Felipe Massa gave the
Formula One world championship its most varied opening for several season by becoming the third different winner in as many events by leading from lights to flag at the Bahrain Grand Prix, but it is the three-way tie for the points lead that will grab most attention.
The Brazilian arrived on the grid with the demons from two disappointing races still haunting him, but made no mistake as the lights went out to get the jump on fellow front row starter
Lewis Hamilton. Indeed, it was the Briton who made the poorer getaway, almost dropping into the clutches of both
Kimi Raikkonen and
Fernando Alonso, as the leading four runners headed into turn one.
Raikkonen was looking particularly feisty, perhaps because his
Ferrari was also rumoured to have been lightly-fuelled - but held up - in qualifying, but had to make do with third round the opening couple of corners.
While the leading group kept it clean through the tight complex, however, those further back began tripping over themselves, with
Jenson Button and
Scott Speed being eliminated in separate incidents just metres apart. Both appeared to have been tipped from behind, but with their engines dead and bodywork shed, neither
Honda or Toro Rosso was going any further.
Adrian Sutil bore all the scars of contact with the latter, the German rookie returning to the Spyker pit for cosmetic attention to the front of his car, rejoining several laps down as a result.
Whilst the melee was going on, Alonso slipped ahead of Raikkonen, further frustrating the Finn, who then only had himself to blame when the ensuing safety car period ended on lap three. Although Alonso had closed in on Massa and Hamilton, Raikkonen was some distance away from the second
McLaren when the field was released, forcing him to push hard to close the gap.
Hamilton, meanwhile, wasted no time in trying to exert pressure on Massa, the rookie taking a look at turn one before being rebuffed. The McLaren was still exuding the same blue smoke under downchanges that it had in qualifying, but Hamilton's pace remained undimmed.
