The race to make the grid in Bahrain

Dieter Rencken compares the fortunes of BMW Sauber and Renault, who have seemingly overcome the worst of their troubles, and Campos, US F1 and Stefan GP, who each have their biggest challenge still ahead of them

Oh, the ironies of Formula 1 as it faces a first full season under the new Concorde Agreement – the negotiations for which almost ripped the sport in two: on one hand there are two teams sporting motor manufacturer names (BMW and Renault) without those companies having full control over management or performance, while on the other we have a team with an entry but allegedly no funding or hardware, and another is fully kitted out, yet has no entry.

Could it get any messier? Well, yes…