2008 Bahrain Grand Prix

Felipe Massa finally sees the end of a grand prix in 2008, taking victory at Sakhir ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen, for a Ferrari 1-2.

With Lewis Hamilton finishing a dismal 13th after losing his front wing in a first lap coming together with Fernando Alonso, Kimi takes over the lead in the driver's championship.

Heikki Kovalainen salvages some McLaren pride by snatching fast lap late in the race, but his 5th place finish puts a point on a horrendous day for Ron Dennis' boys, as they drop to 3rd in the Constructor's Championship. BMW have vaulted to the top of the WCC charts with their 3-4 finish, clinging to a one point lead over Ferrari, with McLaren another point back. It's early days, but BMW look to have achieved their aim to make it a three-way battle. I can't wait for the rest of the season!

Top Finishers
Felipe Massa	1:31:06.970
Kimi Raikkonen	+3.339
Robert Kubica	+4.998
Nick Heidfeld	+8.409
Heikki Kovalainen	+26.789
Jarno Trulli	+41.314
Mark Webber	+45.473
Nico Rosberg	+55.889

Full Results

2008 Bahrain Grand Prix - Qualifying

This is the sort of shakeup the F1 braintrust was hoping for with the ever-shifting qualy format and rules. Robert Kubica snatches his first pole (no puns please) in the closing moments, relegating Felipe Massa to second spot. The next slots also bounce teammates around so the first lap should be interesting tomorrow.

Top Times
Robert Kubica	1:33.096
Felipe Massa	1:33.123
Lewis Hamilton	1:33.292
Kimi Raikkonen	1:33.418
Heikki Kovalainen	1:33.488
Nick Heidfeld	1:33.737

Qualifying Details

2008 Bahrain Grand Prix - Friday Practice

Friday Practice 1

Friday Practice 2

Although it's always dangerous to read too much into Friday practice, since one never knows exactly what programs the teams are running and how they're attacking the race weekend, Ferrari seem to have a lead on the rest of the field, as they did two weeks ago in Malaysia.

Felipe Massa set a blistering time on a low fuel run, with teammate Kimi Raikkonen nearly a second behind. McLaren came next, with Lewis Hamilton coming in 4th behind Heikki Kovalainen after he crashed heavily about 10 minutes before the session ended. Lewis was thankfully unhurt, though the mechanics will have some work to do.

There's still plenty of reason to tune in for qualy and the race itself, though, since the Sakhir track can change dramatically as rubber is laid down, or dust blows back across it...not to mention the million things that can go right or wrong for any driver at any time. Just ask Felipe Massa about the Malaysian race and how quickly things can turn. Or ask MotoGP 250cc rider Mika Kallio how quickly he went from 3rd to a race win in Spain...on the last lap.

Enjoy.