Felipe Massa has just taken his first win in the sister F2008 and has now got some valuable points on the board. He really had to win last time out and really rose to the occasion. Before the Bahrain event, he was looking a bit glum and it seemed to be slipping away from him, but he withstood the pressure and did an outstanding job, so he is very much back in it. Felipe should be a lot more confident and I believe we will see a 'new' Massa this weekend. And don't forget that he won in Spain last season too.
BMW has made some huge strides and, crucially, the team still has the same consistency and reliability which it has had for the last few seasons.
Mario Thessien has got two good drivers in
Nick Heidfeld and
Robert Kubica and both are 'egging' each other on. BMW might need a bit of luck on its side at the moment to pull a win off, but the Swiss-based squad is definitely making progress - and that is going to be a concern for
Ferrari and
McLaren, although more so for the latter.
McLaren-Mercedes seemed to be third best in Bahrain but I am sure Ron Dennis' men will come back.
McLaren has to bounce back because, if it doesn't, it will be on the back foot in terms of performance. They need to be strong and could be stronger this coming weekend.
Hamilton, himself, has a point to prove because he did have a bit of a lacklustre event by his very high standards earlier this month. I am sure he will come back with a vengeance though.
Heikki Kovalainen, meanwhile, is building his way up to producing an outstanding result as well. He is very solid and is doing a great job.
Behind those three teams, there is a close battle between
Williams,
Toyota and
Red Bull Racing and, while I'd love to see Williams break away from those two, I am not sure it has got the resources to maintain that level of competitiveness throughout the season.
