F1 - Ferrari & BMW Take the Top 3 Spots in Bahrain

F1 - Ferrari & BMW Take the Top 3 Spots in Bahrain
by Claudia Beckford
This past weekend we witnessed the Ferrari team take once more the lead; as the Brazilian driver Felipe Massa won the third race of the Formula One calendar - the Bahrain Grand Prix. Massa is Ferrari's second driver but he counts with an extend background and plenty of experience which helped out to obtain the first points of the new season.
Another impressive performance was that of BMW-Sauber Polish leading driver Robert Kubica who began the race in pole position but eventually lost spots and finished third in the overall race. BMW boss Mario Theissen made a odd remark regarding their new hard-line approach as it is clearly reflected on the constructors' championship standings - currently in first place - basically the first time in the team's history as well as their three consecutive podium appearances in the last three competitions.
Despite Kubica's his third position arrival and fourth for team mate Heidfeld they gathered enough points to be placed in first position just one point from team Ferrari.
"It's true we are ahead of schedule - which concerns me a bit because if we go on like this we will get criticised for third or fourth place in future!" joked Theissen.
On the other hand, the alarms have been going off at the McLaren team due to the recent agony leading driver Lewis Hamilton has had to put up with. First there was his mistake at the start of the race followed by a distraction coalition into Renault 's vehicle driven by the Spaniard Fernando Alonso; as the two drivers speeded up out of turn three, Hamilton came close to Alonso's back axle and rode up on his right rear tyre losing its front wing. A very unfortunate fate for Mercedes which doomed Hamilton's chance and transformed it into the worst race finish; thirteenth position.
In the view of some; Alonso had deliberately lifted the accelerator but even Hamilton admitted that if there was anybody to blame was him not Alonso. Yet; Renault's director of engineering Pat Symonds holds data to show the Spaniard driver had not wrong doing in the matter.
After the eminent blow the 23-year-old Briton had not many choices but to continue and end his battle only that this time the gap between him and his Ferrari rivals Raikkonen and Massa was deeper as it meant many precious championship points.
Bahrain has been tough on McLaren and Hamilton who is used to error free performances; perhaps it is time to reassess the dynamics of the team as the championship is becoming a three way battle; in which BMW Sauber is showing sufficient pace to overcome McLaren and fight for more wins.
Nevertheless, we are still three weeks from the following F1 race in Spain and the Spanish racetracks have always been McLaren's territory and we know that from this point forward each race will be more difficult especially now that the lines have been crossed and the speed knights' motivations are in full gear.