2016 Bahrain Grand Prix - Reject of the Race

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 02 Apr 2016, 16:19

I am opening this thread ahead of time to announce some changes to the format.

I ideally want ROTR and IIDOTR to be wrapped up within 48 hours of the race coming to a close. With the Rejects Podcast on an irregular schedule, we could end up waiting weeks (heck, maybe months, who knows!) for a decision.

So I've elected to put it in the hands of everyone, and open it up to a vote, in the same way that IIDOTR is already awarded. Two votes cast - your first pick for ROTR with 10pts and second pick with 6pts.

Hopefully this sudden change of format won't be as much of a disaster as a certain other recent format switch! :badoer:

Post your results until April 5 @ 1800 GMT.

My picks;
1st Felipe Nasr
From the first minute of FP1, to the final lap of the race, he was outclassed by his team-mate Marcus Ericsson. Never found his comfort zone and suffered as a result.

2nd Force India
An utterly woeful race performance, slipping dangerously into anonymity. Being passed with complete ease by a Manor was something to behold.

AxelP800 · Post by **AxelP800** » 03 Apr 2016, 16:49

Force India. The pace is gone

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 03 Apr 2016, 16:54

1. Vettel's engine. That is all.
2. Indonesians brigading the DOTD votes because Haryanto finished. It was shameful last time and it is still (going to be) shameful this time. :facepalm:

sswishbone · Post by **sswishbone** » 03 Apr 2016, 16:56

1) Force India - What the hell was that?

2) Vettel's engine - Hate littlefinger all you want... But to take him out before the green lights was damn lame!

Fetzie · Post by **Fetzie** » 03 Apr 2016, 16:56

Force India as a whole. Absolutely dreadful.

Honourable mention to Vettels engine for escaping through his exhaust on the formation lap.

Post by **Miguel98** » 03 Apr 2016, 16:56

1. Force India - Seeing Wehrlein flying past him in the straight is the summary of their race.
2. Felipe Nasr - After last year, you can feel that he outclassed Marcus. So far, two races in, he's the one beeing outclassed.

Aislabie · Post by **Aislabie** » 03 Apr 2016, 16:58

Bernie Ecclestone (10 points)
For failing to propose a common-sense qualifying proposal at the FIA meeting, and suggesting that an almost entirely (perhaps entirely, not sure) multi-lingual field of the world's finest racing drivers could not read or write.

Force India (6 points)
For taking one of the most anticipated chassis-engine packages of the season and finishiing 15th and 16th of 17 finishers. Karma for keeping that awful livery I guess.

Honourable mentions: Felipe Nasr, Vettel's engine, Johnny Herbert

Normal32 · Post by **Normal32** » 03 Apr 2016, 16:58

1. FIA
2. Force India

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:01

1. Force India
2. Felipe Nasr

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:02

1. Ferrari
2. The FIA

Meatwad · Post by **Meatwad** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:02

1. Williams Martini Racing: It's 2013 all over. Dumb crash for Bottas and woeful pace for both cars after things were looking up for them at the start.
2. (shared, 3 points for each) Force India: One car out in Q1, both finished behind a Manor.
Sebastian Vettel's engine: The first time in more than 13 and a half years that a Ferrari failed to start a race. The team is now 50 points behind Mercedes after just one race.

RAK · Post by **RAK** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:04

1) Force India: Beaten by Wehrlein on pure pace.

2) Williams Martini Racing: Bottas with a mistake at the start and the cars definitely not as strong comparatively as they were last year anyway. They'll probably regret wasted chances last year.

Post by **mario** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:10

1. Force India - where on earth has their performance gone this season? Given they've normally been fairly strong at this venue, this was disappointingly poor.

2. Bottas - his move at the start was clumsy and he made quite a few mistakes during the race as well, so it was a race to forget for him. As others have said, Williams were fairly poor overall today - they just seem to have drifted further back from the leading teams as time has worn on, and if Gutierrez hadn't retired in the opening laps and managed to sneak a few points, Williams would be behind Haas in the constructors title.

CaptainGetz12 · Post by **CaptainGetz12** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:14

1) Force India. Struggled to make an impression all race. Save for a brief period in 11th and 12th neither car looked poised to score points amidst a very competitive midfield. With this year being mediocre is something they cannot afford.

2) Williams. The crash with Hamilton was a racing incident, but after a strong start the team just dissolved, having no answer for Grosjean or Red Bull. The team can at least hold the points, but it is certainly not where they want to be after two years of progress under the Martini banner.

(Dis)honorable Mentions:

Felipe Nasr. Consistently outperformed by his teammate today and lost to a Manor. Will want to turn this around as soon as possible so Sauber can place higher in the constructors.

Medium Tires. For the hardest compound they didn't really hold up very well compared to the other compounds. Drivers who used the mediums tended to suffer in terms of track pace.

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:18

1. Force India - Dire
2. Bottas I guess

DHM - DC's age, Herbert, Qualifying again and Vettel's engine.

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:19

1. Bits falling off cars
2. Rio Haryanto - Utterly destroyed by Wehrlein. This could be confirmation that Manor will effectively be a one-man team this year

SeedStriker · Post by **SeedStriker** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:21

1) Force India: No pace, no tyre-friendly, no ideas...

2) Williams: Stagnated and without an answer to fix themselves

Dishonorable mentions to FIA (enough with the qualy BS), Seb Vettel's Turbocharger (not even lasted the parade lap) and Felipe Nasr (maybe his no-talent clone drove this weekend)

rachel1990 · Post by **rachel1990** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:25

contenders!
Ferrari for Vettels engine in a race that he could and should have won (second time this season)
Bottas for a mistake ridden afternoon

1st FORCE INDIA for a pathetic performance that meant they were slower than EVERYONE baring the Chilton of 2016 Rio Haryanto. two seasons ago they got a podium here.
2nd are Williams for a poor weekend overall as well!!!

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:26

1) Farce India - Every year since 2012 they've surprised us with their Bahrain GP until today with that shocking result. Plus Perez ruined Sainz's evening as well as his with that move.

2) Williams - Bottas was too adventurous at turn 1 and Massa was P2 behind Rosberg on lap 1 but by the finish he'd plummeted to 8th and had been lapped by Rosberg.

Vettel's engine - Did a France '96 on Seb.

Post by **Nuppiz** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:28

1. Williams and Force India (split it 5/5 for points-scoring purposes) - awful, awful pace.
2. Stewards - this nomination might be blinded by the famous blue-and-white glasses, but anyway.Bottas got penalised because Hamilton shut the door on him. Perez took out Sainz's rear tyre and there was no investigation at all?

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:29

1st - Force India: Probably the worst team race pace wise. Reminds me the beginning of the last year when the team had an underdeveloped car. Looks like Force India will need another B-Spec again.

This is ironic if you consider the team got a podium finish in this race two years ago.

2nd - Williams: Another bad call in the race strategy. Bottas crashed in the race start and destroyed his race for the second weekend in-a-row (he made a mistake in the qualify in Melbourne). If the team continue with these bad strategies, I doubt they will stay ahead of Toro Rosso and Haas in the construct championship.

Post by **Londoner** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:39

Nuppiz wrote:2. Stewards - this nomination might be blinded by the famous blue-and-white glasses, but anyway.Bottas got penalised because Hamilton shut the door on him. Perez took out Sainz's rear tyre and there was no investigation at all?

Nuppls, don't you realise that our saviour Lord Hamilton has been granted immunity from penalties?

Anyway, my choices.

1. Felipe Nasr - Not once this weekend was he faster than his team mate. Yes, the car is a toilet, but Ericsson certainly seems to be giving it his all.

2. Force India - Oh dear. When you're being beaten by Manor on merit, it's a sign that all is not well with the team. No pace whatsoever.

Honourable mentions to the stewards for being (typically) all over the shop with their decisions (total bullshit not to give Perez a penalty when Bottas got one for doing the exact the same thing), Williams for another garbage race, and Andy Neate for being so unbelievably awful at Brands Hatch that he deserves a mention here.

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:46

To those of you who are listing multiple nominations without giving a clear order, remember that the format for Reject of the Race has changed to that used for Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race: You must make two clear nominations (first worth 10 points, second worth 6). Makes Biscione's life easier when he's counting the votes

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 03 Apr 2016, 17:48

Crikey a few contenders here. Really disappointed with quite a few performances today.

1. Force India. Just no recovery after a crap start. Was expecting them to come through to sneak a point or two by the end, but they were nowhere near that.

2. Felipe Nasr. What the hell happened to him? Ericsson did a much better job in a car that is clearly at risk from the Manors (or Wehrlein at least).

Honourable mentions for Haryanto (did nothing all race, finished last, miles behind Wehrlein), Williams (2nd and 3rd to minor points) and Ferrari reliability.

Samster · Post by **Samster** » 03 Apr 2016, 18:11

1. Force India. The hell was that? Both cars having to make unscheduled stops at the start and never really recovering from there. For bonus reject points Perez also had to ruin the race for the one driver who doesn't need bad luck. :facepalm:

2. Sauber. This race confirmed it, they will be battling Manor for the wooden spoon this year and I think Manor might actually be able to out develop them too. This might be the year Sauber finally finish a season in last.

Dishonorable mention to Valtteri Bottas for kamikaziing Hamilton and ending the last hope of a battle at the front though I wonder if Kimi might have been close without his poor start.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 03 Apr 2016, 18:30

Simtek wrote:To those of you who are listing multiple nominations without giving a clear order, remember that the format for Reject of the Race has changed to that used for Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race: You must make two clear nominations (first worth 10 points, second worth 6). Makes Biscione's life easier when he's counting the votes

Of course, you don't have to, if you want to go freestyle and do your own thing you're more than entitled to do so! But for the sake of not giving me headaches, posts that aren't in said format won't be counted in the official GPR ROTR standings. Though I may include a handful that don't match at my own discretion if I feel they were cleverly done, or it just floats my boat for some reason

Post by **Ataxia** » 03 Apr 2016, 18:59

1. Force India - After their pedestrian showings in quali, I thought they were focusing on a race setup which would allow them to slowly ooze forward towards the points. Yet, they didn't. It was a very, very poor weekend for them, and I'm surprised since they've historically gone well here.

2. Williams - whilst they clearly didn't have a setup to allow them to capitalise on the 2nd and 3rd positions the cars found themselves in at the start, I don't think many expected them to continue to drop down to the extent that they did. Red Bull, Verstappen and Grosjean found them easy prey.

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 03 Apr 2016, 19:35

1. Force India

2. Williams (from running 2-3 in the early stages to 8-9 at the end seriously?)

If something had happened to Kimi in the early laps like happened to Irvine at France '96 then it would have been Ferrari getting my choice, I think they'd have got it 3 in a row at Canada, France and Britian 96 on that basis!

I like the voting system, only downside is there won't be any far-out things get it like Alternators, Vettel's hair dye etc!

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 03 Apr 2016, 19:39

1. Force India - Dreadful performance from a team who were on the podium here just 2 seasons ago.

2. Bernard Charles Ecclestone - So out of touch with how the sport is at the moment to the point where it is embarrassing.

Spectoremg · Post by **Spectoremg** » 03 Apr 2016, 20:07

1. The race stewards, mainly for turning Hamilton into Teflon man.
2. Valtteri Bottas. He isn't that good is he.

HM: Williams, for their continuing slide into obscurity. If ever they needed a wake up call, today was it.

vinceg · Post by **vinceg** » 03 Apr 2016, 20:11

1. Force India
Embarassing race pace, notable for crashing into Toro Rossos and narrowly beating a Manor

2. Williams
From 2nd and 3rd to 8th and 9th. Bottas pretty much killed off any battle at the front and conservative strategy means they can't capitalise on their strong start just like last year

Peteroli34 · Post by **Peteroli34** » 03 Apr 2016, 20:17

1. Force India - Beaten by Sauber and Manor what more can be said

2.Aggregate Qualifying Proposal - Tried it 10 years ago it didnt work then why would it work know just go back to last years

lance_rambert · Post by **lance_rambert** » 03 Apr 2016, 20:29

1. Force India: Completely useless throughout the entire race. Both even finished behind Wehrlein's Manor... not much else to say about that.

2. Felipe Nasr: Totally off the pace compared to his much lower-rated teammate. Incredibly disappointing considering how much he outperformed Ericsson last year overall.

Honorable Mentions:

-Sebastian Vettel's Engine: Obviously reminiscent of Schumacher's '96 France race. Also a potential double Ferrari podium thrown out the window after Hamilton and Bottas' T1 incident.
-Johnny Herbert: He now joins that special club of pundits and commentators that can go pound sand along with Kyle Petty (just comes off the wrong way to me) and Crofty (after suggesting Rosberg could let Vettel by at Austin to prevent Hamilton taking the title). Good on Alonso for calling him out in front of the camera on that bullshit article.

novitopoli · Post by **novitopoli** » 03 Apr 2016, 23:39

1. Force India - Totally screwed up the race. Don't know what's wrong with them.
2. Again, the whole qualifying saga.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 03 Apr 2016, 23:51

My provider: screwing up the connection right when the race starts. :facepalm:

AxelP800 · Post by **AxelP800** » 03 Apr 2016, 23:53

After seeing each drivers' FL, I saw Williams' FL from both is slower than Manor. Therefore:

1. Still Force India
2. Williams

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 04 Apr 2016, 00:22

1. McLaren - I'm actually surprised I haven't seen too many nominating these guys. Haas have 18 points and McLaren have 1. Their car is apparently still slow and unreliable. They haven't MOVED ANYWHERE!
2. but yeah, Force India are doing pretty dire, which is a shame.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 04 Apr 2016, 00:52

At the risk of sounding like everyone else:

Ten points to Force India: beaten on track by a Manor (same engine, chassis can't be anywhere near as good, rookie driver). More like Force Bangladesh in cricketing terms right now.

Six points to Williams: beaten on track by a rookie team; meanwhile, mirror-signal-bash, "what da frick, Valerie?"

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 04 Apr 2016, 06:08

Force India - For reasons covered by greater minds than mine.
Bottas - Very clumsy and ruined any challenge against Rosberg from Hamilton as well as his own race.

DJJIMMYJ1976AU · Post by **DJJIMMYJ1976AU** » 04 Apr 2016, 10:46

Ok - my 5c worth re ROTR for Bahrain.

1st (10 points) - FIA for the debacle that F1 Qualifying has become. Its bad enough that some space cadet came up with the 'grim reaper' qualifying format for Melbourne but these knuckleheads decided to run it again in Bahrain. Watxhing an empty track at 2am on a Sunday morning (local time) makes home shopping strangely more attractive.

As if that isn't bad enough the same Einsteins decide to change qualifying to an aggregate of 2 laps and I'm presuming using an average multiplied by the number of spanners there are in a Sidchrome toolkit to determine who's on pole....seriously folks, what was wrong with the old format????

2nd (6 points) - Force India - may as well have ridden Elephants in this race. Being beaten home by Manor makes their performance a joke.

Honourable mentions.

Vettel's BBQ engine during formation lap.

Bottas - bit of a bonehead move on first corner of the race..