Nico's Bahrain Blog: Sunday

Posted on Monday 27 Apr 2009 and tagged with nico, blog, bahrain.

The heat made today’s Bahrain Grand Prix a very tough event. Cockpit temperatures exceeded 50 degrees, which meant we sweated a lot and there wasn’t even the chance to cool down on the straights because hot air was blowing into the cockpit. It was like sitting in front of a giant hair dryer!

After the race, while all the drivers outside the top three were talking to the media, Fernando Alonso fainted because he was so dehydrated after struggling with a faulty water bottle. He’s one of the fittest drivers on the grid, so it gives you an idea how extreme the conditions were. They were much worse than in Malaysia three weeks ago.

As for my race, it was very frustrating to finish in ninth place, just outside the points. I made a fantastic start, but got blocked under braking for Turn 1 and ended the opening lap in 10th place. From there, it was a case of damage limitation: I drove a two-stop strategy and ended the race on Fernando’s gearbox. Given the improvements we had on my car this weekend, I really wanted to get a good result. However, it wasn’t to be.

I’m now heading back to Europe for the first time since before the start of the season. Next up is the Spanish Grand Prix on 10 May, where we have yet more new parts scheduled for the FW31. Let’s hope we can get back into the points there.