Dull opener fuels call for rule changes
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Formula One bosses are already calling for further rule changes after the first race of what had been billed as a potentially epic and explosive season turned out to be a bit of a dud.
The ban on refueling, and the end of the strategies that go with it, meant that most drivers made just one pitstop to change tires in Bahrain on Sunday and created a situation where the action fell a long way short of the hype.
"I caught up with Michael (Schumacher) and then sat behind him for the rest of the race," lamented McLaren's world champion Jenson Button after starting eighth and finishing seventh. "I couldn't get any closer."
Qualifying dictated the race and had Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull not been slowed by a faulty spark plug while the German was leading, the eventual result would have been a start to finish procession.
Instead it was a straightforward Ferrari one-two, with race winner Fernando Alonso effectively sealing the victory on his debut for the team when the Spaniard squirmed past Brazilian teammate Felipe Massa on the first lap.
Some team bosses said afterwards that the rules should be tweaked to introduce a second mandatory pitstop while tire compounds could also be changed to make them less durable.
"I think it would be bad if we didn't react," Mercedes F1 team managing director Nick Fry told reporters when asked whether the race had been bad for the sport after such high expectations.
"I think we've all seen a race which is far from the most exciting we have ever seen and what we now need to do is between us have a look at this and establish what we do need to do.
"Technical changes are obviously very difficult to make and expensive, but I think we should look at both the technical side and the sporting sides," he added.
The idea of a second mandatory pitstop has been rejected previously by teams but Fry, McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh and Red Bull's Christian Horner all thought it was time for a rethink.
"Personally I have always endorsed that there should be two mandatory stops," Horner said.
"Here, the difference in the tires was not as great as we thought it might be. I think it's all about the tires," said Whitmarsh, who also has 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton in his line-up.
Former team boss Eddie Jordan felt the race had been interesting mainly as a barometer of where the teams were in relation to each other. "No, there wasn't enough overtaking and I would have liked to see two stops as a mandatory situation," he said.
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