F1 Team Bosses & Media Slam Uneventful Bahrain Grand Prix

The Bahrain season opener may have left Lotus Racing satisfied and Tony Fernandes jumping for joy, but some F1 team bosses and certain segments of the media were left disappointed and frustrated for the lack of action and excitement on the track.

“Formula One risks being damaged if it does not respond to the criticism it has faced for the lack of action in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix”, said Nick Fry, CEO of Mercedes GP.

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren's team principal, seems to agree with Fry, saying “I don't think it was a massive spectacle but I do think it is capable of swinging from one event to another”.

The media was much less forgiving. “The sport is in danger of missing out on its greatest bonanza”, commented British newspaper Daily Mail. “There are four champions on the grid, all in competitive cars. The racing should be sparkling rather than as dry as the desert”.

Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport came to the same conclusion. “Looking at it objectively, this new and highly-anticipated F1 produced a rather boring race, with very few passes and most of the field bunched at the back”, it wrote.

However, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone insists that “there is no panic, no crisis for F1”, and that “we should not just knee-jerk into changes”. He recommends looking at changes after the Chinese GP, saying “we are involved in four flyaway races just now, so let's see how the teams adapt and look at it again after China”.