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First Flourish to Fernando, Felipe and Ferrari

Sport

Ferrari is back. No matter how close Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel came to clinching victory in yesterday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, it was a resurgent Maranello that stamped its authority over the start of this year’s F1 World Championship.

It was a mighty display from twice former champion Fernando Alonso in his first race for Ferrari beating his new team-mate Felipe Massa with considerable ease after playing second fiddle in Saturday’s qualifying session.

For Massa, the race marked his return to Formula 1 racing after his terrifying accident in Hungary last year, so the Brazilian will not be too disenchanted with an immediate return to the podium, but he’ll be wanting to regain the upper hand sooner rather than later if he is to step out of Spanish shadows this season.

Lewis Hamilton took third place for McLaren but it was something of a gifted result courtesy of pole sitter Vettel’s mechanical woes. Having led from the off, Vettel, runner up to Jenson Button in the 2009 championship, was on course to continue Red Bull’s winning ways. But he was helpless to prevent his suddenly underperforming car from dropping backwards through the field. After Hamilton charged past for the final podium position, Vettel did well to fend off the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg for fourth place.

It was a fine performance for Rosberg, considering the attention his new team-mate had received all weekend. A certain Michael Schumacher, however, had to be content with a lower grid position than his younger compatriot and one place lower on the race classification. It was an understated comeback and precisely what the 41-year-old needed. His composure and on-screen demeanour was refreshing, admitting on Saturday that he had just a few cobwebs to blow away after three years away from F1. You sense that sixth place and a healthy handful of points might well have provided the necessary duster.

The new boys Lotus, HRT and Virgin all had their ups and downs, but it was the Lotus team who acquitted themselves most consistently over the weekend. A two-car finish was their reward. Not bad for a team who hardly existed six months ago.

Where is Formula 1 without its controversy and contention, though? It is not only technical innovation in the shape of McLaren’s rear wing that is causing a stir. After 49 laps of uninspiring and often yawn-inducing racing on an otherwise pleasant Sunday afternoon, Formula 1 has already hit the panic button. Has the ban on mid-race refuelling negated the spectacle? Perhaps we should wait a few races to see how the new rules pan out before making any more changes. Bahrain is not a good indicator for the 18 races still to come and an action-packed first lap around the popular Albert Park circuit in Australia at the end of next week will remove the Bahrain cobwebs. Michael, can we borrow your duster please?

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