The Official Bahrain Grand Prix 2009 Thread (*spoilers*)

I'm a Toyota fan this year, as Timo Glock has become one of my fave drivers ever since his impressive debut for Jordan.

But I'm still unsure as to how good either driver is, and in general, I think most people wouldn't rate the lineup as much as some of the other challengers. Odd, as Jarno has been in Formula 1 for some 12 years now, but I'm still not entirely convinced he is a great racer. He is a fantastic qualifier, and over the years he demonstrated that many times. Glock on the other hand is only in his second full season and has impressed so far, particularly in the races with some forceful drives, but I get the impression that he's a bit off Trulli in outright pace.

As for Toyota themselves, the jury is still out. They did improve towards the end of 2008, but that was helped by BMW falling away and Glock getting to terms with the car as the season progressed. Toyota have done absolutely absurd things with all their money, such as making Ralf Schumacher the second-best paid driver in the sport (after his brother) and making Mike Gascoyne the best paid engineer. I mean come on? And, now to be quite honest, I have no idea how or what any of their staff have done, other than the fact that Vasselon was involved with Renault and Michelin before. At least though, they seem to be making progress this year, but they will need to work hard to keep their car at the front.

Glock is just solid but no more than average. Don't ever expect a storming drive or anything from him (and Sepang was great Toyota call, perhaps the only team that gave their driver a chance to put inters on). Trulli is quick but not quick often enough, inconsistent.

I've read that that call in Sepang was actually Glock's, and if it wasn't then it was just a case of Toyota putting Trulli out on wets and Glock on inters and seeing what happened, so the great Toyota call wasn't even all that! At the moment, methinks Glock and Trulli are kinda treading water: they've got the machinery, but they haven't reached the fullest potential yet. A win for either could really set them on their way. Trulli's got the pace, but Glock's got the balls to barge through the field, albeit only if the car is right.

Yeah I always wonder what an Alonso or Hamilton would be doing in this year Toyota, I think they would have manage a victory in Bahrain.

I don't doubt it was Glock's call, Rubens wanted inters but the team felt quite strong about the weather so he went with the team call. I'm sure it wasn't different with some other drivers.