The principal action in the closing laps came courtesy of Barrichello's efforts to find a way past Alonso for the final position in the top ten – the pair sadly, as Martin Brundle put it, “driving their hearts out for nothing really, in many respects” – whilst the two BMWs' late charge saw Kubica close to within four seconds of Raikkonen, lapping as much as a second quicker than the
Ferrari as the two scarlet machines suddenly started to come under pressure for the first time in the grand prix.
A new fastest lap for Heidfeld was almost immediately usurped by a stunning effort from Kovalainen, almost four tenths of a second quicker than
anyone else as the hard tyres on his
McLaren came right on-song in the race's dying laps. Massa, at least, seemed safe from the BMW threat some 7.4 seconds up the road from the sister F2008, but Raikkonen's runner-up spot – with just six laps remaining – was rather less assured.
The Finn, though, was able to up his pace once more, staving off Kubica's unwanted attentions to re-establish his second place, but a little way further up the track Massa cruised on untroubled, and would take the chequered flag – waved by old ‘Slowhand' himself, Eric Clapton – some 3.3 seconds to the good to complete a back-to-back Sakhir success story, open his world championship account with a vengeance and establish himself as
the form driver in Bahrain.
Behind second-placed Raikkonen, Kubica and Heidfeld crossed the line separated by just 3.4 seconds and both within a scant ten seconds of the race winner, in so doing not only confirming
BMW's arrival as a genuine world championship contender in 2008, but also propelling the Munich and Hinwil-based outfit to the top of the constructors' standings for the first time.
