By Huw Alban
March 14 2006

Midland F1 are working hard and staying focused, and are keen to shake off the disappointments of Bahrain. We have been informed that long hours are being put in, in order to put right the mechanical gremlins that plagued Tiago Monteiro and Christijan Albers last weekend. Last season at Sepang it was all about tyres for the then Jordan team. Tiago and 2005 team mate Narain Karthikeyan qualified in18th and 17th places respectively, but managed to finish strongly in 12th and 11th. Both drivers experienced a lonely race, and complained about their tyres suffering in the heat.

Remember that back in 2005 tyre changes during the race were banned, and Bridgestone only had one competitive team (Ferrari) running on their rubber severely holding back their ability to keep pace with rival Michelin. This season Williams and Toyota have joined the Bridgestone stable, and Ferrari put up a strong fight in the heat of Bahrain. Tyre wise at this point in the season it's a lot closer than before.

There also a whole host of advantages that the team carry forward from Bahrain, as was pointed out yesterday (see link to Bahrain: MF1O analysis below) but there is also one big disadvantage. All the solutions to Bahrain’s problems are going to have to be tested and evaluated under the public glare of a Grand Prix weekend. There simply is no choice since there is so little time between the first two races. I'm sure that any solution will be bench tested or put through simulations, but it's no substitute for the real thing.

That aside all of us here at MF1O are looking forward with great anticipation to the next race. I'm personally looking forward to this team showing it's sponsors, it's fans, and even the doubters out there just how serious they are to succeed in the world of Formula One.

I know it's slightly childish of me, but after this weekend I want to be the one saying, "I told you so" on the forum. I am amazed at how many people out there have judged Midland just on the basis of one race and without really considering exactly what happened.

I said this yesterday, and I'm going to say it again - I am heartened by the attitude of the majority that visit this site that have analysed the facts and decided to not judge Midland F1 or it's approach, but instead to wait until the Malaysian race. Midland F1 have a lot to prove this weekend and we here at MF1O are confident that the staff in the team are up to the challenge, and that they will be successful.