Bahrain Grand Prix summary

Another great weekend for Jenson Button as he claimed his third win of the season, but how did everyone perform? When it’s as dry as it was in Bahrain even the smallest mistake can prove costly and much can depend on the strategy as many drivers found out to their benefit…

Jenson Button (1st)

A very solid drive and didn’t lose his head after losing places at the start to the KERS cars behind him on the grid. He must be thanking Ross Brawn though as he got the Brit into clean air every time he pitted. When he was there he didn’t put a foot wrong. A Schumacher-esque performance. 9/10 (Ross Brawn: 10/10)

Sebastian Vettel (2^nd)

The heaviest fuel load at the front of the grid and still managed to qualify third. He was however, held up by Hamilton at the start and then by Trulli later in the race effectively ruining any chance he had of winning. Not as smooth as he usually is though. 7/10

Jarno Trulli (3^rd)

Failed to make the most of his pole position and lost the lead to team-mate Glock off the line. Really struggled in his second stint with the medium compound and was losing almost a second a lap to Button who had leap-frogged him after his stop. His reputation of being a fearsome qualifier, but not such a strong racer continues… 5/10

Lewis Hamilton (4^th)

Made a great start thanks to his KERS and was running as high as second on the first lap. Just didn’t have the car for the job today however. He did look a little scrappy when pushing, but he certainly out drove his machinery. No doubt he’ll be looking forward to the upgrades that McLaren have got for the next race. 7/10

Rubens Barrichello (5^th)

Was hindered by traffic throughout the race after Brawn decided to put him on a three-stop strategy. Got very cross after he was held up by Piquet ­– even if the Brazilian was fighting for position – but then went on to post some blisteringly fast laps. 6/10

Kimi Raikkonen (6^th)

A good day for Raikkonen as he kept out of trouble and got Ferrari’s first points of the season. A reasonably quiet race but made the most out of his KERS at the start to make up a number of places. 7/10

Timo Glock (7^th)

Having put his car on the front of the grid he made a good start and led for a number of laps before making his first stop. As with team-mate Trulli, he struggled to get any performance out of the medium tyre and lost a lot of ground during his second stint. At one point he was two seconds off the pace suggesting it was more than the tyre that was causing him problems. 5/10

Fernando Alonso (8^th)

Another strong race for the double World Champion and pulled off an absolute stunning pass on Trulli after the Italian made his first stop. Needs a faster car to really threaten for wins and podiums though. 8/10

Nico Rosberg (9^th)

Not a brilliant afternoon for Rosberg as the only time he did something of note was passing the exit of the pits as other cars were leaving them, and then being passed. The Williams seems to have lost any advantage it had during the last few races. 6/10

Nelson Piquet (10^th)

He’s rumoured to only have another two races in Formula 1 if he can’t produce the goods, but he went some way to mending his broken reputation today. He was carrying an enormous amount of fuel at the beginning of the race and kept himself out of trouble to finish well. 7/10

Mark Webber (11^th)

Blocked in qualifying by Adrian Sutil, but recovered well in the race to make up so many positions. 8/10

Heikki Kovalainen (12^th)

Made a bad start – even with a car equipped with KERS – then went on to lock his front wheel under braking, flat spotting it so badly that he had to pit early. Good pace later on in the race though. 5/10

Sebastien Bourdais (13^th)

A quiet afternoon for the Frenchman, however, he did out perform his team-mate and finished well considering that the Toro Rossos were struggling so much in the desert. 7/10

Felipe Massa (14^th)

Another awful race for Massa. He was squeezed at the first corner and lost part of his wing and then pitted within a few laps as had problems with his KERS, which was switched off, back on and then decided to pack up again later in the race. A little bit of luck would not go amiss, or perhaps just a little less bad luck is what he needs? 8/10

Giancarlo Fisichella (15^th)

Ran well at the start and crucially beat team-mate Sutil. However, did get in the way of front-runners later in the race. 6/10

Adrian Sutil (16^th)

An appalling block in qualifying which I think was more a case of a late reaction rather than anything too malicious. The team should also have told him that Webber was on a hot lap though. Otherwise made a good start and raced well, if not inspiringly. 4/10 (talking qualifying mistake into account)

Sebastien Buemi (17^th)

Not such a great afternoon as he enjoyed in China. A good drive though and was never far off team-mate Bourdais. 7/10

Robert Kubica (18^th)

How do you judge someone’s race when their car is so atrocious compared to the rest of the grid? Made contact at the start and had to pit for a new nose. A day I am sure the Pole would like to forget. 6/10 (BMW-Sauber: 2/10)

Nick Heidfeld (19^th)

As above… BMW must be really hoping that their Barcelona updates do the trick. 6/10

Kazuki Nakajima (20^th)

Made contact at the first corner, pitted and failed to show any speed later in the race, eventually retiring. 3/10