Team by team analysis of Bahrain Grand Prix

Published Mon, Mar 15 10 09:27 AM

Team by team analysis of the season-opening Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday (teams in current championship order):

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FERRARI (Fernando Alonso 1, Felipe Massa 2)

Alonso won on his Ferrari debut, starting third and taking his first win since 2008 and 22nd of his career. He also clocked the fastest lap. Massa, returning after suffering life-threatening injuries last July, was overtaken by his team mate at the start but finished runner-up to seal the team's first one-two since 2008. Ferrari have now won four of the seven Bahrain Grands Prix.

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MCLAREN (Lewis Hamilton 3, Jenson Button 7)

Hamilton moved up from fourth on the grid, benefiting from Vettel's engine trouble. The 2008 champion spent much of the early part of the race stuck behind Mercedes' Rosberg after the German got ahead at the start. Hamilton regained the place in the pitstop. Button was overly careful with the tyres but jumped Red Bull's Webber at the pitstop.

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MERCEDES (Nico Rosberg 5, Michael Schumacher 6)

Schumacher made his comeback after three years out and at the age of 41 but was still beaten by his much younger compatriot, who ended up in the same position that he started. Both made only one pitstop. Rosberg chased down Vettel in the closing laps but could not get past.

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RED BULL (Sebastian Vettel 4, Mark Webber 8)

Vettel led from pole position for more than two thirds of the race before suffering an engine problem that cost him the team's fourth successive win. Webber lost out at the first corner and suffered a sticking front tyre at his stop.

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FORCE INDIA (Vitantonio Liuzzi 9, Adrian Sutil 12)

Force India scored points from race one for the first time, thanks to the new scoring system. Liuzzi was last in the points in 2007. Sutil spun to the back of the pack at the start after smoke from Webber's car clouded his vision. He then posted the second fastest lap of the race.

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WILLIAMS (Rubens Barrichello 10, Nico Hulkenberg 14)

Hulkenberg lost places when he swerved off to avoid another car early on and damaged his car when he spun a few laps later. Barrichello had hoped for more.

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RENAULT (Robert Kubica 11, Vitaly Petrov retired)

Kubica spun after being hit by Sutil at the start, damaging the rear tyres which then overheated. He completed the rest of the race on the harder tyres. Otherwise, he felt he would have been very competitive. Petrov, the first Russian in Formula One, was 11th after the first lap but ran wide over a kerb and damaged the right front suspension. He retired in the pits.

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TORO ROSSO (Jaime Alguersuari 13, Sebastien Buemi 16)

Alguersuari ticked another circuit off the list of ones to learn, but a low qualifying slot was too much to overcome. Buemi had a lot of wheelspin at the start.

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LOTUS (Heikki Kovalainen 15, Jarno Trulli 17)

Lotus were the only new team to finish the race. Trulli had a hydraulics problem in the closing stages and had to slow to get to the finish. Kovalainen reported no problems.

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BMW SAUBER (Pedro de la Rosa and Kamui Kobayashi retired)

Both drivers retired with hydraulics problems, De la Rosa on lap 29 after losing several places at the start and Kobayashi on lap 12. The Japanese had first lost power steering.

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HRT (HISPANIA) (Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok retired)

The highlight of the team's race was a visit from King Juan Carlos of Spain before the start. Both cars started from the pitlane. Chandhok, who first drove the car in qualifying, retired on lap two (only his fifth in total in the car) when he hit a bump and went off. Senna lasted longer and pitted on lap 12 before the radiator leaked all its water.

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VIRGIN RACING (Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi retired)

Di Grassi pulled over after three laps after losing hydraulic pressure. Glock diced with the Lotuses for a while but then lost third and fifth gears. He retired in the pits.

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