening today, Pirelli announced the tire compounds for the first three races of the season.

The first round race in Australia along with the third round in China will feature Pirelli’s soft and medium compounds.

At the second race in Malaysia, the medium and hard rubber will be in use.

Teams get six sets of the harder compound and five sets of the softer compound each race weekend.

Rear suspension on a Ferrari, (credit: Flickr/evasèe)

Friday night, teams received a note from the FIA saying the reactive ride height system, pioneered by the Lotus team, has been banned for the 2012 season.

This comes just a week after the FIA confirmed the system was good to go.

It’s entirely possible that some teams made a push to get the FIA to ban the system. Ferrari was concerned with the legality last week, before the FIA said the system was fine. Christian Horner of Red Bull said he wasn’t sure about the system’s use. No need to waste anymore time on it then.

No word on why exactly the FIA decided to ban reactive ride height, but if the details come out, this story will be updated.

The rumors have reached full strength, and it is likely to be announced tomorrow that Bruno Senna will be driving for Williams next season. This leaves Rubens Barrichello without a drive, possibly ending his long career in Formula 1.

To read the quite bizarre story behind it, check out The F1 Mole’s blog.

If true, both of Williams’ drivers would be pay drivers. Of course, their financial woes were clear when AT&T didn’t renew their title sponsorship of all things.

I wonder though why nobody brings up how it seems somewhat odd for Bruno to drive for the team his uncle was driving for when he died. By no means do I mean that the team was at fault, as it really was a horrible perfect storm of conditions. I would just feel weird about driving for the team especially when their car is so bad. But maybe that’s why I sit here writing about racing and I’m not out there racing because I’d clearly be missing out on an opportunity that could be my last chance in F1.

Anyway.

Robert Kubica had to have surgery on his once again broken leg. Apparently the calcification that should have taken place in the bone did not happen. Kubica will have to rest for 2-3 weeks before continuing his rehabilitation.

Jenson Button gets to test the new McLaren car for this upcoming season before teammate Lewis Hamilton. Button will be driving for the first two days of testing that begins on February 7, and Hamilton will take over for days 3 and 4.

DRS zones may see some tweaking this season as the FIA looks to alter some of the overtaking zones. The rules for using DRS will remain the same.

Photo from Flickr user  ph-stop

Italian media is reporting that Robert Kubica has hurt his leg after taking a tumble on an icy road. Bubble wrap the man, please. It hasn’t even been a year since his rally crash.

Kubica has apparently reopened the fracture in his right tibia, so that’s more recovery time needed for him. Get well soon, AGAIN, Robert.

Lotus introduced a ride height system meant to help keep the car balanced during braking. Looks like everyone else will be scurrying to copy it now that the FIA has deemed it legal.

The Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport claimed the system is adjusted by the driver, which would make it illegal in the eyes of the FIA. Surprise, they were wrong. The system is linked to the suspension rather than the drivers’ pedals.

Lotus has been working with the FIA since first coming up with the idea in 2010.

Out with one Dallas company and in with another? A fitness company started by multiple Olympic gold medal winner Michael Johnson has partnered up with the Williams team.

Michael Johnson Performance works with several Dallas, Texas, based professional sports teams. Their logo will appear on uniforms and the company will provide training for the team’s pit crew.

Does it take a runner to train a pit crew to Red Bull and McLaren times for stops? Time will tell!

For some reason this has led to the IOC has “recognized” the FIA, and the FIA in turn has released a statement that they are delighted to be a part of the Olympic family.

Well then, I propose rallying on a snow course in the Winter Olympics. Sochi is hosting both a Grand Prix and the Olympics in 2014, after all… But sadly it’s just some little “you’re a sport, we see that” recognition that tug-o-war also has. So remember, next time someone tells you racing isn’t a sport, tell them the IOC says otherwise.

Photo from Flickr user Red~Cyan

It’s a very sensitive subject, one you won’t see teams commenting on publicy until someone above them does something.

Last year’s Grand Prix in Bahrain was cancelled amidst government protests. Things looked to have settled down to the outside eye, complete with the government claiming all was well, and the Bahrain Grand Prix was put back on the 2012 calendar, this time with a date in April.

Now, attention is back on the country after accusations that police beat a human rights activist at a rally on Friday (BBC story). The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights is leading the call for teams to boycott the race, a call that began with the man who was beaten, the group’s vice president.

Coincidence?

Bernie Ecclestone stated back at the Brazilian Grand Prix that it would take something “terrible” to stop the race from going on as planned.

According to Andrew Benson, some insiders don’t think the race is going to happen again already.

Meanwhile, the organizers of the race claim that the government of Bahrain is making sure no human rights violations are happening, citing likely biased report from the King of Bahrain.

I am an economics and political science double major, so I have quite a keen sense of what is going on here. Nobody wants to lose the money, and there is so much money involved that human rights violations don’t matter. It’s pathetic, and it’s obvious as day when the FIA is involved.

Look at the inclusion of a Bahrain endurance race on the world endurance championship calendar. Nobody has ever held an endurance race there, and it’s immediately put on a calendar for the pinnacle of endurance racing.

I’m afraid of some group using the race to make a statement and getting hurt. I don’t want to see the people of Bahrain getting tangled up in more of a mess to cause the race problems, and I sure don’t want to see drivers or team members used. If there really are any doubts, it’s time to take the race off the calendar and come back at a far later time.

There are social problems in plenty of countries where Grands Prix are held, let’s face it, but the problem with Bahrain is how closely linked the race is with the royal family, and that is why it can become a prime target.

And don’t forget, no corporation wants to get involved in something like this, although it’s unlikely they will publicly pull out. It’s highly unlikely any group, from a one team sponsor to Pirelli as the tire supplier would want to make such a bold statement.

More or less it’s going to have to come down to these higher up groups speaking privately with the FIA and with Ecclestone and telling them that they have serious concerns. It may be enough to have them think with their brains instead of with their wallets.

Unless an OUTSIDE group that is not the King of Bahrain can prove that human rights violations are being fixed or not even happening, there should not be a race here. Period.

Photo from Flickr user Andrew Griffith