Cosworth are feeling confident after seeing their engines return to Formula One action for the first time in three years in Bahrain.
British company pleased after positive return to F1 grid
Cosworth are feeling confident after seeing their engines return to Formula One action for the first time in three years in Bahrain.
Prior to the season-opening grand prix in Sakhir, the British company's engines had not been seen on the F1 grid since 2007, when they supplied Williams and Toro Rosso.
However, Cosworth have burst back onto the scene due to their reunion with Williams and their new associations with Lotus, Virgin and Hispania, and F1 business unit general manager Mark Gallagher is thrilled to see the company make its comeback to the sport.
Return
"After many months of work developing and implementing our return as an engine supplier to Formula One it was good to finally get the racing underway," Gallagher told the official F1 website.
Williams driver Rubens Barrichello secured 10th place in Bahrain in the only Cosworth-powered car to score points, while Nico Hulkenberg's Williams and the two Lotus cars all finished the race.
"From an engine performance point of view, I think we can be very satisfied with the performance of the CA2010 in Bahrain," said Gallagher.
"Both Williams' drivers finished the race with Rubens picking up a point for tenth, while Lotus achieved a significant milestone in having both cars secure a classified finish. I have also spoken to several of the drivers who have given us positive and constructive feedback on the CA2010's performance and driveability."
Virgin and Hispania both failed to see a pilot cross the finish line, but Gallagher insists both teams, and Cosworth themselves, can take away crucial lessons from the season-opener.
Progress
"From a Cosworth perspective both teams worked well and although hampered by reliability issues, good progress was clearly being made," he said.
"Virgin Racing have been able to take a lot of positives out of the weekend and Saturday's qualifying performance demonstrated the potential in the Virgin-Cosworth VR01."
"In HRT's case, the mere fact that they got two cars ready for the race was an achievement in itself and, in that respect, Cosworth's provision of the full electronics solution in only three weeks was a key factor.
"Bruno Senna's retirement was caused by a broken water fitting from the radiator which meant he lost all the water from his car. The implications of that failure on his engine were apparent for all to see and the engine is being returned to our headquarters."
