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From Page 62 "It is quite tough on the tyres. There are some hard braking areas and high speed chicanes where you are changing the direction at high speed, that always loads the tyres. We need to be aware of that and look after our tyres as much as we can over the weekend. It will be a key factor during the race.
"I enjoy turns six and seven in Bahrain. They are a great feeling in a Formula One car. There is a high speed chicane that we take in fifth gear."
MARTIN WHITMARSH, CEO, McLAREN
"The nature of the Bahrain International Circuit is very similar to Canada. Consequently, it's tough on brakes as there are some big stops at the end of the high speed turns, which makes things exciting from an overtaking point of view, but is extremely tough on the cars.
In addition, the lack of key features around the track means that the drivers really have to concentrate on their braking points as traditionally they use landmarks to pick them. In preparation for the race and together with our Japanese partner Akebono we have focused on improved brake efficiency and cooling.
"Of course we would have liked to test in Bahrain but we do have to prioritise where we spend our time. Over the winter we have improved the aerodynamic efficiency of the car and cooling generally so it's not currently one of our vulnerable points. We have good data from running at the Bahrain track in previous years so we are confident it will not prove too much of a disadvantage."
Felipe Massa
"It was not the sort of start to the season that I wanted for myself, what with having a mechanical problem in Melbourne in the first race and then going off the track in Sepang and not finishing the second race. It was very frustrating, but as the saying goes, that's racing.
"We saw that everyone can have a good day or a bad day and I have started this season with things not going my way. But there are still 16 races and a 160 points up for grabs. In the next few races I plan to get back all the possible points I have lost in the two opening rounds of this season.
Kimi Raikkonen
"Obviously it's great to win again. I had a really good feeling flying back home. When we don't have any problems, we know that we're fast and that we can win. This is what happened in Malaysia. That should have happened also in Australia, but in Melbourne we had one of those weekends when nothing goes right.
"This is going to be e very hard fight for
the title. We have to improve in qualifying. When you're strong on Saturday, it helps a lot on Sunday. It was nice to be back home, where it's a bit cooler. It was really hot in Australia and Malaysia. And it will be hot again in Bahrain. But that will not be a big problem after two weeks with really high temperatures."
Stefano Domenicali
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team principal Domenicali was understandably delighted with the team's performance after Raikkonen's emphatic win in the Malaysian Grand Prix at Kuala Lumpur.
And the next race in Bahrain, where the team tested in February?
"For sure the conditions are very different. We tested in February, now it's April, the temperatures are different but we did a good test there and let's hope that it will bring some positive result being there in February."
