Bahrian GP

Bahrain had one colour on Sunday afternoon, and that was red. BMW Sauber were strong enough to keep the pressure on and to take the lead in the world championship for constructors, thanks to Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finishing third and fourth, but the one-two result for Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen confirmed the form the world champions had shown in Malaysia. As for McLaren, and in particular Lewis Hamilton, this was a race best forgotten.

Ferrari

Felipe Massa, p1/1m 33.600s

Kimi Raikkonen, P2/1m 33.709s

Massa really needed this victory, and he barely put a wheel wrong in achieving it. His Ferrari had all the pace it needed, and he could control the race. His only problem was ensuring that there was no repeat of Malaysia. Raikkonen was quick, but not quick enough to challenge his team mate. Taking the lead in the world championship for drivers’ points table was adequate compensation as Ferrari dominated, however.

BMW Sauber

Robert Kubica, P3/1m 33.775s

Nick Heidfeld, P4/1m 33.565s

Kubica lost the start due to excessive wheelspin, and then thought he had a puncture in the early stages. It transpired that it was oil in Turns Four through 11, without which he felt he might have been able to keep Raikkonen at bay. He was quick throughout, but though the fastest laps suggest otherwise he did not quite have enough speed to challenge the Ferraris. Heidfeld was also quick, pushing his team mate all the way on his longer-runs strategy. Their points haul put BMW Sauber at the top of the world championship for constructors for the first time, by a point from Ferrari and two from McLaren.

McLaren

Heikki Kovalainen, P5/1m 33.193s

Lewis Hamilton, P13/1m 35.520s

McLaren had to put a brave face on a race that saw them lose the lead in both championships. Hamilton’s start problem came when he selected the wrong procedure and activated the anti-stall mechanism at the wrong moment. Then he compounded that by hitting Alonso on the second lap. Thereafter he was condemned to run in traffic with a heavy fuel load, and his problems were further compounded by deflector damage at the front of the MP4-23 which induced understeer. Kovalainen ran strongly on the prime tyres in the closing stages, when he set fastest lap, but otherwise lacked the pace of Ferrari or BMW Sauber.

Toyota

Jarno Trulli, P6/1m 34.204s

Timo Glock, P9/1m 34.807s

Once again Trulli brought Toyota points with a smooth and trouble-free run in a car that he said handled really well, while Glock made it to the finish in ninth after fending off an aggressive Alonso. He loved his TF108 in the opening stages, but was less enamoured of its behaviour in the second stint.