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Ferrari 1-2 as BMW fly

Felipe Massa put the problems of the first two rounds behind him with a commanding performance in Bahrain, leading home Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen as the red cars swept all before them.

It is difficult to believe this was the team that appeared to be in turmoil a few weeks ago in Australia, just as it was to remember that Mclaren were the dominant force that race. The silver cars endured another frustrating weekend, both off the pace and – for Lewis Hamilton – out of the points.

Hamiltons chance of victory vanished at the start as the McLaren failed to move from third on the grid, forcing team mate Heikki Kovalainen to take urgent avoiding action. Hamilton settled into tenth place, but not for long.

Up front Robert Kubica found the BMW out-dragged by a fast starting Massa, and immediately had to contend with the second Ferrari attacking from behind, while Jarno Trulli and Nick Heidfeld squabbled for position behind Kovalainen.

Meanwhile a number of cars had been involved in a various incidents, with Sebastian Vettel parking the STR and David Coulthard and Adrian Sutil – for Red Bull and Force India respectively – also needed visits to the pits.

They were joined by Hamilton who, looking very racey and now up to speed, had old adversary Fernando Alonso in front of him. The Englishman looked to pass the Renault as he accelerated from one of the faster corners, but found the Spaniard not accelerating as quickly as he was. One new McLaren nose was required, and that was that for Hamilton.

Raikkonen had by now made surprisingly easy work of Kubica, and Heidfeld pulled a typically gutsy move on Kovalainen to take fourth place. The BMW’s would remain in these positions for the rest of the race, Kubica pitting notably early and Heidfeld on the opposite strategy of two long stints. These were fine drives by both men.
The Ferraris ran line astern all race, too, and this time there was no making up of time from Raikkonen when Massa pitted, as it was the Finn who stopped first.

The race remained relatively uneventful from there in, with Kovalainen running to a lonely but safe fifth place, Trulli scoring more points for Toyota in sixth, Mark Webber seventh for Red Bull and Nico Rosberg taking the final point for Williams.

Notable performance from the lower end came from Giancarlo Fisichella, the Italian holding Hamilton behind him for some laps in the Force India, and mixing it with rivals far better financed and resourced than the Silverstone team. This is testament to Fisichella – a man who always seems to rise to the occasion when the machinery is lacking – and the technical team headed by Mike Gascoyne who have produced a handy racing car. Adrian Sutil – a fast and talented driver with a shining record behind him – currently looks lost, and it is to be hoped he can recover the form he has displayed previously.

Back to Europe, then, and the promise of the true relative pace of the top teams. Currently it has to be said that McLaren look up against it, and BMW quite convincingly best of the rest.

Written: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:11:38